Before last season began, then-Maryland coach Randy Edsall predicted the Big Ten East Division would be "the toughest division in all of college football."
That pronouncement seemed premature, as only Michigan State and Ohio State had proved themselves as national powers to that point. But things change pretty fast in this sport, as Edsall can attest. The Terrapins fired him less than six months later.
And now, as Big Ten conference play is set to begin this weekend, a couple of things seem pretty clear. The East has a strong argument as being, in fact, the toughest division in football in 2016.