The Big Ten could be the most entertaining league in the country this fall, and that has a lot to do with the schedule finally lining up in a useful way. The conference’s projected heavyweights - Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State and USC - are set to face one another five times out of a possible six, which means the top end should sort itself out on the field instead of in the rankings.
That creates a fascinating backdrop for a season loaded with big questions. Can Curt Cignetti and Indiana keep rolling after losing Fernando Mendoza and a veteran core?
Can Oregon’s Dante Moore turn himself into a top-three draft pick? Is this the year Lincoln Riley gets USC all the way there?
And can Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham and Penn State coach Matt Campbell make immediate contender cases with new teams? There’s also one more year to enjoy Ohio State star Jeremiah Smith.
Here’s how the league is projected to shake out, with Indiana and Oregon both finishing 8-1 in conference play and 11-1 overall, Ohio State and USC right behind them at 7-2 and 10-2, and Indiana taking the Big Ten title game over Oregon. The playoff picture, in this forecast, includes Indiana, Oregon, Ohio State and USC.
Indiana is picked to repeat at the top. The reasoning is simple: Cignetti’s team is expected to be strong on both lines, control games on the ground and get the most out of TCU transfer quarterback Josh Hoover. The gap between the Hoosiers, Ducks and Buckeyes is viewed as tiny, but Indiana gets the nod.
Ohio State is forecast to take a hit or two. That’s not a wild guess when you look at the schedule, which includes road trips to Texas, Indiana, USC and Iowa, plus home games against Oregon and Michigan. Losing three top-11 defensive picks - Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs - only makes the path tougher.
USC is the other team projected to break through and reach the Playoff. Riley has a veteran quarterback in Jayden Maiava, a strong offensive line and a new defensive coordinator in Gary Patterson. The Trojans do have to survive a difficult schedule, but the path is there if they can beat either Oregon or Ohio State at home and avoid one of the road losses that has tripped them up before.
Quarterback play, meanwhile, should be one of the league’s biggest attractions. Oregon’s Moore, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, Washington’s Demond Williams Jr., Hoover and Maiava headline the group, with Maryland’s Malik Washington and Minnesota’s Drake Lindsey among the names to watch as well.
Penn State is expected to be a mixed bag in year one under Matt Campbell. Some see an easy road to 12-0, while others think the move away from Iowa State will be too much too soon. The projection lands in the middle, with Campbell bringing talent from Ames but still facing a major culture shift in one offseason.
Michigan’s first year under Kyle Whittingham is also expected to come with some turbulence. The Wolverines have talent, including running back Jordan Marshall and cornerback Jyaire Hill, but five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood is projected to have a lower ceiling than many expected. That could matter against a demanding schedule that includes Oklahoma, Iowa and Penn State at home and Minnesota, Oregon and Ohio State on the road.
Wisconsin is the team projected to take a real step forward. Luke Fickell, who received a midseason reprieve from former athletic director Chris McIntosh, steadied things by ending a six-game skid with wins over two Top 25 teams.
The Badgers also invested in the roster and may finally have a quarterback in Old Dominion’s Colton Joseph. The result here is a jump from 4-8 to at least 7-5.
UCLA is another team expected to rise. Bob Chesney is the pick as the best coaching hire of the carousel after leading James Madison to the Playoff and winning everywhere he’s been.
He inherits quarterback Nico Iamaleava and brings over JMU standouts Wayne Knight, who posted 1,770 all-purpose yards in 2025, and defensive end Sahir West, who had 7 sacks. That should help UCLA move well beyond the eight total wins it has managed over the past two seasons.
Nebraska, though, is projected to tread water. The Huskers were 6-2 in late October when Matt Rhule got a new contract, then finished 7-6 after Dylan Raiola got hurt and transferred to Oregon. They’re experienced, but a lot is riding on former Virginia and UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea, and the expectation here is a low-level bowl.
At the bottom, the Big Ten is still expected to stack bowl teams. Purdue and likely Michigan State are the only teams projected to be clearly bad, and the league is forecast to send 14 teams to six wins. That would set a conference record and edge the SEC’s best mark, which has happened twice, along with the ACC’s once.
In Other News...
Michigan Just Changed The Big House Experience For A New Era
Michigan Stadium is about to look a little different on game day. Michigan Athletics has launched the Leaders and Best Champion Partners Program, opening the door to official corporate advertising inside the Big House for the first time, with Coca-Cola, Meijer and Google Gemini among the inaugural partners. The university says the branding will be designed to fit the familiar maize-and-blue look that has long defined the place, a sign of how even college footballs most traditional settings are adapting to a new era.
For Michigan, the move is about more than adding logos to one of the sports most recognizable venues. The program is intended to bring in revenue that can help support student-athletes as the college sports landscape keeps changing, and it puts the Wolverines among the programs finding new ways to fund the future without losing sight of the past. The Big House has always been a symbol of scale and tradition, but now it is also becoming part of the broader business conversation shaping the sport. [Read more 🡒]
Former Michigan QBs Are Sending A Message About The Position Room
Since J.J. McCarthy moved on, Michigan has been trying to steady the most important spot on the field, and the churn has been impossible to miss. Sherrone Moore has seen the quarterback room change shape repeatedly, with Davis Warren, Jake Garcia, Jadyn Davis, Alex Orji, Mikey Keene and Jayden Denegal all leaving for new programs and landing in very different situations as they try to carve out their next roles.
What makes the exodus notable is how broad it has been: some of those former Wolverines are already starters elsewhere, while others are still fighting for jobs heading into the 2026 season. For Michigan, it is another reminder that the post-McCarthy transition has been about more than finding one new quarterback - it has been about rebuilding confidence and continuity in a room that still feels very much in motion. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan May Have Found A Receiver Changing The Camp Pecking Order
Sophomore wide receiver JJ Buchanan is making a noticeable push in Michigans fall camp, and it is not hard to see why the staff likes what it has found. After a solid first season at Utah, where he caught 26 passes for 427 yards and five touchdowns, Buchanan has drawn praise from position coach Micah Simon for his leadership, work ethic and knack for competing on contested throws. His background as a basketball player has also been mentioned as a plus, which fits the kind of physical, above-the-rim traits that can stand out when camp turns into a daily competition.
For Michigan, the encouraging part is not just that Buchanan is flashing, but that he seems to be climbing toward a role the offense can count on. He is viewed as a strong candidate to help on the 50-50 balls that often decide tight games, and the buzz around him suggests he could become one of the more important targets in the lineup before long. The bigger question now is how far that momentum carries once the Wolverines start sorting out the full pecking order at receiver. [Read more 🡒]