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Wisconsin Football: Big Ten Power Rankings

By Tanner Nestle

MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 15: Alex Hornibrook #12 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs with the football during the second quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium on October 15, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - OCTOBER 15: Alex Hornibrook #12 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs with the football during the second quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium on October 15, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images) /
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3. Michigan Wolverines

It was tough to put Michigan ahead of Penn State on this list, but the tie breaker ended up being pretty simple. Michigan has a unit without any question marks. The Wolverines defense might be the best in the entire country in 2018. There is NFL talent all over the field for Michigan on that side of the ball. They’ll be well-equipped to suffocate opponents with defense the way Wisconsin did last year.

Rashan Gary, Devin Bush and Chase Winovich are as talented of a three-headed beast that you can come up with on defense. All three put up big numbers for a dominant defense last year, and you can only expect them to get better.

Related Story: Top 5 defensive players in the Big Ten

The only thing that could get in Michigan’s way is Michigan. Ohio State too, I suppose, but we’ll get to that later. Michigan has struggled to meet expectations since Jim Harbaugh came to town. Last year was his worst in Ann Arbor, but the biggest reason why might have been solved. Shea Patterson, a transfer from Ole Miss, is eligible to play immediately for the Wolverines. Harbaugh hasn’t been able to deliver on developing his own quarterback, but picking one from another program should do just fine.

Patterson is still a wild card, but he’s easily the most talented quarterback Harbaugh has had at Michigan. Thankfully, he shouldn’t need to do much because of the defense backing him up. If Patterson plays at even an All-Big Ten level, then Michigan could compete for a national title.