Week 0 is in the rear-view mirror, and Week 1’s arrival is imminent. Of the 18 teams in the conference, only USC took the field in Week 0. The result was an easy victory over San Jose State. I predicted how USC will fare in its other 11 games, and did the same for every Big Ten team. Along with win-loss projections, I leave you with three predictions ahead of the college football season.
The first is that the national champion won’t come from the Big Ten or the SEC. I like the Miami Hurricanes.
The second is that the Heisman Trophy winner will be a running back. You probably guessed it, give me Miami’s star running back Mark Fletcher.
The third is that Oregon won’t reach the Big Ten Championship Game. But it’ll be the team that Miami beats in the national title game.
- Indiana (11-1)
Wins: North Texas, Howard, WKU, Northwestern, at Rutgers, at Nebraska, Ohio State, Minnesota, USC, at Washington, Purdue
Loss: at Michigan
I am a big believer in Indiana because Curt Cignetti is the best football coach in the sport. I respect the two national championships Kirby Smart has won at Georgia, but nobody in the sport could’ve executed what Cignetti has in Bloomington thus far. It’s not a rebuild. A rebuild suggests that the program was once worth talking about. Indiana was a bottom dweller in the Big Ten, and now it’s fresh off a national championship. If you think Cignetti is going to have a drop off, well, I have bad news for you. Fernando Mendoza now resides in Las Vegas, and the pressure is now on TCU transfer Josh Hoover’s shoulders. The thing about Cignetti is that he’s been sensational at finding perfect plug-and-play guys, so I think Hoover will excel.
Indiana’s toughest game on the schedule is Ohio State, but it’s a home game. It will be the best environment that stadium has ever seen and the wild amounts of alcoholic beverages will be consumed by Hoosier fans as they celebrate another victory over the Buckeyes. One week later, Indiana suffers its lone regular season defeat at the hands of Michigan on the road.
- Ohio State (11-1)
The way I see it, Ohio State is the best team in the Big Ten. It might be the best team in the country. Some will argue Oregon, but the Buckeyes have the nation’s best player in Jeremiah Smith and a head coach in Ryan Day that has won a national championship. While Dan Lanning is certainly on the right track at Oregon, his inability to win when it matters most has left the Ducks on the wrong end of blowout CFP losses the last two seasons. Those two teams meet Nov. 7 and I think the Buckeyes beat the Ducks, and every other team not coached by Curt Cignetti. The head-to-head loss to Indiana will give the Hoosiers the tiebreaker, so Ohio State finishes No. 2 in the standings but has a shot at redemption as the two square off in the Big Ten Championship Game for the second straight season.
I got this far without mentioning the Texas game. Whoops. I’m not sure how I feel about Texas. I’ve expected an SEC Championship the last two years and it hasn’t happened yet. I think Ohio State is better coached and I think it handles the daunting a raucous crowd in another low scoring rock fight.
Wins: Ball State, at Texas, Kent State, Illinois, at Iowa, Maryland, at USC, Oregon, Northwestern, at Nebraska, Michigan
Loss: at Indiana
- Oregon (11-1)
Oregon fans have been saying it forever. This is the year. You know what? Maybe they have a point. The Ducks have immense depth and return its signal caller Dante Moore, who could be in for a Heisman Trophy worthy season. Under Lanning, Oregon has been a wrecking ball in the regular season and I think that continues this season as most teams just don’t have the roster or depth to match up well for 60 minutes. Of course, what matters most for Oregon is what happens after the regular season concludes. Can the Ducks finally climb the mountain and stand atop college football? History suggests no. Experts predict yes. Oregon’s lone defeat will be to Ohio State. The tiebreaker puts the Buckeyes ahead of the Ducks, who get extra rest before the College Football Playoff.
Wins: Boise State, at Oklahoma State, Portland State, at USC, UCLA, Nebraska, at Illinois, Northwestern, Michigan, at Michigan State, Washington
Loss: at Ohio State
- USC (9-3)
It’s easy to laugh at USC. The constant hype that ends with disappointing seasons. The lackluster environment. The fall from grace. Enjoy it while you can, USC’s campaign won’t be humorous. Lincoln Riley needs to have a breakthrough season and get the Trojans to the College Football Playoff and a 9-3 record as a Big Ten program should be enough to get there. The key for the Trojans is avoiding bad losses. Perhaps the most important game on the schedule, aside from the obvious three, comes against Washington in what could end up being a win-and-in game when the College Football Playoff committee is reviewing the body of work for teams on the bubble. To me, that game is a coinflip. I think Riley is a better coach than Jedd Fisch, so I give the Trojans a tiny edge in that game. If it were in Seattle, my pick would be the Huskies. The win that feels like Riley has turned the corner will come on the road against Penn State.
Wins: San Jose State, Fresno State, Louisiana, at Rutgers, Washington, at Penn State, at Wisconsin, Maryland, at UCLA
Losses: Oregon, Ohio State, at Indiana
- Penn State (9-3)
After tracking wins and losses, I was surprised that I had Penn State at 9-3. Then I checked the wins and thought, “wow, this is an easy schedule.” Penn State is looking to work its way back into a contender following the firing of James Franklin and first-year head coach Matt Campbell is the man tasked with doing it. Making matters easier is his familiarity with several newcomers that followed him from Iowa State, including quarterback Rocco Becht. I don’t see the Nittany Lions walking into Husky stadium and leaving victorious, and beating Michigan on the road feels like an equally tall task. So, the defining games on the schedule are home games against USC and Minnesota. I predict they’ll split those games, but winning both would leave the Nittany Lions as two-loss team in my projection.
Wins: Marshall, at Temple, Buffalo, Wisconsin, at Northwestern, Purdue, Minnesota, Rutgers, at Maryland
Losses: USC, at Michigan, at Washington
- Minnesota (9-3)
Minnesota’s schedule is pretty manageable as well. The biggest obstacle will be its road trips. All three of its losses will come on the road, falling to Washington, Indiana and Penn State. But it’ll pick up a pivotal road win against Wisconsin and go undefeated at home, including a victory over Michigan. I predicted Minnesota will have the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in EDGE Anthony Smith. Now here I am predicting the Golden Gophers will be the B1G surprise team in 2026.
Wins: Eastern Illinois, Mississippi State, Akron, Michigan, at Purdue, Iowa, UCLA, Northwestern, at Wisconsin
Losses: at Washington, at Indiana, at Penn State
- Michigan (8-4)
For a while, Kyle Whittingham was the nation’s most underrated coach. One of the Wolverines’ defeats will come in a non-conference bout against the Oklahoma Sooners. The other three losses are all road games against Minnesota, Oregon and Ohio State. I was split on the Minnesota bout, but if I’m going to put my faith in the Gophers then I need to stand by it.
Wins: Western Michigan, UTEP, Iowa, Penn State, Indiana, at Rutgers, Michigan State, UCLA
Losses: Oklahoma, at Minnesota, at Oregon, at Ohio State
- Nebraska (8-4)
If Nebraska can beat Washington on Halloween and snap its three-game skid against Iowa on the road, we’re looking at a strong season for head coach Matt Rhule. Nebraska handles business against the easiest opponents on its schedule, splits the aforementioned Washington and Iowa bouts. It suffers a frustrating loss to Illinois and drops the toughest games on its schedule against Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State.
Wins: Ohio, Bowling Green, North Dakota, at Michigan State, Maryland, Washington, at Rutgers, at Illinois
Losses: Indiana, at Oregon, at Iowa, Ohio State
- Washington (8-4)
I don’t think there are eight teams better than Washington in the Big Ten. But hey, that’s life in the Big Ten. This conference is loaded with talented teams and I’ll need to be wrong about one or two games for the Huskies to make the CFP. Jedd Fisch has built the Huskies into a CFP hopeful and it’ll be a major accomplishment if he can do it in his third season at the helm. He has a quarterback capable of winning a Heisman Trophy in Demond Williams, but in order for that to happen, the Huskies will need to establish its rushing attack to take pressure off of their star quarterback. Washington’s biggest star on defense won’t be on the field this season and while that’s typically a bad thing, it’s defensive coordinator Ryan Walters who holds the honor. His defense played well against high octane offenses last season, particularly against Ohio State and Oregon, and repeating that success will determine whether or not the Huskies make the CFP.
If you think my prediction is harsh, here’s something to consider. Washington has been stellar at home, so an upset over Indiana is certainly a possibility. Do I find it likely? No, because Cignetti is Cignetti. I also feel pretty confident that the Huskies won’t match up well with the Ducks on the road. But… Washington vs. USC is a toss-up, and depending on how UW’s rushing attack looks early in the season, I might pick UW to win that game. Then there’s Nebraska. A blackout under the lights on Halloween in a stadium that holds over 85,000 just does not sound like a fun night of football. However, Washington is the better team, and if it wants to be a CFP team, winning that type of games is how you get there.
Wins: Washington State, Utah State, EWU, Minnesota, Iowa, at Purdue, Penn State, at Michigan State
Losses: at USC, at Nebraska, Indiana, at Oregon
- Iowa (8-4)
If Iowa loses to Washington and Michigan, beats Nebraska and all four teams finish with the same record, there’s a tiebreaker scenario that I’ll let the computers worry about. Iowa is the team I feel least confident in of the four so Iowa gets the No. 10 slot. Sounds fair to me! Iowa drops its four toughest games on the schedule against Michigan, Ohio State, Washington and Minnesota, but beats its rival Nebraska for the fourth straight season.
Wins: NIU, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Wisconsin, at Northwestern, at Illinois, Purdue, Nebraska
Losses: at Michigan, Ohio State, at Washington, at Minnesota
- UCLA (7-5)
Wins: San Diego State, Purdue, at Maryland, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Nevada
Losses: at California, at Oregon, at Minnesota, at Michigan, USC
- Illinois (7-5)
Wins: UAB, Duke, Southern Illinois, Purdue, at Maryland, Nebraska, at Northwestern
Losses: at Ohio State, at Michigan State, Oregon, at UCLA, Iowa
- Michigan State (5-7)
Wins: Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Illinois, Northwestern, at Rutgers
Losses: at Notre Dame, Nebraska, at Wisconsin, at UCLA, at Michigan, Washington, Oregon
- Wisconsin (6-6)
Wins: Western Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Michigan State, Rutgers, at Maryland, at Purdue
Losses: Notre Dame, at Penn State, at UCLA, USC, at Iowa, Minnesota
- Maryland (5-7)
Wins: Hampton, at UConn, UCLA, Rutgers, at Purdue
Losses: Virginia Tech, at Nebraska, at Ohio State, Illinois, Wisconsin, at USC, Penn State
- Northwestern (4-8)
Wins: South Dakota State, Colorado, Ball State, Rutgers.
Losses: at Indiana, Penn State, at Michigan State, at Oregon, Iowa, at Ohio State, at Minnesota, Illinois
- Purdue (3-9)
Wins: Indiana State, Wake Forest, Maryland.
Losses: at UCLA, Notre Dame, at Illinois, Minnesota, Washington, at Penn State, at Iowa, Wisconsin, at Indiana
- Rutgers (3-9)
Wins: UMass, at Boston College, Howard
Losses: USC, Indiana, at Maryland, at Northwestern, Michigan, at Wisconsin, Nebraska, at Penn State, Michigan State
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