Can't Wait For Saturday Looking ahead to 2026 rankings, Big Ten, Illinois getting some love

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Jan. 23—***

What is wrong with college football fans and reporters?

The season is less than a week old — congrats again Indiana — and I'm already looking ahead.

Specifically, when I swing by The Athletic site and see uber-interesting Stewart Mandel has a story up, I've got to take a look.

On Tuesday, Mandel posted his first Top 25 for 2-26 Yes, the season is seven months away. Close enough to justify a look.

Mandel's first try treats the three-time defending champion Big Ten with great respect, starting with No. 1 Oregon. He has two other Big Ten teams in the Top 10 (No. 2 Ohio State and No. 6 Indiana) and four more in the Top 25 (No. 12 Southern California, No. 14 Michigan, No. 18 Iowa and No. 19 Washington).

And if you go to the bottom of the story, which I always do first, you will note Big Ten schools Penn State, Illinois and Minnesota among the "Just missed."

That makes 10 Big Ten schools, or 56 percent of the 18, being referenced. For comparison sake, there are nine mentions for the SEC. But hey, who is counting.

Mandel freely admits he picked Penn State as No. 1 a year ago, a guess that was just a bit off.

Makes sense to go with Oregon, which welcomes back quarterback Dante Moore, but did take some early NFL entry hits.

Oregon welcomes back its entire defensive line and studs at running back and receiver.

I have not attempted a full Top 25 for '26. Only a Top 10. That will come later, when the season is, says, four months away.

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