Ranking each Big Ten team’s schedule for the 2026 football season

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Fall and football are right around the corner, and coming off three straight national championships, the Big Ten is set to have another doozy of a year. Spring camp is behind us, and expectations are being set for each program in the hopes to make it a four-peat for the conference.

Let’s take a look at who has the easiest to the most difficult schedule to try and decipher who may have an easier path to the postseason.

No. 18 – Penn State Nittany Lions

• Toughest games: USC, at Michigan, at Washington

Penn State is primed for a great season in the first year of the Matt Campbell era. No Oregon. No Indiana. No Ohio State. Veteran quarterback Rocco Becht could get things amped up quickly in Happy Valley.

No. 17 – Wisconsin Badgers

• Toughest Games: Notre Dame, at Penn State, USC, at Iowa

Luke Fickell is fighting for his job after losing his starting quarterback every season he has been in Madison. Even starting the year against Notre Dame at Lambeau Field, Wisconsin has little excuse to not be an above average team this year. Anything less than eight wins would be a disappointment.

No. 16 – UCLA Bruins

• Toughest Games: at Oregon, at Michigan, USC, Illinois

A former James Madison head coach coming to the Big Ten and bringing a lot of talent with him. Sound familiar? The Bruins, led by first-year head coach Bob Chesney, could be primed for a strong season if they can win their game against middle of the pack teams and pull of an upset in one of three games that could be ranked battles.

No. 15 – Iowa Hawkeyes

• Toughest Games: at Michigan, Ohio State, at Washington, at Illinois

The rest of the way out, every team will play at least one of the big three (Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana) once. The Hawkeyes get Ohio State at home and their win total is at 7.5. Even with only six returning starters, they’ll have a chance to be the thorn in the top of the Big Ten’s sides again this year. But can they find a quarterback?

No. 14 – Maryland Terrapins

• Toughest games: at Nebraska, at Ohio State, at USC, Penn State

The Terps are ahead of Iowa mostly because they go to the Horseshoe and the Coliseum. Even with a weaker schedule, Maryland is only projected at 4.5 wins. Another offseason went on where Mike Locksley found a way to keep his job, but that could change if they aren’t bowl eligible for a third consecutive season.

No. 13 – Minnesota Golden Gophers

• Toughest Games: at Washington, Michigan, Iowa, at Indiana, at Penn State

If the expectation for P.J. Fleck is to make a bowl game, he doesn’t have much of an excuse this season. Minnesota brought in a ton of transfers, highlighted by quarterback Drake Lindsey from Arkansas and receiver Perry Thompson from LSU. The duo joins running back Darius Taylor for what could be a much improved Gophers offense this season.

No. 12 – Michigan State Spartans

• Toughest Games: at Notre Dame, at Michigan, Washington, Oregon

The start of the Pat Fitzgerald era in East Lansing won’t be pretty. With the win total at 4.5, the Spartans may not win a conference game this season, and they have Notre Dame in the non-conference as well.

No. 11 – Rutgers Scarlet Knights

• Toughest games: USC, Indiana, Michigan, at Penn State

Add Rutgers in the same bucket as Michigan State. Maybe they get lucky and pull off a home upset to secure a bowl game, but that’s probably the ceiling for the Scarlet Knights in Year 6 of Greg Schiano’s second stint.

No. 10 – Illinois Fighting Illini

• Toughest games: Duke, at Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa

Ohio State and Oregon are doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, along with a non-conference game vs Duke. Even with a quarterback change, this might be Bret Beilema’s best shot at making the College Football Playoff. That Week 2 game against Duke could be the difference of that becoming reality.

No. 9 – Indiana Hoosiers

• Toughest games: at Nebraska, Ohio State, at Michigan, USC, Washington

Coming off a national title, Curt Cignetti has to feel really good about the way the schedule lines up in 2026. The Hoosiers should easily be undefeated heading into a big two-week stretch against Ohio State and Michigan. Come out of that unscathed, and they have a fantastic shot at going undefeated again in the regular season.

No. 8 – Purdue Boilermakers

• Toughest games: Notre Dame, Washington, at Penn State, at Iowa, at Indiana

This Purdue team could be the worst in the conference’s modern day history. They’re ranked No. 82 in ESPN’s offseason SP+ rankings, the lowest of any Power 4 school. Their over/under is 3.5 games, and the money is on the under at -145.

No. 7 – Oregon Ducks

• Toughest games: at USC, at Illinois, at Ohio State, Michigan, Washington

Oregon could be the favorite to win it all this year, but I don’t expect a perfect regular season from the Ducks. USC looks legit, and that’s Oregon’s first conference game in Week 4. The Ducks also have to go to Illinois two weeks before a massive game against the Buckeyes.

No. 6 – Washington Huskies

• Toughest games: at USC, Iowa, at Nebraska, Penn State, Indiana, at Oregon

Returning quarterback Demond Williams is the X-factor for the Huskies this season. He showed flashes of greatness last season, but he needs to take the next step for Washington to compete in the Big Ten. That’s because of schedules like this one, facing two of the best three teams in the conference with road games in Lincoln and Los Angeles to boot.

No. 5 – USC Trojans

• Toughest games: Oregon, at Penn State, Ohio State, at Indiana

Lincoln Riley probably has his best team at USC this season, and they’ll have to prove it playing each of the Big Ten’s best three teams. A CFP appearance is the expectation this season, but this schedule might amplify the noise on if Riley is the right man for the job.

No. 4 – Nebraska Cornhuskers

• Toughest games: Indiana, at Oregon, Ohio State, at Iowa, Washington, at Illinois

You want the real reason Dylan Raiola left his starting gig to be a back up at Oregon? He was petrified by this schedule. The Cornhuskers get Indiana and Oregon in back-to-back weeks, and three out of the final four games are on the road. He was jumping off a sinking ship to preserve his draft stock and Patrick Mahomes comparisons at all costs. Matt Rhule is in for a tough one in 2026.

No. 3 – Northwestern Wildcats

• Toughest games: at Indiana, at Oregon, at Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa, Illinois

Poor Northwestern. The Big Ten did the Wildcats so dirty, as they are the only team in the conference that has to play at Indiana, at Oregon and at Ohio State this year. If it weren’t for their non-conference, they’d have the toughest schedule in the conference.

No. 2 – Michigan Wolverines

• Toughest games: Oklahoma, Indiana, Penn State, Iowa, at Oregon, at Ohio State

Year 1 for Kyle Whittingham won’t be easy. The Wolverines get September matchups vs Oklahoma and Iowa. It doesn’t get any easier from there, as Michigan also gets Penn State and Indiana in back-to-back weeks in October, and Oregon and Ohio State on the road in November. This is the schedule you pay $12 million to a five-star quarterback for.

No. 1 – Ohio State Buckeyes

• Toughest games: at Texas, at Iowa, at Indiana, at USC, Oregon, Michigan, Illinois

The Buckeyes have a four-week stretch of at Indiana, at USC, and vs Oregon, and there’s a real shot they lose all three. Immense talent is on this roster, but there is a world where they have four top-10 opponents in the regular season. Welcome to the new era of college football.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos