Big Ten media days preview: Six storylines to track, from Petitti’s remarks to Lanning’s candor

After ceding the spotlight for three consecutive weeks, the Big Ten takes center stage Tuesday as the last conference to hold its football preseason media extravaganza.

The three-day event in Chicago begins Tuesday and marks the unofficial start of the Big Ten’s quest for a national championship four-peat following the Ohio State, Michigan and Indiana runs to glory.

But there are more immediate issues for commissioner Tony Petitti, the 18 head coaches and 54 players scheduled to attend.

Here are six storylines to watch:

1. Petitti’s perspective

The third-year commissioner keeps a lower profile than his counterparts in the SEC (Greg Sankey) and Big 12 (Brett Yormark) but will take the stage Tuesday with a jammed plate of topics to address.

Petitti is a key player in the College Football Playoff expansion process and has gained widespread support for a 24-team field. What is the status of his negotiations with the SEC, which favors a 16-team field?

And have the CFP’s media consultants given any indication that an expanded event would generate enough revenue to justify eliminating conference championship games?

(The CFP faces a Dec. 1 deadline to settle on a format for the 2027 season.)

That’s hardly the only momentous issue facing college sports, and Petitti is smack in the middle of the other discussion, as well.

How does he view the Protect College Sports Act, the bipartisan legislation working through the Senate? To this point, the Big Ten and SEC have withheld support. But with the August recess approaching for lawmakers, progress is vital.

Have negotiations with Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) led to a breakthrough? And what if the PCSA dies in committee and the NCAA chaos continues? Would the Big Ten follow the SEC’s path and consider implementing a self-governing model?

Petitti’s comments on the issue will be closely watched.

2. Demond Williams in the glare

Williams’ stunning flirtation with the transfer portal in January is middle-aged news in Seattle. That’s not necessarily the case to the rest of the Big Ten (and college football). He’s bound to be asked, and perhaps grilled, about the situation Thursday during Washington’s session with the media.

How will he handle the questions? And what additional light could he shed on the re-assimilation process?

A breach of that magnitude does not heal instantly. That said, the sentiments Williams shares in Chicago could provide valuable insight.

3. Sticky schedule situation

One issue that’s sure to surface repeatedly: the Big Ten’s non-conference scheduling policy – or lack thereof.

The SEC, ACC and Big 12 require their schools to play at least one non-conference game against a Power Four opponent. The Big Ten does not, and the optics are poor.

Four of the conference’s top football programs (Indiana, USC, Penn State and Washington) have what could broadly be considered creampuff schedules outside of Big Ten competition.

The dearth of high-level early-season games impacts Big Ten schedule strength and TV inventory. Its network partners, Fox, CBS and NBC, are not exactly thrilled with the situation.

And increasingly, the SEC is using the disparity as a talking point to position itself ahead of the Big Ten in the CFP selection process.

Will Petitti give any indication the conference is considering a requirement comparable to what exists in peer leagues? Will the head coaches support the approach, or state their continued preference for lower scheduling standards?

4. “Michigan man” or man in Michigan?

Kyle Whittingham has made a slew of public appearances in maize and blue since accepting the Michigan job in December, but it remains jarring to the eyes.

We’re curious about his turn on the podium Thursday, particularly in the degree to which Whittingham sets expectations for the Wolverines.

How much will his Utah years – with all that time spent in the shadows of USC and Oregon – impact the tone and substance of his comments?

Or has Whittingham fully embraced the Ann Arbor aura, with all the trappings of success demanded from the bluest of blue bloods?

Final judgment awaits in November. But what Whittingham says, and how he says it, will offer a clue about his initial fit with the Wolverines.

5. What will Lanning say?

Once again, Oregon coach Dan Lanning has a roster capable of contending for the national title. That’s far beyond debate.

Our interest in Lanning’s on-stage appearance is rooted in his view of the landscape. Few coaches are more candid when it comes to addressing the state of the sport or more willing to offer solutions.

He has been a vocal proponent, for example, of concluding the playoff on New Year’s Day.

“Even if it means we start Week 0 or you eliminate a bye, the season ends Jan. 1,” Lanning said last winter, “and then the portal opens, then coaches that have to move on to their next opportunities get to move to their next opportunities.”

Whether it’s the controversial CFP selection process, the impact of the Protect College Sports Act, the state of non-conference scheduling, transfers and tampering or the new five-years-to-play-five eligibility rule, we suspect Lanning will have an opinion … or three.

6. More meat, less fat?

Few issues within the Big Ten football ecosystem carry more significance than the competitive imbalance: the top-heavy, middle-light nature of the conference.

Simply put: It has lacked quality depth the past two years, especially compared to the SEC.

Sure, the best of the 18-team Big Ten is better than the best of its chief rival – the CFP results offer plenty of proof — but the 16-team SEC is stronger in the middle and the bottom.

That’s due, in part, to the Big Ten’s size. If you lopped off the bottom two programs, it would look a bit more like the SEC. But as currently structured, the SEC has fewer easy outs.

If the CFP expands to 24 teams, quality depth becomes paramount in the selection process.

And so we wonder: Is there any reason to believe the likes of Minnesota, UCLA, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Nebraska and Minnesota are ready to elevate their performance and provide the meat that creates riveting competition on a weekly basis?

Last year, there were far too many snoozers in the Big Ten.

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