Monday at 01:52 PM1 day Moderator No. The Big Ten does not conduct its own media poll. For years, and just before Media Days begin, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, now Cleveland.com, has released the go-to conference preseason football poll.O and O - Ohio State and Oregon are ranked 1st and 2nd but it is close to neck-and-neck.On3Preseason Big Ten Football Poll released by Cleveland.com.
Monday at 02:30 PM1 day Author Moderator No. A few thoughts on these rankings.USC 4, Michigan 5, Penn State 6 - Penn State has the easiest schedule in the Big Ten in 2026. USC and Michigan have two of the most difficult schedules in the country. Penn State plays USC at home and is on the road at Michigan. If the players Matt Campbell brought with him from Iowa State, including QB Rocco Becht, who has started 39 games, can step up against B1G competition, the Nittany Lions could go 10-2 or better and be in the playoff discussion. Minnesota's P.J. Fleck is undefeated in bowl games with a 7-0 record. Week 2 headline B1G vs. SEC games are Ohio State at Texas and Oklahoma at Michigan. Mississippi State's Week 2 visit to Minneapolis will influence the debate over the two conferences' depth. These are the three regular-season matchups between Power 2 teams. Wisconsin has a tough opener against Notre Dame in Green Bay, but has the second-easiest conference schedule. UCLA has a tough opener at Cal, but also has a relatively easy conference schedule. I think both teams will do better than the predicted 12 and 13. Washington's two trips to the Eastern Time Zone this season are visits to Purdue and Michigan State. Iowa, Penn State, and Indiana all visit Seattle. UW also will likely benefit from playing at USC the week after Oregon plays at USC. UW has a decent chance of finishing better than 7th in the conference and is a playoff dark horse (dog?). Let's play ball! Beat Boise!
Monday at 06:05 PM1 day Administrator No. 3 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:Washington's two trips to the Eastern Time Zone this season are visits to Purdue and Michigan State. Iowa, Penn State, and Indiana all visit Seattle.UW also will likely benefit from playing at USC the week after Oregon plays at USC. UW has a decent chance of finishing better than 7th in the conference and is a playoff dark horse (dog?).Jon...you ARE the "Schedule Maven" of this site! It adds so much.... Mr. OBD
Monday at 06:44 PM1 day Author Moderator No. SI 'immediately' weighs in. 😁Oregon Ducks On SI3 Immediate Reactions to Oregon Ducks’ Big Ten Preseason...The college football season feels around the corner with Big Ten Media Days beginning on July 28 and fall camp following shortly thereafter for teams around the
6 hours ago6 hr No. Big Ten media day coverage on Tuesday. Nana, nana, nana...SEC.https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49472040/big-ten-commissioner-petitti-boasts-league-dominance-sec
1 hour ago1 hr Author Moderator No. 4 hours ago, HDuck said:Big Ten media day coverage on Tuesday. Nana, nana, nana...SEC.https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49472040/big-ten-commissioner-petitti-boasts-league-dominance-secHe did not 'boast' about anything. He simply stated the facts according to the records in 2025: 13 national titles, including two 12-team playoff fields, twice as many playoff wins (11) as any other conference. The B1G is the first conference to win championships in men's and women's CBB and in football in the same year. This is a fact, not an exaggeration.ESPN? I like Dusty Dvorachek, and I appreciate him citing championships as the way to determine the best conference, but only while saying the SEC is 'deeper' than the B1G.Six out of eight Big Ten teams that played nine conference games, 33.33%, did not win five or more games in 2025. Six SEC teams that played eight conference games, 37.80%, did not win five or more games in 2025.Dusty's critique of a 24-team playoff included this gem."I don't want the 5th best team from the SEC and the Big Ten in the field."Dear Dusty, the 2025 PO field included Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and 3-loss Alabama. Even in Norman, Oklahoma, I believe this equals five.I also like Jon Wilner's writing, but in criticizing the move to 24 teams, he wrote: 'The SEC and Big Ten would always have at least 16 teams in the field'.Using the PO Committee's final ranking on December 7, 2025, the SEC and B1G would have had 13 teams in the field, and the 'other guys' would have had 11 teams in the field. To wit: 7 SEC, 6 Big Ten, 5 B12, 3 ACC, 1 Mountain West, 1 Sun Belt, and Notre Dame.In his comments today, Bret Bielema took a shot at the SEC, noting Illinois's wins over South Carolina in 2025 and Tennessee in 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee. "Facts are stubborn things." John Adams
1 hour ago1 hr Author Moderator No. Why 2024 teams? Using the PO Committee's final ranking, 7 SEC teams and three Big Ten teams would have been in a 16-team field.https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49474525/tony-petitti-reiterates-big-10-desire-24-team-cfp-27
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