Big Ten East football looked different than it ever had before last season.

Because of COVID-19, the division’s seven teams all kicked their seasons off without fans in October. Some squads played as many as nine games, while others competed in as few as five. Only two teams in the division finished with win percentages over .500: Indiana and Ohio State.

This season, all Big Ten East squads figure to stand on more equal footing. Every team is set to play 12-game schedules beginning Sept. 4. With the start of the Big Ten East season less than a week away, The Daily Iowan examines the division and breaks down some major storylines for each of its teams.

Indiana (6-2)

Last season, Indiana’s offense was explosive — for the most part.

With starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. on the field, the Hoosiers averaged 34 points per game. When Penix Jr. was not playing, Indiana could only muster up about 20 points per game.

In the Hoosiers’ Nov. 28 matchup with Maryland last season, Penix Jr. tore his ACL on a run play toward the sideline. At Big Ten Football Media Days July 23, Penix Jr. told reporters he’d be ready for Indiana’s season opener against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City Sept. 4.

Head coach Tom Allen said Penix Jr. won’t be competing in any contact drills this offseason. So, the first live hit Penix Jr. will take since he injured his knee will come from a Hawkeye defender.

Penix Jr. has also dealt with his share of ailments in the past — injuring his ACL on one other occasion in 2018 and breaking his right clavicle in 2019.

Maryland (2-3)

Maryland’s 2020-21 campaign was marred by COVID-19.

The Terrapins played their first three games of the year without any virus issues, but their luck did not last. Four of Maryland’s last six games in 2020-21 were canceled.

So, the Terrapins finished last season with a 2-3 record in just five games played.

Both head coach Mike Locksley and starting quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa are returning to Maryland this season. Locksley is entering his third year with the Terrapins. This season will be Tagovailoa’s second year starting at Maryland since he transferred from Alabama in 2019.

The Terrapins have not boasted a winning percentage over .500 since 2014 when they went 7-6. Maryland kicks off its 2021-22 campaign at home Sept. 4 against West Virginia.

Michigan (2-4)

Michigan football logged its first losing season since 2014 last season. The Wolverines played in six games, finishing the year 2-4.

Michigan played the first six games of its 2020 campaign but could not finish the season because of COVID-19. The Wolverines’ final three games against Maryland, Ohio State, and Iowa were canceled.

Despite the Wolverines’ poor win-loss record last year, Michigan Athletics extended head football coach Jim Harbaugh through 2025 during the offseason.

Joe Milton, who Harbaugh started at quarterback in four of Michigan’s six games last year, transferred to Tennessee in April. Cade McNamara will replace Milton — Michigan named its starting QB shortly after Milton announced that he had entered the transfer portal.

McNamara played in four of the Wolverines’ games last season — two of which saw him throw 20 or more passes in relief of Milton.

Michigan State (2-5)

At Big Ten Football Media Days in July, Michigan State head football coach Mel Tucker said his team is trying to improve upon its 2-5 2020-21 record via the “aggregation of marginal gains.”

In the five contests Tucker’s Spartans lost last year, their average margin of defeat was 26.4 points per game.

Tucker has yet to name his team’s starting quarterback for the 2021-22 season. Rocky Lombardi, who took most of the Spartans snaps under center last year, transferred to Northern Illinois last December.

According to MLive, Michigan State’s offseason quarterback competition between Payton Thorne and Anthony Russo is still ongoing.

Ohio State (7-1)

After a College Football Playoff National Championship Game appearance in 2020-21, Ohio State enters the 2021-22 season as the prohibitive favorite to win the Big Ten East. Yahoo Sports, The Athletic, and Athlon Sports have all picked the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten East this year.

Ohio State will, however, be starting a new quarterback this season. 2020-21 Buckeye starter Justin Fields left school early to enter the NFL Draft, eventually landing with the Chicago Bears.

Now, the Buckeyes will turn to C.J. Stroud — a redshirt freshman from Empire, California, who has only played in three college games. The 6-foot-3, 218-pound Stroud briefly competed in the 2020-21 College Football Playoff Semifinals when Fields sat out a few snaps because of an injury. He also played in two blowout Buckeye victories over Michigan State and Rutgers last year.

Stroud has never started a college game, but Buckeye head coach Ryan Day named him Ohio State’s starting QB on Aug. 21.

Penn State (4-5)

Before last season, Penn State football finished all of its yearly campaigns since 2004 with an above .500 record. In 2020, the Nittany Lions went 4-5.

Penn State lost its first five games last year and struggled to find consistency at the quarterback position. While the Nittany Lions did start now-senior Sean Clifford in all their games last year, they weren’t afraid to turn to backup Will Levis if Clifford struggled.

Clifford was the only quarterback in for the Nittany Lions throughout their first three games last season. In Penn State’s fourth game of the year against Nebraska, however, head coach James Franklin benched Clifford in favor of Levis.

From then on, both quarterbacks competed in each of the Nittany Lions’ remaining six games. With both quarterbacks playing, Penn State won its last four games of the 2020-21 season.

Levis transferred to Kentucky this offseason, leaving Clifford to anchor the Nittany Lions’ quarterback room by himself in 2021-22. The next three quarterbacks behind Clifford on Penn State’s depth chart are underclassmen — only one of whom has played in a college game.

Rutgers (3-6)

Rutgers was one of just two Big Ten East teams to play the entirety of its nine-game, conference-only schedule in 2020. The Scarlet Knights and the Nittany Lions were the only squads that managed to play a full season without any of their games being canceled because of COVID-19.

Rutgers went 3-6, picking up wins over Maryland, Michigan State, and Purdue. The Scarlet Knights have not finished a season with a winning record since they joined the Big Ten in 2014.

Rutgers’ starting quarterback, Noah Vedral, will be donning the Scarlet and White for the second straight season. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior has played at three different schools in his collegiate career: Nebraska, UCF, and Rutgers.

Head coach Greg Schiano will be coaching Rutgers for a 12th season in 2021-22. Schiano was at the helm at Rutgers from 2001-11 before he left the institution for a job in the National Football League. He began his second stint as Rutgers’ head coach in 2019.