On3's J.D. PicKell Has Surprise Pick for the Big Ten Title

Most analysts have the same team at the top in the Big Ten title chase. Joel Klatt, Josh Pate and Matt Leinart all doped out the conference race and all three came to the same conclusion: The Ohio State Buckeyes will win in 2024, because they have the most NFL talent and what could be college football's best defense.

J.D. PicKell of On3Sport's Hard Count goes against the grain.

PicKell hosts a daily YouTube podcast on college football with 176,000 subscribers. He's a former wide receiver at Cornell and Baylor, from Villa Park, California, an all-league and all-county selection at Orange Lutheran High School who played running back, quarterback, wide receiver and safety at one of the top schools in California's Southern Section.

As a senior at Cornell he was a Swiss Army knife, 87 rushing yards and a touchdown and 14 catches for 135 yards and a score while leading the Big Red in special teams tackles with 7. He's been On3's answer to Paul Finebaum for the last three seasons.

Yesterday in his College Football Predictions show he tabbed the Oregon Ducks to win the Big Ten. "I think it's Oregon, for two reasons," he said. "I think they have two edges that will allow them to win the Big Ten. The First is that if you're picking a question mark on Ohio State-and question mark is even a harsh term to use-if you're picking an area you're not a hundred percent sure about, it's the offensive line."

"Oregon's defensive line is going to be really, really good. They've got depth, they've got dudes in that starting lineup from Matayo Uiagalelei to Jordan Burch, to Derrick Harmon the Michigan State transfer who's like, 6-5, 320."

But the decisive factor to PicKell's eye is at quarterback. "I would give the edge to Dillon Gabriel in that game."

The On3 voice noted that depth will be a big factor in the conference race. He won't be surprised if the two teams meet twice or maybe even three times, October 12th, then again in the Big Ten title game, then in the College Football Playoff.

He also believes that the Oregon offense will be a perfect showcase for Dillon Gabriel, who's likely to be a Heisman finalist. Marquee games in November at Michigan and at Wisconsin give him a chance to win the trophy.