Next year, everything changes. College football begins the era of a 12-team playoff and 16-team megaconferences. The Big Ten will be responsible for the most jarring of all changes, the additions of USC and UCLA. Soon we will live in a universe in which UCLA and Rutgers are conference mates. It’s going to take a while for that universe to feel like home.

It’s almost comforting, then, to take some time to say hello to an old, reliable (and soon outdated) friend: the Big Ten West.

I’ve been as loud as anyone in advocating for the ditching of divisions in favor of a scheduling structure with permanent rivals and rotated opponents. It will make sure everyone in these huge conferences plays each other more often and will assure that a given conference title game is between its two best teams. But I have to admit, I’m going to miss the Big Ten West. As a competitive entity, it certainly wasn’t great. Sometimes it wasn’t even good. Its champions have gone 0-9 in the Big Ten championship game, losing by an average score of 37-16. But no division has had such a reliable identity. The rest of the world could try to keep up with the offense-friendly times; the Big Ten West, however, has continued to live the defense-and-power-football life.

Last year alone, West teams ranked first (Iowa), second (Illinois), fifth (Minnesota) and 14th (Wisconsin) in defensive SP+, while Purdue’s No. 50 offense was by far the best of the bunch. In this year’s SP+ projections, four of the nation’s top defenses live in the West. No top 40 offenses do.

You be you, West. Let’s preview you one last time.

Every week through the offseason, Bill Connelly will preview another division from the Group of 5 and Power 5 exclusively for ESPN+, ultimately including all 133 FBS teams. The previews will include 2022 breakdowns, 2023 previews and burning questions for each team.

Sourced from ESPN