Big Ten conference football

Big Ten football is suffering from a public relations problem right now. The on-field performance hasn’t been up to snuff for several years now, between close Rose Bowl losses and utter debacles in the majority of the minor bowl matchups against the SEC. Then there have been the off-field scandals at Ohio State and Penn State that effectively gutted the division race on one side of the conference. But if nothing else, the conference has a chance to fix its on-field perception this year, with most teams returning key players on the defensive front and most quarterback situations looking stable. TheSportsNotebook breaks down how the conference race is likely to shake out.