Minnesota fans already know the drill: once the season gets rolling, kickoff times become a weekly guessing game, and the TV networks hold most of the cards. That’s why projecting the Gophers’ 2026 schedule is less about certainty and more about reading the tea leaves the Big Ten leaves behind.
The challenge starts with how the conference’s television system actually works. The Big Ten’s current setup runs through FOX, CBS, and NBC, with FOX also using FS1 and NBC’s side of the deal including Peacock. The Big Ten Network is part of the mix too, usually grabbing what’s left after the bigger players make their choices.
FOX is the league’s lead partner, but that doesn’t mean it simply gets first crack at every week’s biggest game. Instead, the networks and the conference go through a draft of sorts, with each outlet working through a set number of selections for the season.
FOX gets the first three picks, then CBS or NBC goes next depending on the year, and the order keeps moving around as dictated by the contract. Those picks can even be traded, which makes the whole thing feel a lot like a fantasy football draft.
Even then, the “picks” aren’t final in the way fans might expect. They function more like reservations, because after the first three weeks of the season, the Big Ten shifts into a 12-day selection window. That means as the games get closer, the networks can still change course.
A week 10 example makes the system easier to see. Ohio State hosting Oregon would almost certainly be the top choice that week, and that game would likely be one of FOX’s first three selections.
If NBC had the second pick, it might initially take Penn State at Washington. But that choice wouldn’t be set in stone.
Once week 8 games are complete and the networks need to lock things in, NBC could decide that Penn State and Washington no longer look like the kind of matchup it wants. Because it has that second pick, it could pivot to another game outside of Ohio State-Oregon, such as Michigan State at Michigan, even if that had originally been a CBS selection.
And then there’s the added wrinkle that makes fans groan: the “6 day holds.” A few times each season, networks can wait until six days before kickoff to make their call, which means some game times stay unresolved even when the calendar is already tight.
That’s the real headache behind forecasting Minnesota’s schedule. Week by week, there’s no reliable way to know which network will be picking first, second, or third.
The best guesses come from pattern spotting. Notre Dame home games in primetime tend to push NBC into doing something unusual with its Big Ten selection. FOX has also shown a clear preference for Ohio State and Michigan, and since Big Noon Saturday starts at 11 AM, west coast games are off the table for that window.
It’s messy, unpredictable, and often feels like a shot in the dark. Still, that’s the game when you’re trying to map out a Big Ten schedule before the networks finally decide to stop playing coy.
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