Big Ten media days to kick off with more off-field issues dominating the news

INDIANAPOLIS — The college football season is starting to wake from its offseason downtime, and each July conferences get the hype train rolling by holding media gatherings.

The Big Ten holds its football media days on Wednesday and Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and for the third consecutive year, off-the-field events are nudging their way into the spotlight. In 2021, the news that Texas and Oklahoma would leave the Big 12 for the SEC sent shockwaves to the annual meetings. Last year, the Big Ten made headlines with the news that Southern California and UCLA would leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024.

This year, the hazing allegations that prompted the ouster of respected Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald are front and center as the Big Ten meets in Indy. On Tuesday afternoon, the three Wildcats players scheduled to talk — linebacker Bryce Gallagher, defensive back Rod Heard II and wide receiver Bryce Kitz — announced they won't attend, not wanting to shift the focus from football and the upcoming season.

While the Northwestern situation will garner plenty of attention — as will reports of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh possibly facing a four-game suspension — there are several on-the-field questions that will help shape what transpires in the Big Ten's final season as a 14-team conference, with USC and UCLA beginning league play next year. Here is a sampling:

* Will Michigan extend its reign as conference champions to three consecutive years after back-to-back wins over Ohio State?

* Can the Buckeyes, who did everything but beat national champion Georgia before falling 42-41 in the College Football Playoff semifinals, regain supremacy over Michigan and advance to the playoff for a sixth time?

* Can a team from the West Division finally break through and win the Big Ten title? The East owns a 9-0 record over the West in conference championship games by an average score of 36-16.

* Four programs in the West — Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin — will be under new leadership this fall. Particularly interesting will be how Luke Fickell, who led Cincinnati to a CFP berth, and Matt Rhule, who resurrected programs at Temple and Baylor, fare in their first seasons at Wisconsin and Nebraska, respectively. Purdue's Ryan Walters figures to have a longer-term challenge, while Northwestern interim coach David Braun will try to keep the Wildcats program afloat.

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck will bring three players to Indianapolis on Thursday to represent the program: wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell, a seventh-year senior who's coming back from a season-ending knee injury; safety Tyler Nubin, who put his NFL dreams on hold to return in hopes of a dominant season that leads to him becoming a high draft pick; and tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford, who led the team with 42 receptions last year and also returned rather than leaving left early for the NFL.

The Gophers have posted back-to-back 9-4 seasons in which they finished in a second-place tie in the West Division. They've been one victory away from appearing in the Big Ten championship game in the past three full seasons and they'll try to scale that sizable hill in the final season of division play. Minnesota's challenge will be stiff, as 2022 College Football Playoff semifinalists Michigan and Ohio State appear on the schedule, along with West contenders Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.