One of the great things about the modern era of college football is that we know less than ever before. For nearly our entire lives, fans and media alike have been able to look at the sport's history while reaching some startling conclusions, such as "this team has always been good, so it will be good again." Then, suddenly, players are getting paid, the transfer portal comes into existence, and Indiana is winning national titles. None of it makes any sense, and it's great.
There are legitimately seven different teams that could've begun the season at No. 1 in the major polls, and nobody would call you an idiot for putting them there. Well, OK, some people would call you an idiot, but that's more about the fact that some people are just addicted to being mad at strangers. Still, the point is, confidence levels on preseason predictions are lower than ever before, but that doesn't mean we're going to stop making them.
The Big Ten is no different than the sport as a whole. The league has won three straight national titles with three different programs. And, again, one of the programs was Indiana.
The league has had three different champions in those seasons as well. It enters the 2026 season widely considered the best league in the sport and is as wide-open at the top as ever, with even more teams that could push for a College Football Playoff at-large berth. It's likely to be an incredible season in the Big Ten, and what follows are our best guesses as to what it will look like in the end.
Iowa: Iowa is a high-floor program, so it's hard to call it overrated, but I suspect we're overlooking how important Mark Gronowski was to this offense last season. The Hawkeyes finished 11th in the country in points per red zone possession, due in part to Gronowski's legs (he rushed for 16 TDs). The 4.92 points per red zone possession the Hawkeyes scored were the most by a wide margin in at least the last 15 years.
For a team that wins on the margins, any regression in that area could cause problems; plus, have you seen the schedule? Opening Big Ten play with Michigan, Ohio State and then Washington won't be easy, and there are some "coin-flip" games on the road against Minnesota and Illinois. 7-5 is very much in play. -- Tom Fornelli (also Chip Patterson, Brandon Marcello) Michigan: Don't get me wrong, Michigan will be good. The Wolverines have an extremely talented roster with draft picks littered across the two-deep.
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