[2] With a win over Ohio State on November 27[3] Michigan clinched a share of the Big Ten East division championship and a spot in the Big Ten Championship game against Iowa on December 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
[9] Below are the results of the preseason media poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses.
For the 2021 poll, Ohio State was voted as the favorite to win both the East Division and the Big Ten Championship Game.
The Big Ten champion is also eligible for the College Football Playoff if it's among the top four teams in the final CFP ranking.
On December 22, Texas A&M withdrew from the Gator Bowl, citing a breakout of positive COVID-19 cases and season-ending injuries limiting them to few players.
Coaches Honorable Mention: ILLINOIS: Sydney Brown, Owen Carney, Vederian Lowe, Alex Palczewski; INDIANA: Matthew Bedford, Peyton Hendershot; IOWA: Tyler Goodson, Jack Koerner, Mason Richman, Noah Shannon, Tory Taylor; MARYLAND: Jakorian Bennett, Dontay Demus, Jaelyn Duncan, Ami Finau, Rakim Jarrett, Chigoziem Okonkwo, Taulia Tagovailoa; MICHIGAN: Erick All, Christopher Hinton Jr., Trevor Keegan, Josh Ross, Brad Robbins, Luke Schoonmaker, Mazi Smith, D. J. Turner, Andrew Vastardis; MICHIGAN STATE: Matt Allen, Quavaris Crouch, Xavier Henderson, Connor Heyward, Jarrett Horst, Kevin Jarvis, Jacob Slade, Payton Thorne; MINNESOTA: Ko Kieft, Esezi Otomewo, Sam Schlueter, Mariano Sori-Marin; NEBRASKA: Damion Daniels, Marquel Dismuke, Adrian Martinez, Luke Reimer, Ben Stille, Deontai Williams; NORTHWESTERN: Adetomiwa Adebawore, A. J. Hampton, Evan Hull, Brandon Joseph, Cameron Mitchell; OHIO STATE: Sevyn Banks, Cameron Brown, Emeka Egbuka, Antwuan Jackson, Jeremy Ruckert; PENN STATE: Tariq Castro-Fields, Sean Clifford, Jesse Luketa, Juice Scruggs, Rasheed Walker; PURDUE: Jaylan Alexander, Cam Allen, Branson Deen, Payne Durham, Mitchell Fineran, Jalen Graham, Greg Long, Dedrick Mackey, Tyler Witt, Milton Wright; RUTGERS: Olakunle Fatukasi, Isiah Pacheco, Julius Turner; WISCONSIN: Noah Burks, Nick Herbig, Faion Hicks, Isiah Mullens, Jack Nelson, Scott Nelson, Joe Tippmann, Collin Wilder.
Media Honorable Mention: ILLINOIS: Sydney Brown, Owen Carney, Blake Hayes, Doug Kramer, Vederian Lowe, James McCourt, Johnny Newton, Alex Palczewski, Keith Randolph, Devon Witherspoon; INDIANA: Ryder Anderson, Matthew Bedford, Ty Fryfogle, Jaylin Williams; IOWA: Seth Benson, Jack Koerner, Sam LaPorta, Mason Richman, Noah Shannon, Tory Taylor; MARYLAND: Spencer Anderson, Jakorian Bennett, Nick Cross, Ami Finau, Rakim Jarrett, Jordan Mosley, Chigoziem Okonkwo, Sam Okuayinonu, Taulia Tagovailoa; MICHIGAN: Erick All, Blake Corum, Ryan Hayes, Christopher Hinton Jr., Trevor Keegan, Brad Robbins, Luke Schoonmaker, Mazi Smith, D. J. Turner; MICHIGAN STATE: Matt Allen, A. J. Arcuri, Blake Bueter, Matt Coghlin, Quavaris Crouch, J. D. Duplain, Cal Haladay, Connor Heyward, Jarrett Horst, Kevin Jarvis, Jalen Nailor, Darius Snow, Payton Thorne; MINNESOTA: Chris Autman-Bell, Jack Gibbens, Ko Kieft, Tyler Nubin, Conner Olson, Esezi Otomewo, Sam Schlueter, Mariano Sori-Marin; NEBRASKA: Damion Daniels, Cam Jurgens, Luke Reimer, Ben Stille, Samori Toure, Deontai Williams; NORTHWESTERN: Adetomiwa Adebawore, A. J. Hampton, Evan Hull; OHIO STATE: Sevyn Banks, Cameron Brown, Denzel Burke, Steele Chambers, Emeka Egbuka, Tommy Eichenberg, Antwuan Jackson, Matthew Jones, Jeremy Ruckert, Bryson Shaw, Taron Vincent, Tyleik Williams, Luke Wypler; PENN STATE: Ellis Brooks, Ji'Ayir Brown, Tariq Castro-Fields, Sean Clifford, Jahan Dotson, Curtis Jacobs, Mike Miranda, P. J. Mustipher, Joey Porter Jr., Juice Scruggs, Brandon Smith, Jordan Stout, Brenton Strange; PURDUE: Jaylan Alexander, Cam Allen, Branson Deen, Mitchell Fineran, Jalen Graham, Gus Hartwig, Tyler Witt, Milton Wright; RUTGERS: Christian Izien, Isiah Pacheco, Julius Turner; WISCONSIN: Tyler Beach, Keeanu Benton, Noah Burks, Nick Herbig, Faion Hicks, Chez Mellusi, Isiah Mullens, Jack Nelson, Scott Nelson, Joe Tippmann, Collin Wilder, Caesar Williams.
* Tom Allen was hired to replace Kevin Wilson in December 2016 at Indiana and coached the Hoosiers in their 2016 bowl game, going 0–1.
The Scarlet Knights competed in the Big East Conference in his previous stay at the school.