The college football season is just around the corner as we head into August. The Big Ten is holding their Media Days this week as they get ready for what will be a massive season for the conference.Â
With the last three national champions coming from the Big Ten, it's hard to argue that any conference is stronger in college football right now. Once again, the Big Ten enters the season loaded with championship contenders, intriguing coaches, and some of the nation's top players. Here are five storylines that will define the Big Ten in the 2026 college football season.
Can Indiana strike gold once again with another transfer QB in Josh Hoover?
The Indiana Hoosiers lost a lot from their national championship team a year ago, most notably Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Curt Cignetti has struck gold in each of his first two seasons at Indiana with transfer quarterbacks, bringing in Kurtis Rourke in his first season and Mendoza last year. Both came in and ran the Hoosiers' offense beautifully, but it's not as if they were already fully developed before arriving in Bloomington as Cignetti's staff certainly played a major role in their development.
This year Indiana once again turned to the transfer portal, landing Josh Hoover from TCU. Hoover brings plenty of experience running an RPO-based offense, which should make his transition to Indiana's system smoother, but he has had a major turnover issue throughout his career. While Hoover is a flashy addition, he still has plenty of room to improve to meet the standard that Cignetti will hold him to and could ultimately be the piece that determines whether this Indiana team is good or great.
Big Name Returning Starting QBs
The Big Ten is expected to have nine quarterbacks returning as starters for the same teams they played for last season. This group features a wide variety of players who will heavily influence how the 2026 season plays out.
The conference has some of the best QBs in the sport who will be looking to be in the Heisman conversation, including Julian Sayin (Ohio State), Dante Moore (Oregon), Jayden Maiava (USC), and Demond Williams Jr. (Washington). The Big Ten also has a pair of rising sophomores who started as true freshmen with Bryce Underwood (Michigan) and Malik Washington (Maryland). Both showed flashes during their freshman seasons but enter year two with high expectations for significant improvement. There is also Nico Iamaleava (UCLA), who once led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff but a year later won just three games at UCLA. He will now look to bounce back with the Bruins under a new coaching staff.
While the transfer portal dominates the offseason headlines, the Big Ten has an impressive group of returning quarterback starters entering 2026, with some carrying massive amounts of hype and others looking to answer major questions.
Who Will Step Up in the Big Ten's Second Tier?Â
The top tier of the Big Ten appears to be pretty solid with Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana. However, the next tier of teams is much more up in the air, just like it was for most of last season. Given the caliber of the conference, the Big Ten will send multiple teams to the College Football Playoff, with one of them likely coming from this group that currently sits outside the top tier.
Can Michigan or Penn State reclaim a spot among the conference's elite in their first seasons under new head coaches? Is this the year USC or Iowa finally breaks through? Will Washington and Demond Williams show up in big games or can Luke Fickell lead Wisconsin back into contention in a season where it feels like the Badgers are putting all of their chips on the table? While the top of the conference appears set, the Big Ten has plenty of depth, and it will be fascinating to watch which teams can challenge the league's top contenders and compete for a spot in the playoff.
Now or Never for Lincoln Riley at USC
Lincoln Riley’s tenure at USC certainly has not been bad, but many believed that by this point the Trojans would have reached greater heights. USC has yet to make the College Football Playoff with Riley leading the program, and the last three seasons have been a disappointment following what was a very promising first year for Riley in Southern California.
This season feels like the true make-or-break year where Riley at least needs to make the playoff, or else the noise could get really loud and potentially lead to the school or Riley himself making a move. The Trojans certainly have the talent to do so, with Jayden Maiava at quarterback and a defense expected to show major improvement with former TCU head coach Gary Patterson coming in as defensive coordinator. Their conference schedule is doing them no favors though as USC will have to travel to Penn State, Wisconsin, and Indiana while also having to play Oregon, Washington, and Ohio State at home. Whether this season goes good or bad for the Trojans, 2026 will be a pivotal point in Lincoln Riley’s coaching career.
New Eras at Michigan and Penn State
This season will be a crucial one for two of the biggest brands in college football: Penn State and Michigan. Both programs enter 2026 with new head coaches after a drama-filled 2025 season, but they find themselves in very different situations.
For Penn State, 2026 feels like a reset year under Matt Campbell with a much different roster. The Nittany Lions will look to establish a new identity and figure out what the program can become under its new leadership. On the other hand, Michigan enters the season with much higher expectations. The Wolverines were able to retain a strong portion of their roster despite the chaos surrounding the program at the end of last season, and the fact that they still won nine games with all that was going on off the field last year should be viewed as a major positive. In addition, with Kyle Whittingham taking over, questions surrounding how much longer he will coach, and the program’s major investment in Bryce Underwood, Michigan feels like a team that is much more in win-now mode.Â
While there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding both programs, they still appear to be in that second tier of the Big Ten and have the tools to compete for a College Football Playoff spot. There’s no question that 2026 will be a crucial season for two of the conference’s biggest names, as it could shape the direction of their programs in the near future.
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