2026-27 Big Ten Football Conference Preview: Will the League Find Four Straight National Championships?
Written by: Nate Hornung
Published: Thu Jul 23, 2026, 10:32 am ET
Read Time: 7 minutes
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NCAA Football is about five weeks away, so it's been time to start our conference previews. Here we will look at the league that has produced three straight National Champion teams, all reigning from different schools. Last season, the Indiana Hoosiers went undefeated to capture the title, the year prior, in 2024, Ohio State suffered one regular season loss before beating Notre Dame, and in 2023, Jim Harbaugh and JJ McCarthy led Michigan to an undefeated National Title season as well. Who will end up on top of the conference this year? Find out with our Big Ten preview here.
Check out the best odds on the market and tons of picks for the NCAA Football Season.
Big Ten Conference History
Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers are fresh off an undefeated season, looking to go back to back
Past 10 Big Ten Conference Champions
- 2025: Indiana Hoosiers over Ohio State Buckeyes
- 2024: Oregon Ducks over Penn State Nittany Lions
- 2023: Michigan Wolverines over Iowa Hawkeyes
- 2022: Michigan Wolverines over Purdue Boilermakers (not a typo)
- 2021: Michigan Wolverines over Iowa Hawkeyes
- 2020: Ohio State Buckeyes over Northwestern Wildcats (also not a typo)
- 2019: Ohio State Buckeyes over Wisconsin Badgers
- 2018: Ohio State Buckeyes over Northwestern Wildcats (you know the drill)
- 2017: Ohio State Buckeyes over Wisconsin Badgers
- 2016: Penn State Nittany Lions over Wisconsin Badgers
Will We See Another Big Ten National Champion?
Okay, so up until the last two seasons, the Big Ten had the East play the West in the conference championship, which is why we never saw the Buckeyes and Wolverines meet there. However, over the past two years, with the expanded league that stretches from New Jersey to Los Angeles and up to Seattle, the top two teams meet in the championship game, and we've had four different participants. This includes the Oregon Ducks, who won the Big Ten in their first year in the conference in 2024.
However, as a whole, the league won't be as dominant, in my opinion, but we do have some clear tiers to win the league, especially based on the betting odds to do so.
Jeremiah Smith and the Buckeyes have their sights set on another Big Ten Championship
Odds to Win the Big Ten Conference
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- Ohio State Buckeyes +190
- Indiana Hoosiers +250
- Oregon Ducks +275
- USC Trojans +1100
- Michigan Wolverines +1300
- Penn State Nittany Lions +2200
- Washington Huskies +3000
- Iowa Hawkeyes +4500
- Wisconsin Badgers +10000
- Illinois Fighting Illini +12500
- UCLA Bruins +12500
- Nebraska Cornhuskers +15000
- Minnesota Golden Gophers +17500
- Maryland Terrapins +30000
- Michigan State Spartans +30000
- Northwestern Wildcats +30000
- Purdue Boilermakers +30000
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights +30000
Like I said, there's a clear hierarchy, so let's talk about it.
Big Ten Football Preview: Team Tiers
Dan Lanning and the Ducks have been rock solid the past two years, but can't seem to get far in the College Football Playoff
Tier 1 – National Title Contenders
I only see three teams here, and so do the oddsmakers. It's Ohio State, it's Indiana, and it's Oregon. Not necessarily in that order, but those are the clear big dawgs. The Hoosiers and Ducks avoid each other after going head to head last year, but both play the Buckeyes. Lucky for Indiana, they host them in Bloomington, while the Ducks head to Columbus on November 7.
In my opinion, both Ohio State and Oregon could go undefeated depending on who wins that Week 10 matchup. Sure, the Hoosiers could give the Buckeyes a scare a couple weeks prior, but Josh Hoover has big shoes to fill in for Fernando Mendoza. The pressure is on especially with Cignetti going 26-2 as the head coach in Bloomington.
It is more than likely two of these teams meet in the Big Ten Conference Championship game at the end of the season.
If you forced my hand, I would take a stab at the Oregon Ducks to win the Big Ten at (+280).
Jayden Maiava returns to be the quarterback for the USC Trojans. Will they sneak into the CFP?
Tier 2 – Can They Make the CFP?
Here we have USC, Michigan, Penn State, Washington, and maybe even Iowa. Now, I don't think the Hawkeyes even sniff the College Football Playoff, but I also don't think they deserve to be grouped with the rest of the bottom feeders. Out of this bunch, I am fairly low on all of these teams.
I don't believe in USC and Jayden Maiava, we'll see how the Matt Campbell/Rocco Becht experiment plays out in State College. Bryce Underwood as a sophomore with a new, defensive minded head coach doesn't move the needle for me, and Iowa is Iowa. The only team that I have a glimmer of faith in is Washington, but who knows how that locker room will embrace (or exclude) Demond Williams as starting QB after leaving the school (then coming back after they told him he was contractually obligated to stay).
I have bet on USC Under 8.5 Wins this season at (-125). I'll be sure to put out an article with full analysis shortly.
Katin Houser heads to Champaign to lead the Illini following Luke Altmyer's departure
Tier 3 – Who Knows What to Expect?
There are plenty of teams with question marks surrounding them in this tier, which includes the likes of Wisconsin and Illinois, who will be trusting a G5 transfer quarterback to lead them in the Big Ten. Colton Joseph (Old Dominion) heads to Madison and Katin Houser (East Carolina) goes to Illinois. UCLA will be hit or miss with Nico Iamaleava and new head coach Bob Chesney. Even Husker fans don't know what to expect with Matt Rhule and UNLV transfer Anthony Colandrea leading the offense. PJ Fleck and Minnesota are the only Big Ten team returning their HC, both coordinators, and their starting QB, but talent wise, the Gophers don't have enough to get to the next level.
Tier 4 – Thanks for Playing!
Finally, we have the Big Ten Bottom Feeders: Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Purdue and Rutgers. Don't expect much from any of these teams this season. However, thanks to the extended Big Ten, maybe these teams could produce some upsets against West Coast teams making the trip to the Midwest.
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Nate has been a recreational sports bettor for about 5 years. In that time, he has grown to love the pursuit of winners and sticking it to The Man. Nate loves data and uses his understanding of numbers to help him be a more profitable sports gambler, however he will be the first to tell you this game is about more than just stats.
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