Wisconsin picked to win the West by Big Ten media members

The Badgers were voted to win the Big Ten West in the annual Cleveland.com preseason Big Ten media poll.

Each year Cleveland.com surveys a select group of 36 local media members from across the Big Ten to project the results of the upcoming football season and determine the preseason players of the year.

Days before Big Ten media days kick off in Indianapolis, the 12th annual media poll was published on Monday, and the Wisconsin Badgers enter the season as the clear favorites in the Big Ten West, according to the poll. Wisconsin received 31 of the 36 possible first-place votes, with three voters choosing Iowa and two others going with Minnesota.

Wisconsin has been the projected favorite in most seasons recently but will look to get back to Indianapolis for the B1G Championship for the first time since 2019.

Overall, here is how the committee sees each team finishing in the Big Ten West:

1. Wisconsin (31 first-place votes)
2. Iowa (three first-place votes)
3. Minnesota (two first-place votes)
4. Purdue
5. Nebraska
6. Illinois
7. Northwestern

The Ohio State Buckeyes were the unanimous choice to win the East Division and the conference championship in 2022. Trailing the Buckeyes, the media members have Michigan as the runner-up in the division, with Penn State and Michigan State just behind. Ohio State has been the top preseason selection in six of the past seven seasons.

Here are the complete Big Ten East projections:

1. Ohio State (all 36 first-place votes)
2. Michigan
3. Penn State
4. Michigan State
5. Maryland
6. Rutgers
7. Indiana

The voters also named Ohio State's CJ Stroud as the Offensive Player of the Year in a landslide. He earned 32 first-place votes, with teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba receiving two first-place votes and finishing second.

Wisconsin's Braelon Allen was a close third, finishing only five points behind Njigba, though he did not receive any first-place votes. Allen finished last season with 1,268 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns despite opening the 2021 season as the No. 4 tailback on the depth chart. He rushed for 100-yards in eight of the team's last nine games and is garnering national respect, showing up on both the Doak Walker and Maxwell Award Watch List the past two weeks.

Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa surprisingly received one first-place vote but was also left off multiple ballots.

Defensively, Iowa's Jack Campbell was voted preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He led the country in total tackles last season and finished with 20 first-place votes.

Wisconsin outside linebacker Nick Herbig was the runner-up with 10 first-place votes. Herbig has the most returning sacks of any player in the Big Ten from a year ago with nine sacks in total and added 14.5 tackles for loss in 2021.

Herbig is one of Wisconsin's three representatives for Big Ten media days this week, and he was also named to the Lott Impact Trophy Watch List earlier this summer.

You can read the entire Cleveland.com press release here. 

Related links:

• Wisconsin football fall camp preview: Safety
• Wisconsin center Joe Tippmann makes the Remington Trophy Watch List
• How Andy Vujnovich became one of the best punters in college football

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