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Football power remains centered in Big Ten East Division

Posted at 2:35 PM, Aug 09, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-09 14:37:13-04

(AP) — The big change in the Big Ten this coming football season is the move to a 9-game conference schedule. What doesn’t figure to change is the dominance of the East Division.

Ohio State, Michigan and defending champion Michigan State all are positioned to make runs at being national top-10 teams, if not College Football Playoff contenders.

Last season, Michigan State went to the playoff and was joined by fellow East members Ohio State and Michigan among the top 12 teams in the final Top 25. Iowa, at No. 9, was the only West team among the top dozen.

Commissioner Jim Delany says shuffling the divisions is not in the plans. He terms the East’s recent dominance of the conference a “little cyclical.”

Michigan continues its rise under Jim Harbaugh, and the Wolverines are contenders to win the Big Ten and figure in the playoff picture if they can end their four-game losing skid to Ohio State. (Michigan is featured on the cover of the regional edition of Sports Illustrated’s College Football Preview.)

Michigan State won the East and went to the playoff after ending Ohio State’s 30-game conference win streak in Columbus. The inclination would be to expect the Spartans to take a step back because of key departures on offense.