Athlon Sports spoke to Big Ten coaches and ensured anonymity so they could speak openly about conference foes. We broke down their comments on Michigan in an article earlier this week, and now it’s time for a look at what coaches said about the Wolverines’ eight Big Ten opponents and Oklahoma, which was anonymously broken down by fellow SEC staff members.

Oklahoma — Sept. 12

SEC coach: “[Quarterback John Mateer] has a ridiculously high ceiling.”

SEC coach: “That offense has answers for everything. They don’t do a ton, but everything they do complements the other thing. When he just executes and then makes splash plays here and there, they complement their elite defense very well.” 

SEC coach: “I was impressed with how [head coach] Brent [Venables] and [general manager] Jim Nagy structured the team, and it feels like they finally hit on what the recipe is to be successful there.” 

SEC coach: “Defensively, it’s so many multiples. Week to week, they won’t do the same pre-snap look again, so whatever you prepare for, you’re not gonna get. Obviously, you want to create indecision with young quarterbacks or new quarterbacks in the system, and they do that at a really high level.”

Iowa — Sept. 26

Big Ten coach: “I heard that at Wake Forest, [former transfer quarterback] Jeremy Hecklinski struggled a bit there. Struggled to put on weight, struggled to buy into the intensity of college football a bit. I’m interested to see how he progresses at Iowa.”

Big Ten coach: “It’ll really be interesting to see with them the new philosophy of adding more transfers. What they’ve been doing has been working. It’s been developmental, but in this day and age, you can’t do that anymore. You have to adapt and make the right choices in the portal. I would still bet a lot of money that they’re going to be really good, and the culture of their team will still be intact.”

Minnesota — Oct. 3

Big Ten coach: “They’re so consistent. I would anticipate them staying at the level they’ve been at, probably not competing for the conference. I wouldn’t call them a dark horse. They won’t be in the bottom half [of the Big Ten].”

Big Ten coach: “They evaluate really well. They’re just like Illinois. Their GM [Gerrit Chernoff] is awesome. They have a really, really good personnel staff. They know exactly what their wheelhouse is, and they strike really well in it.” 

Big Ten coach: “It’s funny because P.J. Fleck’s thing is ‘Row the Boat,’ which is so fitting for them because in college football, whether the decision is right or wrong, as long as everybody is in it together, you’re usually gonna do something good. That’s what they are.”

Penn State — Oct. 17

Big Ten coach: “I don’t necessarily know that they’re gonna be immediately good in Year 1, but I thought the three big guys who followed [former defensive coordinator] Jim Knowles to Tennessee went for way more money than I would’ve paid them if I were Penn State. I thought they made a couple of really good adds. I also thought they kept a couple of really good players that could’ve left, like [linebacker] Tony Rojas. That’s a really good player that probably could’ve gone anywhere for a lot more money than what he got at Penn State.” 

Big Ten coach: “I thought they did really well with their personnel. They obviously took a lot of Iowa State players. That made sense. They took pretty much that whole offensive staff and brought a lot of defensive players from Iowa State. That brings continuity throughout that roster.”

Indiana — Oct. 24

Big Ten coach: “The biggest glaring thing is the production they lost in the receiver room. They’ve got some young guys coming in, and they paid a s— ton for [Michigan State transfer receiver] Nick Marsh, so we’ll see how he does. They’re just gonna be very young there.” 

Big Ten coach: “Defensively, they still return most of their production. But to me, it’s hard to replicate what [Fernando] Mendoza did. [TCU transfer quarterback] Josh Hoover is a good player. I think he’s got some turnover issues. But other than that, they reloaded.”

Rutgers — Oct. 31

Big Ten coach: “I get the sense that the school thinks they’re actually going to make this investment and give [head coach] Greg Schiano a chance to get it done because they have not done that yet. The people there know that he’s basically been fighting that fight with a hand tied behind his back.”

Big Ten coach: “Schiano is an excellent coach. He works incredibly hard. But at some point, it’s a results business, so I would imagine that the rubber meets the road in the next year or so if they can’t make a turn.” 

Big Ten coach: “But they were just not talented on defense last year. You turn on the tape, and they didn’t have anybody that could do anything. That’s a program problem. If you’re in the Big Ten, and you’re unable to recruit good players into your program, it’s gonna be tough.”

Michigan State — Nov. 7

Big Ten coach: “Their entire staff of position coaches made me go, ‘Oh, s—. Interesting.’ They brought in a lot of good coaches, so I think they’ll be a good team this year.” 

Big Ten coach: “I don’t think they added a lot of players that change the game for them, but you could tell from the outside that the culture wasn’t great. Maybe them losing a bunch of players and talent and completely hitting the reset button is actually a good thing. I’m pretty bullish on them.” 

Big Ten coach: “I thought picking up [offensive line coach] Nick Tabacca was really smart. And [safeties coach] James Adams, he is absolutely unbelievable. He’s the best I’ve ever been around in terms of a coach, an evaluator, a recruiter; he makes his guys want to run through a brick well every day. Any staff that he’s on, stock up big time.”

Oregon — Nov. 14

Big Ten coach: “That might be the best roster in college football, with the returners they have on the D-line and the back end, with the addition of Koi Perich from Minnesota — and then offensively, they basically return everyone but Malik Benson, Kenyon Sadiq and a couple running backs, but they played three running backs all year. They lose a couple O-linemen, but I think they feel fine about it. [Dante Moore] was the best quarterback we faced last year.”

Big Ten coach: “With them, the key is going to be how their coordinators put their guys in position to make plays because at no point did I think what they did on defense was super complicated, but it was just so sound and everyone was doing their job at a high level. When you watch them on tape, they look like a team with a lot of 5-stars.”

UCLA — Nov. 21

Big Ten coach: “If I was going to defend [QB Nico Iamaleava], I would do some things to stop him from running and make him throw the ball — particularly downfield. He’s a playmaker. But without his feet and without his ability to scramble, I’m not sure he can sit in the pocket and carve you up. It’ll be interesting to see what the NFL guys think of him. He’s a good player and can take a hit, but he just didn’t seem like he could kill you with his arm.” 

Big Ten coach: “I was blown away with what their NIL budget was a few years ago. It was unfathomably low. I don’t know if they’ve gotten that ramped up.” 

Big Ten coach: “I’ve heard they’ve been kind of arrogant on the road with following the [Curt] Cignetti model. Like, ‘Look who we are,’ instead of saying, ‘We’re gonna do this the right way.’ I’m interested to see how [new head coach Bob Chesney] does, though.”

Ohio State — Nov. 28

Big Ten coach: “I thought the [defensive coordinator] Matt Patricia hire was awesome last year. What made them so good was they were super simple. They’d let you take something super short and run your base stuff, and then not budge to that. Then the second you get out of your stuff, they’re ready for it. They were mentally tougher than you.” 

Big Ten coach: “It was so innovative what they did with their coordinators because in today’s game, coordinators are being taken out of their college stuff. They thought, why not bring in two NFL guys [as coordinators] who might not — from the outside looking in — be known for their relatability to players and all that other BS who are just known for being schematic dudes that know what the f— they’re doing from a scheme standpoint, and they’ve executed that really well.”