While the Iowa Hawkeyes don’t open their 2026 season until next weekend, college football officially returns on Saturday with a full slate of week zero matchups. As was noted in the week zero watch guide, there are a handful of high major matchups to kick off the year, but only one features a Big Ten team.
That lone Big Ten matchup features #14 USC hosting San Jose State in the 2pm (CT) window on NBC. The Trojans are a virtual lock here, but the real question is just how high their ceiling is in 2026-2027.
FanDuel Sportsbook has USC’s season long win total set at an over/under of 8.5 total wins. That might seem a little low for a team ranked #14 to kick off the year, but it’s worth calling out just how loaded the Big Ten is in 2026.
The Trojans will face 5 teams ranked inside the top-20 in the final preseason poll, including three dates with top-10 opponents (#2 Oregon, #1 Ohio State and at #6 Indiana). Despite having the 5th highest over/under, USC was picked fourth in this week’s national NCAA Reacts poll asking fans who will win the Big Ten this season.
Not surprisingly, it’s neck and neck at the top with the top-ranked OSU Buckeyes collecting 42% of the national vote with #2 Oregon on their heels at 38%. #6 Indiana gets 13% of the vote with USC at 3% – right in line with the pre-season ranks.
Where things look a bit more… interesting is in our BHGP community version of the poll. There, the Buckeyes are still top dogs with 45% of the vote, but USC doesn’t place thanks to our eternal optimism (wait, am I in the right place?!?).
That’s right, the Hawkeye fanbase has Iowa as the second favorite to win the Big Ten in 2026 with a whopping 21% of the vote – beating out both Oregon and Indiana, who tied at 17% each.
For what it’s worth, Ohio State is the odds on favorite at the sportsbooks too. FanDuel as the Buckeyes at +185 to win the conference with Oregon next at +270, followed by Indiana at +290 and USC a very distant fourth at +1300. The Hawkeyes…. they’re 8th at +5000 if anyone would like to try to make a little money on the optimism.
Perhaps the Kids Day hype around the offense has gotten to our heads. Perhaps we’re far enough away from last season to have forgotten our roots and the natural pessimism that tends to roll off the fanbase. Or perhaps we’ve just already started tailgating as we wait for next weekend.
Whatever it is, here’s hoping 21% of the fanbase knows what the heck they’re talking about and is not setting us up for a massive letdown this season.
The Hawkeyes open things up at 3:15 pm CT next Saturday as they host Northern Illinois in a sold out Kinnick Stadium. For those who are unable to attend in person (reminder it’s a gold-out), the game will be broadcast on BTN.
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