Jon Joseph

Fox Sports has informed the NFL that it will not revise the current broadcast deal earlier than the conclusion of the current deal in 2030. The NFL has 80 of the 100 most-watched sporting events every season and is the broadcast priority for Fox, CBS, NBC, and Disney-ABC-ESPN. How much broadcast money will be available at the conclusion of the current B1G broadcast contract in June, 2030? The $100 million per year in broadcast money for every B1G program under the next broadcast agreement may be optimistic. More conference consolidation, more streaming, the biggest CFB brands going independent, Amazon and others bidding for CFB inventory, the Power 4 collectively selling or producing their own streamed game inventory with money split based on success on the field and court and the number of people watching your games, the playoff staying as is or returning to four teams for CFB and 64 or fewer teams for CBB? It's going to be an interesting fight for dollars, especially with the NFL considering expansion in the USA and abroad.

Thank you, Charles. FWIW, of the 12 B1G teams I've looked at so far, eight would be bowl-eligible with six or more wins. In 2025, every P4 conference had six teams that won five or fewer games. The SEC was so deep that 37.5% of the conference needed SCUBA gear. 😁

A second B1G Win Total six-pack. MINNESOTA - Over 6.5 - Agree. PJ Fleck enters his 10th season of rowing the Golden Gophers boat. To date, Fleck is 66-44 at Minnesota and a perfect 7-0 in bowl games. In 2026, I think Minnesota wins eight or more games and gives Fleck the chance to go 8-0. In 2026, Minnesota is the only Big Ten team that returns its head coach, offense coordinator, defense coordinator, and starting quarterback. Wow! QB Drake Lindsey returns after throwing for 2382 yards, 18 TDs, and 6 Interceptions in 2025. At 6'5" tall and 230 pounds, Lindsey is on NFL teams' watch lists. Preseason All-American Edge Anthony Smith was 1st-team All-Big Ten in 2025, posting 38 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, and a conference-leading 12.5 sacks. Smith is the Big Ten preseason defense Player of the Year. Minnesota lost safety Koi Perich to Oregon, but Smith, despite receiving interest from many programs, decided to stay in Minneapolis. Key to the season. Get the run game going again. In 2025, Minnesota's usually solid run game struggled, averaging only 103.2 yards a game. The Gophers' best running back, Darius Taylor, missed much of last season with injuries. Taylor is back, healthy and ready to take some of the pressure off Lindsey. In 2025, Lindsey was sacked 21 times and completed only 60% of his throws. In addition to Ohio State at Texas and Oklahoma at Michigan, Week 2 features another B1G vs. SEC matchup when Mississippi State plays at Minnesota. These are the only matchups in the regular season between Power 2 teams. Hopefully, the Gophers will get the B1G win. NEBRASKA - Over 6.5 - Agree. In addition to an OOC buffet of three out-of-conference cupcakes, the Cornhuskers play Michigan State, Rutgers, and Maryland. This is serendipitous scheduling for Coach Matt Ruhle, who is 2-25 against top-25 opponents, 0-8 at Nebraska, and plays Ohio State and Indiana at home and is on the road at Oregon, Washington, Iowa, and an Illinois team that is just outside the top 25. Key to the season. You may have heard that QB Dylan Raiola transferred to Oregon. If 2025 Mountain West Player of the Year QB Anthony Colandrea, coming to Lincoln from UNLV, can play close to how he played for Dan Mullen last season, I think Nebraska will find a seventh win. FWIW, Nebraska OC Dana Holgorson believes dual-threat Colandrea is a better fit for his system. 🤔 NORTHWESTERN - Under 5.5. Disagree. Key to the season. Will new Wildcats OC Chip Kelly improve QB Aiden Chiles' game? Key Game. Northwestern needs to defeat CU at Medicine Field in Week 2, before moving into renovated Ryan Field and playing Penn State in Week 4. A win over the Buffaloes should be one of at least six wins. PURDUE - Over 3.5. Agree. Key to the season. In Coach Barry Odom's second season, the Boilermakers should show modest improvement but still have a long way to go to be competitive in the Big Ten. Playing 11 Power 4 opponents in 2026 will not help Purdue's cause. In addition to opening against Indiana State, Purdue plays Wake Forest and Notre Dame out of conference. The good news is that all three are home games. RUTGERS - Under 4.5. Agree. Key to the season. In 2025, Coach Schiano's Rutgers defense was the worst he has put on the field in Piscataway. Wide receiver KJ Duff and RB Antwan Ray are preseason All-Americans. Will new DC Travis Johansen, coming in from the same position with South Dakota and with no P4 coaching experience, give Duff, Ray, and the offense some help? Most-asked question: What does Rutgers do with that B1G money? WISCONSIN - Over 7.5. Agree. With Colton Joseph coming in from Old Dominion to play QB, how can I not take the over? 😁 Newport Beach product Joseph is a dual-threat QB. In 2025, he led ODU to a 10-3 record, passing for 2624 yards, 21 TDs, and 10 INTs. He ran for 1007 yards, 6.4 yards per carry, and 13 TDs. On the 1st play from scrimmage in the opening game against Indiana, he ran for 75 yards and a 7-0 ODU lead, one of the very few times Indiana trailed last season. Even though Wisconsin opens against Notre Dame in Green Bay, the 2026 schedule is much easier than the 2025 gauntlet. Wisconsin plays Penn State, UCLA, and Iowa on the road, but plays USC and Minnesota at home and also draws Rutgers, Maryland, and Purdue, while missing Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, and Washington. Keys to the season. There is bad luck, but should the fates be this fickle? Under Coach Fickell, due to injuries, the starting QB coming out of Fall camp has started 11 of 37 games. Wisconsin has to keep Joseph healthy. Colton is a weapon in the run game, and he will get hit. Speaking of the run game. Under Luke Fickell, Wisconsin is 11-0 when rushing the ball for 150 yards or more. When running for fewer than 150 yards, the Badgers have won one game. Bucky, get back to your roots and run the 🤬ball! Agree on the over/under calls? Let me know because I am often wrong and often in doubt. Coming up: OBD, TOSU, PSU, UCLA, USC, and UWho.

Green and Yellow Haze? Take that, Fuskies! 😁

SI Top-25 - SSECS, DD - 10 SEC teams ranked, 8 B1G teams - AP Poll out Monday will put the other preseason polls to bed. SISports Illustrated’s College Football Top 25 Preseason Ra...With two weeks to go until the 2026 season begins, here are SI’s rankings and projections.

Pat Forde - Sports Illustrated - 2026, 25 Intriguing CFB QBs - The B1G Boys on Pat's list will be instrumental in whether a team goes over or under its win total. SIPat Forde: The 25 Most Intriguing College Football Quarte...A controversial in-conference move, a famous name looking to take a leap and a signal-caller with another year of eligibility top our list. No. 4 - Josh Hoover - Indiana - No better QB whisperers than Cig and OC Shanahan. Google it 😁. No. 6 - Bryce Underwood - Michigan - Will he improve under new and functional management? No. 11 - Dante Moore - Mighty Oregon - "An excellent pro prospect". Will he become 'B1G and Big Game Dante' under new OC Drew Mehringer and behind a 'new' O-line? No. 13 (😁) - Julian Sayin - Ohio State - A Heisman finalist who looked anything but in the last two games in 2025-26. Another QB with a new OC, Arthur Smith, joining the Buckeyes from the Pittsburgh Steelers. No. 15 - Rocco Becht - Penn State - Rocco comes into 2026 as the CFB QB with the most wins as a starter: 26 wins and 12-7 in one-score games, including last season's 16-13 win over Iowa. With the same OC he played for at Iowa State, and many other former Cyclones teammates surrounding him, plus three OOC cupcakes, should have Rocco ready to go against B1G competition. No. 18 - Demond Williams - He disappeared on the road last season and almost disappeared to Baton Rouge. He should improve on the road this season; UW's two Eastern Time Zone games are against Purdue and Michigan State. Williams will be tested at USC the week after OBD plays SC in LA, and at Oregon on November 28th, coming off a home game against Indiana. No. 20 - Nico Iamaleava - UCLA, and Jayden Maiava - USC. Oregon plays SC and Maiava in LA in Week 4, is off in Week 5, before hosting UCLA in Week 6. Nico is now surrounded by a new cast of coaches and 42 new players. Considering the results in 2025, this is good for Nico and UCLA. In 2025, Jayden Maiava did not lose a home game, but he did lose his two top receivers to the NFL. Week 2 - No. 16 Drew Mestemaker - Oklahoma State - the leading passer with over 4,000 passing yards in FBS in 2025. Drew will be surrounded by familiar North Texas players and coaches in Stillwater.

Atlas Shrugged? Congress comes to the rescue with a 177-page bill that does not simply address the salient issue of antitrust protection for the folks making and trying to enforce the rules, as agreed by members of the NCAA. Instead, the bill's divisive language pits conference against conference, and attempts to micromanage and restrict college athletics expansion and contraction. Should Congress, not Boise State, decide if Boise has the authority to join the B12 conference? This and other minutiae in the Senate bill are far afield from providing the necessary relief. If I'm in charge of a university, I have to ask if the game is worth the candle? Should LSU spend $200 million on sports or on academics? How many academic scholarships would $200 million pay for? To my knowledge, the federal constitution and state constitutions and charter documents for public colleges and universities do not require these institutions of higher learning to provide after-school sports. Do not require a person to be given free room, board, and tuition based on an individual's athletic prowess. How long would it take for Congress to deliver the required protection from vultures, er, lawyers and judges if the 68 folks in charge of academics at FBS schools said: ENOUGH! "Year XXXX is it for the current sports paradigm—no more athletic scholarships. Club sports will be subsidized to help with uniforms, limited regional travel, and equipment expenses, but that's it. The coach of every sport will be the leader voted on by their teammates and will not be compensated. Money advanced under broadcast agreements will be returned. Thank you, and have a really nice day." Draconian? Of course. But without the needed relief, many nonrevenue sports will disappear along with the scholarships, full and partial, and Moneyball sports will be further divided into 'haves' and 'have-nots.' There is another alternative, but it will require substance to overcome form; difficult to achieve in the halls of higher (hire?) learning. College athletes receiving direct compensation are 'employees' who can collectively bargain with management and enter into agreements with restrictions on both sides, as we see in professional sports. Meanwhile, Daniels doesn't have enough to do QBing an NFL team that he has time for this?

There is no I in team, but in nil, it's all about the I and the $.

The injury to my collarbone has been greatly exaggerated. 😍 Great news, and shame on whoever hit the panic button without all of the facts; par for today's 'journalist' course.

The long-time Pac-12 football guru, Jon Wilner, has continued to follow all of the former Pac-12 teams post-diaspora. Below are Jon's Over/Under win total picks for the Big Ten in 2026, as reported on the Mercury News site ($ wall). My thoughts on Jon's predictions, along with a few factoids and opinions for B1G teams in 2026. I hope many Forum Friends will provide their thoughts on these predictions and critique my picks and comments with those of your own. Win totals are from the FanDuel gaming site for the regular season only. Here's the first third of the conference in alphabetical order, with the others to follow later this week. ILLINOIS - Over 6.5 - Agreed. When will Bret Bielema receive the credit he deserves? 2024 - Illinois 10-3 with a bowl win over favored South Carolina. 2025 - Illinois 9-4 with a bowl win in Nashville over favored Tennessee. Key to the season: 5th-year senior Katin Houser comes over from East Carolina to start at QB. Last season, Houser led the Pirates, playing in a deep G6 American Athletic Conference to a 9-4 record and a bowl win over P4 Pittsburgh, and 'The ACC is deeper than the Big Ten', loudmouth coach Pat Narduzzi. In 2026, Illinois opens its B1G schedule at Ohio State, but plays five conference games at home, including games against Oregon and Iowa, and misses Indiana, Michigan, USC, and Washington. INDIANA - Under 10.5. Disagree, but with trepidation. The schedule ramps up from 2025, with games at Michigan and Washington and home games versus Ohio State and USC (OBD also plays these four teams but in opposite venues). Key to the season: Cignetti has not lost a game in Bloomington and has brought in an excellent group of players from the portal, including QB Josh Hoover from TCU. Hoover comes to Indiana to play for QB-whisperer Cignetti and OC Mike Shanahan, with Cignetti since 2016, and with more starts and wins than Fernando Mendoza. He doesn't have to win the Heisman to be successful. If Hoover can cut down on the turnovers, this roster could equal or be better than the roster that finished 16-0 with a championship. But 11 wins is a B1G ask. IOWA - Over 7.5. Agree. Death, taxes, and Kirk Ferentz with at least eight wins. After a brutal B1G start: at Michigan, Ohio State, and at Washington, the schedule lightens up. With the Iowa State team now at Penn State, the Hawkeyes should go 3-0 out of conference. The Hawkeyes miss Indiana, Penn State, Oregon, and USC. Key to the season: You can bet that DC Phil Parker will put another excellent defense on the field. Will either QB Jeremy Hecklinski or Hank Brown not foul up too badly and put the defense at a disadvantage? MARYLAND - Under 5.5. Agreed, and so long, Coach Locks? As has been asked before: What do Maryland and Rutgers do with the money? Keys to the season. With no bowl game, simply avoid injuries. MICHIGAN - Over 8.5, but it will be close. Michigan and new coach Kyle Whittingham have the advantage of playing eight games in the Big House. But the schedule? Oklahoma, Iowa, Penn State, and Indiana visit Ann Arbor. And the Wolverines play Oregon and Ohio State on the road. Whew! Key to the season: Will OC Jason Beck, who followed Whit from Utah, be able to improve QB Bryce Underwood's play as he did last season at Utah with QB Devon Dampier? Last season, Utah finished 2025 with a very quiet 11-2 behind a solid run game and good QB play. This season, the Michigan run game, with Jordan Marshall, 932 yards rushing and 10 TDs in 2025, and 5* top-ranked RB Savion Hitier running the ball behind an experienced O-line, should be very good, but can the passing game be at least serviceable? Underwood, who was 17 years young at the start of last season and with a dysfunctional coaching staff, still led Michigan to a 9-4 record, 7-2 in conference. If Underwood improves, Michigan, with a defense with quality players back and solid portal additions, will be a PO contender. MICHIGAN STATE - Under 4.5. Agree. Coach Pat Fitzgerald should be a great fit, but the 2026 schedule is too difficult for a team that lost many of its best players to the portal, including WR Nick Marsh now at Indiana (without his gold shoes 😁). Out-of-conference games versus Toledo and at Notre Dame, road games against Wisconsin, UCLA, and Michigan, and home games against Washington, Northwestern with Aiden Chiles at QB, Nebraska, Illinois, and Oregon, well, a bowl game is at least a year off. Key to the season: The play of QB Alessio Milojevic, who played well after taking the starting spot from Aiden Chiles, will have to remain solid, with Fitzgerald being hired late in the cycle and many of his teammates transferring to other programs. Where do you think Jon Wilner and Jon Joseph err? Next up, another B1G six-pack, but not in alphabetical order. I'm saving the two B1G O-Os for last. BEAT BOISE!

Phil Stele goes deep with his ranking of CFB's top 65 wide receiver rooms. But the two B1G Os, Ohio State and Oregon, come in 1st and 2nd.😍 On3Phil Steele ranks Top 65 wide receiver rooms for 2026 col...Phil Steele ranked the Top 65 wide receiver rooms in the country as part of his annual college football preview magazine.

QB, or not QB? That's a B1G question. https://www.yardbarker.com/college_football/articles/quarterback_competitions_to_watch_in_the_big_ten_ahead_of_2026_season/s1_13132_44163837?utm_source=mb&utm_medium=email&mb_edition=20260812&mb_loc=left

CBS Sports, John Talty, Go to Your Room! 🤬 Perhaps in December I'll be proven wrong, but I'm posting this prospective PO field for its over-the-top love of the SEC. Notre Dame, with its 3-game schedule and two of the three in South Bend, and with a PO committee that pays lip service to schedule strength, is a reasonable top seed. However, if the SEC is the deepest conference known to man, how in Hades is the conference with nine conference games in 2026 going to send five teams to the 2026 CFB PO? And Oregon as the 9-seed playing at 8-seed LSU? Have the folks at CBS gotten the memo? CBS is a Big Ten broadcast partner; ESPN owns the SEC. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/2026-college-football-playoff-bracket-projection-notre-dame-georgia/?eid=c7d8647c6247db8d08c59fe44bc30380a147aa90b9e33099045cd46ddc6a485b&fta Mercy! On3 PO field. This PO field with four B1G and four SEC teams will, IMO, be closer to the mark. I also think Oklahoma is overrated here and in the majority of preseason polls. On3Zak Herbstreit predicts 12-team College Football Playoff...On3's Zak Herbstreit predicted the 12-team College Football Playoff field and the eventual national champions for this year's season.

I'm shocked! 🤪 In his 60 Minutes interview, Coach Cig came out fired up and smokin'! https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/how-curt-cignetti-changed-indiana-won-national-championship/?eid=c7d8647c6247db8d08c59fe44bc30380a147aa90b9e33099045cd46ddc6a485b&ftag=SNL

No hate? Don't try to sell this to the always-reasonable Buckeyes faithful. Bring back Woody and Bo 🤬! https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/08/12/kyle-whittingham-michigan-ohio-state-rivalry-football-hate/91240945007/?utm_source=usatoday-sports-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=usatbaseline&ut

Northwestern's renovated Ryan Field has all of the modern bells and whistles. The stadium is scheduled to open on October 2nd, when Penn State visits, 100 years to the day the original stadium opened in 1926. This season, Northwestern visits Autzen on Halloween, October 31st, the week before the game at Ohio State. Oregon's first visit to the new stadium is unknown. No game is scheduled at NW in 2027 or 2028. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/08/12/inside-northwestern-football-new-stadium-ryan-field/91251015007/?utm_source=usatoday-sports-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=usatbaseline&utm_term=h The Cats are Wild, but purring over this bowl of cream. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/northwestern-football-35-million-donation-new-stadium-chip-kelly/?eid=c7d8647c6247db8d08c59fe44bc30380a147aa90b9e33099045cd46ddc6a485b&ftag=SNL-04-10aaa0b&ET_CID=571411&ET_RID

Playoff Longshots - It's under the radar, but the Ole Miss vs Louisville opening game in Nashville on September 6th could be very interesting if QB Lincoln Kienholz, who backed up Julian Sayin last season, can play as Tyler Shough did in his one season at Louisville. Saturday Down South1 dark-horse team that could win every Power 4 conferenceWhich schools could make surprising runs to their conference titles? We make our picks for each of the Power 4 leagues.

Hail to the Victors? Eight games in the Big House help the cause. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/michigan-brutal-2026-schedule-kyle-whittingham-cfp/?ftag=SNL-04-10aaa0b&ET_CID=571137&ET_RID=52482716

The camp visits are rebroadcast on BTN and available on the BTN App. Visits before Oregon: USC, UCLA, Wisconsin, and today's visit to Penn State.

No. 1 bold prediction is cold. 🥶 The 2nd is gold. 😍 https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/08/10/college-football-predictions-2026-season-hot-seat-national-championship-odds/91148484007/?utm_source=usatoday-sports-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign

Questions for the Coaches Poll top 10 - On3The most pressing question for every Top 10 team in colle...Every team in college football has a perceived weakness. We analyze questions for every top 10 team in the preseason coaches poll.

The preseason AP Poll will be released on Monday, August 17th. On3 predicts the poll, like the Coaches Poll, will have Ohio State 1st and Oregon 2nd. On3Preseason AP Poll Prediction: Projecting first Top 25 ahe...The preseason AP Top 25 poll projection from On3 is here, with just a week until the official Associated Press rankings are released.. Curt Cignetti has a history of producing All-Conference QBs; Hoover comes to the Hoosiers from TCU with more experience than Fernando. Indiana was 2nd in transfer portal rankings. With players who were on the 2024 roster having a fifth season, the already deep D-line returns last season's top tackler, who missed the 2024 PO with injury, and another very good D-lineman. I imagine Cig won't use this ranking to fire the team up, right? Historically, No. 6 is a low ranking for the past season's champion. Indiana plays Michigan and UW on the road, but gets USC and Ohio State, (the same quartet as Oregon in opposite venues) in Bloomington, where Cig has not lost a game in two seasons.

Always good to start the week with a sweet M&M. 👍🤞❤️ Good call on Matayo. He is better than last season's six sacks. His strip sack and fumble recovery against Texas Tech was All-World. I'm also anticipating Teitum Tuioti bringing the heat on the other side of OBD's stellar 'Bronesian' D-line. Teitum was disrespected last season, with 9.5 sacks and only 3rd-team Big Ten recognition. The 2025 defense finished 108th nationally in red-zone defense. Not nearly good enough considering the talent on the field. A surprising stat for a D that finished 21st in sacks. Tosh was a great recruiter; I hope Chris Hampton will produce better on-field results. No more unacceptable and frankly puzzling second-time-around blowout losses. These losses are Dan's low-water mark. The UGA loss is excusable, but ... Dante, please don't disappear in the biggest games, B1G and otherwise. Three new starters, but I'm hoping for another Joe Moore finalist O-line. Thanks again, David. Beat Boise!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 11th, the Big Ten Network (BTN) will be in Eugene for Oregon's Fall Camp visit. Correction: BTN - 8 AM Pacific. The UW visit will be broadcast later in the day on Tuesday.

Thanks, Mike, for terrific insights on OBD's biggest threat to West Coast dominance, USC. In addition to the SEC, I'd add the NCAA to the group that took down SC, plus the lack of respect for the Pac-12 that kept sending Oklahoma teams with records similar to SC's to lose title games to SEC teams. AD Jen Cohen and GM Chad Bowen have aligned the football program from the top down, and the boosters finally realize that SC cannot get by on reputation alone. The recruiting effort and NIL are both well funded, and Riley was told to get off his posterior and reach out to SoCal high school coaches and to focus recruiting on California. He has done this while maintaining a national recruiting reach. You have to have more than reputation today. You have to have and spend money. They 'get this' in Columbus and Austin; Ohio State and Texas, after floundering in Texas's case, are among the largest spenders on football every season. And it's not just the recruiting effort that's better aligned in South Central; the new practice facilities are state of the art. And Los Angeles is still a draw, especially for college-age recruits. After three warm-up games, the Week 4 game in LA is a program-defining moment for a team that was undefeated at home last season, including impressive wins over Iowa and Michigan. This season, Oregon, Washington, and Ohio State visit LA. Two tough road games at Penn State and Indiana. With this schedule,10-2 SC is a PO lock. I respect SC for ignoring the Trojans being reamed for interrupting the Notre Dame series and winning the argument that the series would not resume unless ND was willing to play earlier in the season. There are two programs in the Mountain and Pacific time zones with Blue Chip rosters, OBD and USC. Oregon will have a talent advantage vs UW every season, but not SC.