2016 Preseason Coaches Poll Shows Big Ten Is Now on Equal Footing with the SEC

Despite laying claim to the reigning national champion and coming off a winning bowl season that included a 3-2 mark against college football's most prominent conference, the Big Ten had little to brag about in comparison to the SEC when the preseason Amway Coaches Poll was released 12 months ago.

What a difference a year makes.

While the SEC can once again call itself the home of college football's national champion, the Big Ten suddenly finds itself on nearly equal ground with its neighbors to the South following Thursday's release of this year's preseason coaches poll.

The SEC holds a 6-4 advantage over the Big Ten in terms of teams represented, but the discrepancy between the two in the top 15 of the poll is minimal, with the SEC's mean ranking of 7.25 sitting just slightly ahead of the Big Ten's average of 9.75.

Factor in that Wisconsin finished second in votes received, just two spots behind No. 25 Florida—as well as possible sanctions looming for No. 12 Ole Miss—and the gap between the two leagues gets even tighter, especially compared to where each stood a year prior.

Even with Ohio State's near-unanimous No. 1 ranking coming off the Buckeyes' national title season of 2014, the SEC dominated last year's preseason coaches poll, occupying eight spots of the first official top 25 poll of the 2015 season. The Big Ten, meanwhile, laid claim to just three teams in last year's preseason poll—overshadowed completely by the SEC's taking up nearly one-third of the poll.

Ranking	Team
1.	Alabama
5.	Ohio State
6.	LSU
8.	Michigan
10.	Tennessee
11.	Michigan State
12.	Ole Miss
15.	Iowa
16.	Georgia
25.	Florida

And yet despite the Crimson Tide winning their third national title in five years—thanks in part to a 38-0 win over Big Ten champion Michigan State in the College Football Playoff semifinal—perception seems to still be shifting in the Big Ten's favor.

At the very least, the two conferences certainly appear closer than they were just four years ago, when the SEC was in the midst of a seven-year national title run as the Big Ten endured a decade-plus-long championship drought.

"I was shocked when I came here in 2012, the amount of disrespect for the Big Ten, nationally," said Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, who won the first two of his three national titles in the SEC at Florida in 2006 and 2008. "But then you look at the draft picks, the recruiting cycles, you never saw Big Ten teams in the top five, the top 10, and now you're seeing it."

The Buckeyes—the highest-ranked of any Big Ten team in this year's poll at No. 5—have been a bigger part of that than anyone else in the conference. Since Meyer arrived in Columbus in 2012, he has signed four top-five recruiting classes, and despite replacing 16 starters from last year's team, Ohio State is currently considered the league's best shot at dethroning Alabama and, in turn, the SEC.

With a Week 3 battle against No. 3 Oklahoma looming, it may not take long for the Buckeyes to do so—at least as far as the polls are concerned.

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Also boding well for the Big Ten in 2016 is that as opposed to last year's poll, the conference no longer appears to just be Ohio State and everyone else. Coming in at No. 8, Michigan is a viable national title contender entering its second season under Jim Harbaugh, with key returning pieces on both sides of the ball combining with the nation's fifth-ranked 2016 recruiting class to make up one of the country's most talented rosters.

"We have the talent, we have the young guys who can come in and help us out. We have the coaching staff," said Wolverines All-American corner Jourdan Lewis. "We have everything in place to be one of those programs to say we're one of those teams who can compete or contend for a championship."

Not far behind the Big Ten's two tentpole programs sit a pair of teams with contrasting outlooks entering 2016.

At No. 11, Michigan State is replacing plenty, including three-year starting quarterback Connor Cook, leading receiver Aaron Burbridge, first-round offensive lineman Jack Conklin and star defender Shilique Calhoun. Having won two of the past three Big Ten titles, however, the Spartans have earned the benefit of the doubt to some degree and are just now beginning to reap the recruiting rewards of their on-field success.

Conversely, No. 15 Iowa returns most of the key cogs—including quarterback C.J. Beathard and Thorpe Award-winning corner Desmond King—from last year's 12-0 Big Ten West championship team, but has hardly been the model of consistency as a program under Kirk Ferentz. Furthermore, season-ending losses to Michigan State in the Big Ten title game and Stanford in the Rose Bowl raised red flags as to whether the Hawkeyes were more pretenders than contenders in 2015.

Nevertheless, with a manageable schedule, Iowa should remain in contention throughout the bulk of the 2016 campaign.

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

And then there's the question of who will be this year's Hawkeyes—a team currently under the radar that finds itself making a splash.

Whoever it is may ultimately prove to not be championship-worthy, but a surprise contender could certainly help the Big Ten in its perception battle with the SEC, which currently holds an advantage when it comes to second-tier teams.

"There will be two or three that surface. Iowa last year became one of the best teams in the country. I don't remember them being picked very highly," said Meyer. "There will be some really good football players out there. Something's going to happen that maybe all of us don't expect."

Comparing the Big Ten's presence in the coaches poll to the SEC's, perhaps it's already happening. From numbers and championship standpoints, the SEC still holds a slight edge, but its lead is dwindling as the pieces are in place for 2016 to be the year the Big Ten establishes itself as college football's most prominent conference.

"I feel a much different vibe," said Meyer, "about the respect for the Big Ten."

Based on the first official poll for the 2016 season, the Ohio State head coach isn't alone.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod.

Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. Recruiting and class ratings courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings.