After consecutive losses to Michigan, Ohio State was picked to finished second in the conference behind the Wolverines, according to a preseason Big Ten football poll conducted by Cleveland.com.
This is the first time the Buckeyes were not chosen to win the conference since 2019, though Ohio State was chosen to win the Big Ten in each of the last two years before suffering losses to Michigan. The poll included 37 voters, with media representatives from every team in the conference.
This year, Michigan was selected as the favorite in the East Division with 27 first-place votes, followed by the Buckeyes with eight first-place votes and Penn State with a pair of first-place votes. The division was rounded out by Maryland, Michigan State, Rutgers and Indiana.
| Ranking | Team | Points (First-Place Votes) |
| No. 1 | Michigan | 248 (27) |
| No. 2 | Ohio State | 226 (8) |
| No. 3 | Penn State | 192 (2) |
| No. 4 | Maryland | 143 |
| No. 5 | Michigan State | 105 |
| No. 6 | Rutgers | 74 |
| No. 7 | Indiana | 48 |
In the West Division, Wisconsin earned 20 first-place votes with Iowa garnering 16 and Minnesota receiving a lone first-place vote. Following those teams were Illinois, Nebraska, Purdue and Northwestern, the latter of which recently fired head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
| Ranking | Team | Points (First-Place Votes) |
| No. 1 | Wisconsin | 233 (20) |
| No. 2 | Iowa | 232 (16) |
| No. 3 | Minnesota | 176 (1) |
| No. 4 | Illinois | 152 |
| No. 5 | Nebraska | 116 |
| No. 6 | Purdue | 89 |
| No. 7 | Northwestern | 38 |
In the Big Ten Championship Game, most voters predicted that Michigan would defeat Wisconsin (15 votes), with Michigan over Iowa (11 votes) viewed as another likely outcomes.
Eight voters saw Ohio State winning in the title game, with four selecting the Buckeyes to win over Iowa and another four picking Ohio State over Wisconsin. Other outcomes voted on included Michigan over Minnesota, Penn State over Iowa and Penn State over Wisconsin, all with one vote each.
