Big Ten power rankings: Preseason presents new pecking order

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The 2026 college football season proper is but three weeks away, and at least one Big Ten team will see action in Week 0 in just two weeks (USC will host San Jose State). And with that, expectations are high for all teams, whether warranted or not.

So who will be the best in the Big Ten and who will be the worst? What teams will challenge within the conference and which teams have a chance at the College Football Playoff?

We always do our own proprietary Big Ten power rankings here at WolverinesWire, and for this preseason, we decided to get a little mathematical. We ranked the teams in terms of their 2025 win percentage, coaching prowess, returning number of players, preseason expectations, and quarterback. Yes, they're all subjective rankings (and we also leaned on ESPN SP+, 247Sports talent rankings, and CBS Sports' Top 150 to help) but it gave us a bit of a baseline to work with.

With that in mind, some teams ranked here should be ranked higher or lower, based on our own expectations. But still, we trusted our rankings for each individual category, and stuck with the points assigned to each. Without further ado, here are our preseason Big Ten power rankings with two or three weeks to go.

18. Purdue Boilermakers

Points: 16

Barry Odom enters year two, and expectations for the Boilermakers remain low. Though quarterback Ryan Browne is returning, it still feels like it will be a few years before Purdue gets back to being a challenge for most teams in the Big Ten. Even still, we do believe that they won't finish last in the conference, even if it remains near the bottom.

17. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Points: 24

Rutgers has improved greatly from being the preeminent Big Ten bottom-feeder, but at the same time, this doesn't feel like a team that will challenge for much this season. Dylan Lonergan (Boston College) will take over as quarterback, but the ceiling remains bowl eligibility.

16. MSU Spartans

Points: 25

Former Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald takes over the program, and while expectations in East Lansing are high, given his overall competency, it should take several years for MSU to become a team that opposing Big Ten teams fear. Quarterback Alessio Milivojevic showed some glimpses as a backup last year, but this isn't a team that has a lot of talent, which is problematic for the Spartans.

15. Northwestern Wildcats

Points: 32

Northwestern is a team we believe will be ranked much higher than this once the season kicks off. David Braun made a couple of gambits, bringing in Chip Kelly to revamp the offense and quarterback Aidan Chiles from MSU. The defense is always good in Evanston, but if the offense can reflect Kelly's style and dynamism, this could be a sneaky good team within the Big Ten.

14. Wisconsin Badgers

Points: 33

This is Luke Fickell's last chance, and though there's been some tumult in Madison over the past year, he got another season to see if he can make it work. With former Old Dominion quarterback Colton Joseph leading the charge, there are hopes that Fickell can rekindle his time at Cincinnati more so than what he's done with the Badgers or his sole season leading Ohio State in 2011.

13. Maryland Terrapins

Points: 39

Maryland has continued to skirt the edge of bowl eligibility, and with the most returning production in the Big Ten, along with dynamic sophomore quarterback Malik Washington, there are hopes in College Park that the Terps can somehow be even better than typical. The opening part of the schedule could prove beneficial, but it's the backend, as always, that proves to be more challenging.

12. Illinois Fighting Illini

Points: 42

We had high preseason hopes for Illinois last year, but the 2025 season did not go as well as expected. Luke Altmeyer is finally gone, but Bret Bielema brought in former MSU and East Carolina quarterback Katin Houser to lead the charge. Could Houser's return to the Big Ten go better than it had with the Spartans? If the Illini can have solid line play, it could challenge more than people think.

11. UCLA Bruins

Points: 43

After successfully taking over for Curt Cignetti at James Madison, Bob Chesney has found himself in Westwood and Pasadena, looking to revamp a talented roster that hasn't been able to get much of anything going since joining the Big Ten. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava hasn't lived up to his lofty recruiting rankings, but Chesney could whip him into shape. It's a difficult schedule, but one step at a time.

10. Iowa Hawkeyes

Points: 49

Iowa is ranked in pretty much every preseason ranking, but with some of the least amount of returning talent in the conference (and country), along with expected starting quarterback Jeff Hecklinski, this feels like it could be a step-back year for the Hawkeyes.

9. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Points: 53

Underestimate PJ Fleck and Minnesota at your own peril. Fleck has consistently fielded good but not great teams in Minneapolis, and he may have found a solid quarterback in sophomore Drake Lindsey. This feels like a year where the Gophers surprise people and go on a bit of a run and finish near the top of the Big Ten.

8. Penn State Nittany Lions

Points: 58

Matt Campbell did a solid job over a long period at Iowa State, but will it work in Happy Valley? Quarterback Rocco Becht followed him from Ames, as did much of the Cyclones team. It's a manageable schedule, so Penn State very well should end up ranked much higher, even if it doesn't look like a finished product in Campbell's year one.

7. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Points: 60

Matt Rhule has turned around every team he's taken over — except Nebraska. Even with the former No. 1 overall QB in Dylan Raiola, it didn't quite work in Lincoln. Now, the hope is that Anthony Colandrea will look more like how he did at UNLV compared to Virginia. There's a lot of returning talent, but time is running out for Rhule with the Huskers.

6. Washington Huskies

Points: 69

Washington has been quite good under Jedd Fisch, albeit not quite as good as it was under Kalen DeBoer. But having another year with quarterback Demond Williams (a benefit given his almost-departure this offseason) should help out greatly. Fisch is a brilliant offensive mind, but it hasn't completely clicked in the Big Ten the same way it did during his Arizona tenure in the Pac-12.

5. Michigan Wolverines

Points: 75

Kyle Whittingham had 21 years of proven head coaching experience at Utah, now what will it look like when he has more talent at his disposal? With Bryce Underwood returning at quarterback, if the staff can fix some of his freshman issues and get the pass game going, the Wolverines will stand a chance. But the schedule is among, if not at the top of the hardest in the country.

4. Indiana Hoosiers

Points: 77

The defending national champion should be higher in our opinion (but we stuck with the numbers). Even with the high rankings given last year's result and having the top coach in the Big Ten, the overall talent rankings sunk the Hoosiers a couple of spots. Can Josh Hoover be as good as Fernando Mendoza was last year? That remains to be seen, but this is still a talented team, even if it doesn't completely look like it on paper.

3. USC Trojans

Points: 80

The Lincoln Riley experiment hasn't quite gone according to plan in Los Angeles, even if it's been better than several of his predecessors. But with Jayden Maiava back for another year, and a defense that's continuing to improve, the Trojans wouldn't be a surprise team to break through at this point.

2. Ohio State Buckeyes

Points: 87

Not just because of the rivalry, but we're not as high on Ohio State as many of the preseason analysts. OSU is considered by many to be the national champion favorite, but that's generally the case. Yes, the Buckeyes have the best player in college football in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, but with much of the defense turning over and a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith, and an absolutely brutal schedule, this could be a slight step-back year for Ohio State.

1. Oregon Ducks

Points: 91

Our preseason favorite, not only in the Big Ten, but in the country, Oregon has so much talent, so much returning talent, and the preseason Heisman Trophy frontrunner in quarterback Dante Moore. With a potent offense and perhaps the best defensive front in college football, we're picking the Ducks to win their second Big Ten title and first-ever national championship.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Big Ten power rankings: Preseason presents new pecking order

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