The Big Ten arguably was college football’s best conference in 2016 despite a rough showing in bowl season. Here’s a look at some predictions and storylines for each team heading into 2017.

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You’ve heard the drama already. The champion of the nation’s best conference didn’t participate in the College Football Playoff, but a team that didn’t even win its own division in said conference received a bid.

Penn State’s unlikely rise to Big Ten champion wasn’t enough to make college football’s version of the Final Four, even with a signature victory over Ohio State. Instead, it was the Buckeyes who went to the Fiesta Bowl, but they were embarrassed by Clemson, 31-0, and put a black mark on the conference in the process.

In fact, the Big Ten’s 3-7 showing in bowl play sort of wiped away all the hype it gained throughout the season. But there’s always next year to get that train moving again.

Here’s a breakdown of what to watch for in the Big Ten in 2017, in order of finish from last season.

East Division

Penn State

The Nittany Lions won nine in a row after a 2-2 start, beat Ohio State and knocked off Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game. That wasn’t enough to get them to the College Football Playoff, but a Rose Bowl appearance was an accomplishment in itself. What’s more is that Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley both will be back to try and make a run at the Playoff next year.

Both shined in a thrilling 52-49 loss to USC in the Rose Bowl, and they’re going to be back stronger than ever next season. It’s not to say losing receiver Chris Goodwin to the NFL won’t hurt, but Penn State looks ready to take another step forward in 2017.

Ohio State

Urban Meyer didn’t take his first-ever shut out loss as a head coach too kindly. The Buckeyes’ offense next season reportedly will be under the direction of Kevin Wilson, the former Indiana head coach whom Meyer has admired from afar for quite some time. Wilson called J.T. Barrett “the best quarterback in college football” after Barrett ran for 137 yards in a win over the Hoosiers prior to Wilson resigning from Indiana after the season.

Now Wilson will get to work with Barrett and running back Mike Weber as Ohio State looks to make another run to the CFP. However, versatile All-American Curtis Samuel and wide receiver Noah Brown left early for the NFL Draft.

Ohio State will have to replace plenty on the defensive side of the ball, too, with Malik Hooker, Gareon Conley and Raekwon McMillan all leaving early, but Meyer’s teams always reload rather than rebuild.

Michigan

The heartbreaking double-overtime loss to Ohio State in the regular-season finale dropped Michigan from the College Football Playoff to the Orange Bowl, where FSU dealt it another tough defeat. Jabrill Peppers didn’t play, and Jake Butt’s send-off to the NFL was marred by an ACL injury.

All of that takes away from a pretty solid season from the Wolverines, who going to have to delve deep into their recent star-studded recruiting classes to replace some top talent. In addition to Butt and likely Peppers leaving, De’Veon Smith, Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson are gone from the offense. Defensively, Taco Charlton, Chris Wormley, Channing Stribbling, Delano Hill and Jourdan Lewis won’t be back, leaving Michigan with plenty of holes to fill for 2017.

And the season won’t start easily. Michigan faces SEC East champ Florida at AT&T Stadium on Sept. 2.

Indiana

Wilson’s abrupt and mutual resignation prior to the Hoosiers’ bowl game came as a big surprise, leaving Tom Allen in charge of continuing their gradual rise to competing in the Big Ten. Getting a team that has been to back-to-back bowl games is a good start.

Mike DeBord left Tennessee to be Allen’s offensive coordinator and is poised to have the Hoosiers moving the ball more efficiently. Allen said he’s going to stay out of DeBord’s way when it comes to the offense and focus on managing the defense, but we’ll see how that goes if Indiana isn’t performing up to par, especially with leading rusher Devine Redding having already declared for the NFL Draft.

Maryland

D.J. Durkin took Maryland to a bowl game in his first season, but he’s not going to settle for that. He’s been hot on the recruiting trail in his mission to build a Big Ten contender, bringing in seven four-star recruits for his 2017 class.

He also has freshman Lorenzo Harrison and sophomore Ty Johnson returning to form an underrated running back duo for offensive coordinator Walt Bell, who will have to groom another quarterback with Perry Hills gone.

Michigan State

The Spartans went from the College Football Playoff to 3-9, a drop-off that seemed impossible under coach Mark Dantonio, who resurrected the program from mediocrity. Avoiding another awful season falls squarely on the shoulders of running backs L.J. Scott, Gerald Holmes and Madre London.

It’s anyone’s guess if Brian Lewerke, Damion Terry or Messiah deWeaver will start at quarterback. Wide receiver Donnie Corley showed flashes as a true freshman, but things go so bad that he was also playing cornerback by the end of the season.

Speaking of the defense, lineman Malik McDowell and safety Montae Nicholson left early for the NFL Draft, while linebackers Riley Bullough and Ed Davis have exhausted their eligibility.

To put it plainly, Michigan State looks like it is in for another rough season. And that’s without mentioning it has to face both Michigan and Ohio State on the road.

Rutgers

Chris Ash knew he had a tough task ahead of him when he decided to leave Ohio State for the rebuilding project at Rutgers, but he’s on the right track. After going 2-10 overall and 0-9 in conference play, Ash currently has the 35th-best recruiting class in the nation coming, according to Scout.com.

The biggest issue is rebuilding a Scarlet Knights’ offense that was shut out four times last season. Ash has given that duty to Jerry Kill, the former Minnesota head coach who had to retire in 2015 because of ongoing health issues. Having Kill’s experienced mind running the offense should help put a couple more wins on the board in 2017.