Home Conferences FBS 2026 season

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

Big Ten

The Coast-to-Coast Era

The 2026 Big Ten season is underway — Ohio State holds the early power lead, but the picture is still open.

Big Ten carries real selection-room weight with 7 teams inside the top 25 and Ohio State driving a legitimate national ceiling.

#2overall

#2in FBS

+21.7RR50

+26.6upper strength

18teams

7top-25 teams

Big Ten, at a glance.

Top 10 by power rating — 2026 season, through the latest games.

Team Power Record RR50

Ohio State

1-1 +33.2

Oregon

1-1 +31.2

Indiana

2-0 +28.1

Northwestern

1-0 +26.5

Iowa

2-0 +25.6

Michigan

2-0 +25.5

USC

3-0 +24.3

Washington

2-0 +23.8

Penn State

2-0 +22.9

Nebraska

2-0 +22.7

Power snapshot Projected 2026 standing

The Coast-to-Coast Era

Indiana's 16-0 run in 2025 ended an eleven-year conference championship drought and gave the Big Ten its first national title since 2002. The coast-to-coast expansion delivered both the talent depth and the schedule credibility to put Indiana on a pedestal nobody predicted. Now the question is whether that ceiling is repeatable.

7 top-25 teams.

The depth argument for this conference rests on how many credible opponents are clustered behind the leader. A wide talent spread separates the haves from the have-nots.

Where things stand right now.

The 2026 Big Ten season is underway — Ohio State holds the early power lead, but the picture is still open.

Tools Matchup Simulator Compare Teams Playoff Forecast Style map Head to head Power map

The National Champions

Indiana Enters 2026 With a Target on Its Back

Indiana went 16-0 in 2025 — regular season, conference title, and national championship. They return as the highest-rated program in the conference and the CFP's defending champion. Every schedule-maker circled their name. The question is whether Indiana can meet a higher standard of opponent preparation in Year 2.

Why it matters →

The Frontrunner

Oregon Is Built for a Deep CFP Run

Oregon holds the conference's second-highest power rating entering 2026 and carries the clearest path to a first-round bye among non-Indiana programs. Dan Lanning's program is the Big Ten's argument that West Coast expansion raised the conference ceiling — and the most likely challenger to Indiana's title defense.

Why it matters →

The Storied Program

Ohio State's Title Window Is Still Open

Ohio State has reached the CFP in three of the last four seasons and still hasn't won it all since 2014. Ryan Day's roster is talented enough to compete — the question is whether they can close the gap against elite competition when it matters most.

Why it matters →

Active arcs our read

Hot3mo ago

NFL denies supplemental draft for Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby

Will Texas Tech prevail in its dispute with the Big 12 over quarterback Brendan Sorsby?

Oregon

Hot2mo ago

Virginia and Vanderbilt set future football matchups

How will these new series impact both programs' schedules?

Maryland

Hot3mo ago

Tennessee lands first $2 million running back David Gabriel-Georges over Ohio St

How will David Gabriel-Georges impact Tennessee's future?

Ohio State

Active1wk ago

Jeremy Hecklinski | Iowa Football | Sept. 5 - The Quad-City Times

Can Iowa overcome its losses and maintain success?

Iowa

Active3d ago

Boston College holds off Rutgers in emotional Red Bandanna Game

Can Rutgers bounce back after this tough loss?

Rutgers

All arcs →

Fan pulse Last 30 days · 35,243 mentions

18% positive 45% neutral 37% negative

Michigan

6,387

↓ negative

Ohio State

6,257

↓ negative

Nebraska

4,665

↓ negative

Oregon

2,992

↓ negative

Penn State

2,290

↓ negative

Washington

1,875

→ neutral

Fan confidence — FBS percentile

Where each Big Ten program stands nationally in fan sentiment (100th = most positive in FBS, 0 = least). Conference median: 30th percentile.

Leaning–

Leaning+2

Leaning-3

Leaning-5

Leaning-4

Leaning+2

Mixed-4

Mixed-9

Mixed-19

Mixed-7

Mixed-7

Mixed-4

Mixed–

Souring-14

Souring-8

Souring-6

Souring-23

Souring-11

⚡

Most volatile: Washington

Fan confidence has swung 64 percentile points in the last 8 weeks — currently at the 9th percentile nationally.

Rivalry face-offs

The Game

Ohio State vs Michigan

The coaching premium

Recruiting class rank vs. SP+ performance — where coaches add or subtract value

Above line = coaching premium

Below line = underperforming

Gap = recruiting rank minus SP+ rank

Positive gap means the coaching staff won more than the recruiting class predicted. Data: Big Ten teams, 18 programs.

Coaching premium ↑

Nebraska

+51

Northwestern

+41

Penn St.

+30

Indiana

+20

UCLA

+12

Underperforming ↓

Mich. St.

-90

Purdue

-62

Rutgers

-57

Illinois

-44

USC

-24

Standings

2026 season, in progress — sorted by power rating. Stature tag = interim Zeitgeist calibration (medium confidence).

#	Team	Record	RR50	Resume
1	Ohio State Blue Blood#2	1-1	+33.2	+51.0
2	Oregon Power Program I#6	1-1	+31.2	+10.8
3	Indiana Power Program II#21	2-0	+28.1	+64.2
4	Northwestern National Program III#65	1-0	+26.5	+66.3
5	Iowa Power Program III#24	2-0	+25.6	+72.5
6	Michigan Blue Blood#5	2-0	+25.5	+99.9
7	USC Power Program I#13	3-0	+24.3	+98.7
8	Washington Power Program I#15	2-0	+23.8	+98.4
9	Penn State Power Program I#11	2-0	+22.9	+98.8
10	Nebraska National Program II#42	2-0	+22.7	+96.9
11	Minnesota National Program I#40	1-1	+22.0	+16.5
12	UCLA National Program I#38	2-0	+20.9	+99.0
13	Maryland National Program III#72	2-0	+18.9	+94.2
14	Illinois National Program II#47	1-1	+18.4	+74.9
15	Rutgers Regional Program I#86	0-2	+16.6	+7.2
16	Wisconsin Power Program III#29	1-1	+16.5	+79.3
17	Purdue Regional Program III#95	1-1	+14.0	+65.7
18	Michigan State National Program II#55	2-0	+11.7	+97.8

Projected Standings · Big Ten · 2026

Win Projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. AVG = expected wins; W–L = most-likely record.

#	Team	W–L	PWR	AVG	≥9	≥8	≥7	≥6	≥5	≥4	≥3	≥2	≥1
Favorites
1	Ohio State	6–3	+10.8	6.2	3	18	44	71	90	97	✓	✓	✓
2	Oregon	6–3	+8.8	6.2	3	16	42	70	89	97	✓	✓	✓
3	Indiana	6–3	+5.7	5.5	1	8	25	52	77	92	98	✓	✓
4	Northwestern	5–4	+4.1	5.1		3	15	38	66	87	97	✓	✓
Challengers
5	Iowa	5–4	+3.3	5.1		4	15	38	65	86	96	99	✓
6	Penn State	5–4	+0.5	5.0		3	14	35	63	84	96	99	✓
7	Michigan	5–4	+3.1	4.9		3	13	35	62	84	96	99	✓
8	Washington	5–4	+1.4	4.7		2	11	29	56	80	94	99	✓
9	USC	5–4	+1.9	4.6		2	9	27	53	77	93	99	✓
The Field
10	UCLA	5–4	-1.5	4.7		2	10	28	55	80	94	99	✓
11	Nebraska	4–5	+0.3	4.4		1	7	22	47	73	91	98	✓
12	Minnesota	4–5	-0.4	4.3		1	7	21	45	71	89	98	✓
13	Maryland	4–5	-3.5	4.2		1	5	17	40	68	88	97	✓
14	Illinois	4–5	-4.0	3.6			2	9	26	52	78	94	99
Rebuilding
15	Wisconsin	4–5	-5.9	3.8			3	12	31	58	82	95	99
16	Rutgers	3–6	-5.8	3.5			2	8	23	48	75	92	99
17	Purdue	3–6	-8.4	2.9			1	3	12	32	60	85	97
18	Michigan State	2–7	-10.6	2.5				1	7	21	47	76	95

How they play

Six advanced-stat dimensions per team, ranked against all 134 FBS programs, 2026 season. Every column reads higher-is-better. Click a column to sort.

ScoringConvertsBig playsDefensePacePass rate

Team	Scoring	Converts	Big plays	Defense	Pace	Pass rate	Identity
Ohio State	+0.41	47.6%	+1.39	+0.04	67.5	51.1%	Balanced
Oregon	+0.21	38.2%	+1.58	-0.07	61.0	54.9%	Big-play offense
Indiana	+0.61	53.5%	+1.58	+0.09	54.0	29.6%	Grind-it-out
Northwestern	+0.48	50.9%	+1.49	-0.13	55.0	43.6%	Grind-it-out
Iowa	+0.04	40.1%	+1.07	+0.13	68.5	51.1%	Lockdown defense
Michigan	+0.13	35.7%	+1.36	+0.02	53.0	37.7%	Grind-it-out
USC	+0.37	56.8%	+1.15	-0.06	71.7	45.6%	Efficient offense
Washington	+0.07	44.2%	+1.00	+0.02	69.0	55.1%	No explosive plays
Penn State	+0.31	47.5%	+1.24	-0.00	66.5	40.6%	Balanced
Nebraska	+0.54	56.0%	+1.46	-0.12	70.0	45.7%	Efficient offense
Minnesota	+0.11	48.6%	+1.02	-0.03	67.0	60.5%	No explosive plays
UCLA	+0.28	49.9%	+1.17	-0.02	60.0	37.5%	Balanced
Maryland	+0.38	53.2%	+1.28	+0.09	78.0	51.3%	High-tempo
Illinois	+0.35	52.7%	+1.22	-0.27	55.5	47.8%	Defense is the problem
Rutgers	+0.13	40.4%	+1.47	-0.23	65.5	49.6%	Big-play offense
Wisconsin	+0.14	38.5%	+1.43	-0.17	57.0	45.6%	Balanced
Purdue	+0.33	50.0%	+1.13	-0.18	78.0	48.7%	High-tempo
Michigan State	+0.17	46.2%	+1.13	-0.19	77.0	39.0%	Balanced

Identity is the single dimension where a team is most above or below the FBS average (pace, defense, big plays, or converting drives) — "Balanced" means nothing stands out either way. CFBD 2026 advanced stats, excludes garbage time.

Top players

Big Ten's highest CFB Index Scores, 2025 season.

#	Player	Team	National
1	John NestorCB	Minnesota	#2 of 364
2	Jeremiah SmithWR	Ohio State	#1 of 485
3	Teitum TuiotiLB	Oregon	#4 of 583
4	Rolijah HardyLB	Indiana	#6 of 583
5	Anthony SmithEDGE	Minnesota	#9 of 420
6	Isaiah JonesLB	Indiana	#13 of 583
7	Jayden MaiavaQB	USC	#4 of 146
8	Tyrique TuckerEDGE	Indiana	#18 of 420
9	Bishop FitzgeraldS	USC	#14 of 544
10	Julian SayinQB	Ohio State	#5 of 146

Where Big Ten stands nationally

Conference strength by RR50 (round-robin adjusted power).

1 SEC SEC

+22.8

2 B10 Big Ten

+21.7

3 IND FBS Independents

+20.4

4 P12 Pac-12

+20.2

5 B12 Big 12

+19.5

6 ACC ACC

+19.2

7 AAC American Athletic

+17.3

8 SB Sun Belt

+17.0

9 CUSA Conference USA

+16.6

10 MAC Mid-American

+16.2

Big Ten title odds

Best available American odds · sportsbook consensus.

#	Team	Odds
1	Ohio State	+125
2	Indiana	+225
3	Oregon	+280
4	USC	+900
5	Penn State	+1400
6	Washington	+2800
7	Michigan	+2500
8	Iowa	+3300
9	UCLA	+8000
10	Wisconsin	+8000