After listing our top-five players in the conference at each position going into the 2019 season, now it's time to evaluate some big picture storylines that could shape how the Big Ten plays out.

We continue our annual Ranking the Big Ten series today by taking a look at the league's most difficult schedules, which feature some grueling roads to Indianapolis.

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Michigan has its eyes on a Big Ten championship this season, but its road to accomplish that goal is as difficult as any team in the conference. For starters, the Wolverines face a Middle Tennessee team that's posted seven straight winning seasons, an Army team that is 28-10 over the last three years, and host Notre Dame in late October on their non-conference slate.

After that, UM draws Big Ten crossover games at Wisconsin and home vs. Iowa in addition to its always-tough East Division games. The final six games of the schedule feature a road trip to Penn State and home contests vs. Notre Dame, in-state rival Michigan State, and the annual finale vs. bitter rival Ohio State.

Michigan State has the defense to compete for a Big Ten title this season, but it's going to have to earn it every step of the way. After a non-con home game vs. Arizona State, which beat MSU in Tempe a year ago, the Spartans face an absolutely brutal conference schedule.

League play opens with a five-game stretch that includes road games at defending West Division champ Northwestern, defending East Division champ Ohio State, and Wisconsin as well as a home matchup against Penn State. Michigan State also has to travel to take on rival Michigan in November in a game that could have major implications.

Iowa's non-conference scheduling has generally been relatively soft, but that's changed a bit with the rise of in-state rival Iowa State. The annual Cy-Hawk game in Ames will be one of the Big Ten's best non-conference matchups in September, and it will set the tone for a challenging league slate.

Not only that, Iowa has an early conference game vs. Rutgers on Sept. 7 and will face the same Middle Tennessee team that has wins over Missouri and Syracuse over the past three seasons. The Hawkeyes will then have to travel to Michigan, Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Nebraska as well as a home game vs. Penn State. Overall, Iowa will play nine bowl teams from 2018, the most of any Big Ten program this year.

New head coach Mike Locksley will get a warm welcome to the Big Ten this season, as his Maryland squad faces a daunting conference schedule and made things even more difficult for itself with a stout non-league slate.

The Terrapins host Syracuse and travel to Temple, which beat them last year, before entering a Big Ten run that boasts cross-division games at Purdue, at Minnesota, and home vs. Nebraska. Add in the divisional games, which include road trips to Ohio State and Michigan State, and Maryland will be facing a major uphill battle in Locksley's debut.

The good news for Wisconsin is that it has a favorable non-conference schedule and gets the majority of its tough Big Ten games at home in Camp Randall. The bad news is that as far as conference draws are concerned, the Badgers got it about as bad as it gets.

After opening the year with a potentially tricky trip to South Florida, Wisconsin will have to play crossover games vs. Michigan, vs. Michigan State, and at Ohio State to go along with a much tougher West Division schedule. The Badgers' also end the year with a five-game gauntlet of at OSU, home vs. Iowa, at Nebraska, home vs. Purdue, and at Minnesota.