1. Ohio State
2. Indiana
3. UCLA
4. Northwestern
5. Iowa
6. Nebraska
7. USC
8. Wisconsin
9. Oregon
10. Purdue
11. Minnesota
12. Michigan
13. Penn State
14. Washington
15. Illinois
16. Michigan State
17. Maryland
18. Rutgers

Are the buckeyes or Hawkeyes potential dark horses to finish in the top 5 of the conference?

Welcome BIG 10 fans, DryScarcity2623.

This week has two big games for the CCG race:

Ohio State @ Indiana looks like a very even matchup, and the victor is very likely to go to the CCG: if Indiana wins, their CCG odds go up to about 94%, and if OSU wins, theirs go up to about 89%. But no matter who wins, there's a >50% chance of a rematch between these two teams in the CCG.

Wisconsin @ UCLA also has big implications: the victor will have about 20-25% odds to make the CCG, and the loser will be down to less than 5%.

Full interactive odds, matchups, and what-if scenarios: https://sportssimulate.com/cfb/2026/latest/B10

Any help is appreciated, looking for the real nerds🤓

Created this as a way to compare conference teams with similar W-L records but vastly differing OOC schedules...

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add .75 point for each win vs. unranked FCS opponent

add 1 point for each win vs. unranked G5 opponent

add 1.5 points for each win vs. a (non-Top15) P4 team _or_G5/FCS opponent ranked 16-25

add 2.5 points for each win vs. Top 15 opponent

subtract .5 points for each loss vs. Top 15 opponent

subtract 1 point for each loss vs. a (non-top15) P4 team _or_ G5/FCS opponent ranked 16-25

subtract 2 points for each loss vs. unranked G5 opponent

subtract 2.5 points for each loss vs. unranked FCS opponent

Divide by number of games played

All rankings are based on AP poll. AP rankings are from today, not when the game was played

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Position, Team, Score (Previous)

1 UCLA 1.40 (1)

2 Indiana 1.21 (T2)

3 Ohio State 1.00 (5)

4 Iowa 0.96 (T6)

5 USC 0.93 (4)

6 Nebraska 0.88 (T2)

T7 Northwestern 0.85 (8)

T7 Wisconsin 0.85 (T6)

9 Minnesota 0.46 (9)

10 Oregon 0.45 (10)

11 Michigan 0.30 (11)

12 Purdue 0.29 (14)

13 Illinois 0.13 (16)

14 Penn State 0.00 (12)

15 Washington -0.04 (13)

16 Maryland -0.21 (17)

17 Michigan State -0.25 (15)

Michigan**  -0.30

18 Rutgers -0.75 (18)

** Michigan if you count the game against WMU as a Loss

Big Ten teams no longer have to hear “the league hasn’t won a national title since 2000 and this is why.” And for the second straight year, it looks very good and very deep. Illinois returns four starters from a Final Four team and deserves to be in the conversation for preseason No. 1. Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. could be the preseason National Player of the Year. Then there are the defending champs at Michigan, who return three players in their backcourt who played big roles on the title team.

The SEC and Big Ten should compete for best-league status. Both have 13 teams in the top 50 of Bart Torvik’s preseason rankings. Both could easily place double-digit teams in the expanded 76-team NCAA Tournament.

In the Big Ten, it’s really difficult to rank teams four through 13, and it’s possible there’s a 2025-26 Nebraska sitting in the back half that will be way better than projected.

1. Illinois
2. Michigan State
3. Michigan
4. UCLA
5. Iowa
6. Nebraska
7. Purdue
8. Indiana
9. USC
10. Ohio State
11. Maryland
12. Wisconsin
13. Oregon
14. Minnesota
15. Washington
16. Rutgers
17. Northwestern
18. Penn State

Read the full analysis for each team (free link): https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7681960/2026/10/12/big-ten-basketball-predictions-illinois-michigan-state/?unlocked_article_code=1.IFE.YR2_.ukfLKS7gtZyW&source=emp_shared_article&smid=re-share-ta

Does anyone know if they rushed the field after beating Minnesota?

Big Ten, SEC football strength of schedules after Week 6.

fun fact In the last 10 years, the Big Ten has had three unranked teams start 5-0 (such as Minnesota in 2019, Maryland in 2023, and Nebraska starting 5-0 unranked). Meanwhile, the last time an SEC team started 5-0 and wasn't ranked in the AP Top 25 was all the way back in 1943.

I hope you will join our growing community!