5 Biggest Storylines Emerging From Big Ten Media Days 2026 Opening Session

Only three teams got a first-place vote, four programs opened with new head coaches, and Tony Petitti put the conference title game on the trading block

Big Ten media days began on Tuesday and here are some of the biggest storylines affecting the conference as we approach the 2026 college football season. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Big Ten opened media days at the Hilton Chicago on Tuesday with the last three College Football Playoff trophies sitting to the right of the podium. Michigan won in 2023, Ohio State won in 2024 and Indiana won in 2025.

Illinois, Iowa, Penn State, Rutgers, USC and Wisconsin spoke on Day 1, but the questions covered all 18 programs.

Here are the five narratives driving the conference into this season.

Big Ten title race is a three-team fight at the top

Media voters handed out first-place votes to only three teams: Ohio State got 15, Oregon got 11, and Indiana got five. USC finished fourth in the poll, Michigan fifth and Penn State sixth.

Indiana beat Miami for the national championship in January, then lost Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza as the No. 1 overall NFL draft pick. Curt Cignetti replaced him with TCU transfer Josh Hoover and signed the top-ranked transfer class in the country.

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti is looking to make another title run in 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Ohio State brings back quarterback Julian Sayin and receiver Jeremiah Smith. Oregon returns Dante Moore, who turned down the draft, and added Nebraska transfer Dylan Raiola.

Putting the defending champion third looks like voting for brands instead of results. Indiana hosts Ohio State on October 17 in a rematch of last year's conference title game, and that date will settle more than the poll did.

Tony Petitti would trade Big Ten championship for 24-team playoff

Commissioner Tony Petitti spent his session pushing for a 24-team College Football Playoff by 2027, and he named the price. The Big Ten would drop the championship game it has held in Indianapolis since 2011.

"Yeah, I think it's pretty much we won't be playing a championship game if we go to 24," Petitti said.

Big Ten Conference Commissioner Tony Petitti speaks during Media Days at Hilton Chicago. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 and Notre Dame support the plan. The Southeastern Conference does not. Petitti is making the right call. Eight first-round byes and a set of home playoff games are worth more to an 18-team league than one December game only two members ever reach.

He also fielded questions on the Protect College Sports Act, which Congress sent back to college leaders on Tuesday ahead of the August 8 recess.

Big Ten, SEC feud got louder in Chicago

Illinois coach Bret Bielema went first at the main podium and gave the day its loudest line.

"I know (Sankey has) got to protect the SEC and they kind of want to live in 2005 forever," Bielema said. Asked to explain it minutes later, the sixth-year Illinois coach said, "I think I just made the headline, right?"

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema leaned into the sometimes-friendly rivalry between the Big Ten and SEC. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bielema led Wisconsin from 2006 to 2012 and Arkansas from 2013 to 2017, so he has worked both sides.

The jab followed Nick Saban's argument last week that championships do not decide which conference is best. Bielema's real point was about roster building. He said the transfer portal and revenue sharing let Illinois sign quarterback Katin Houser, a player the Fighting Illini could not have landed five years ago.

Four new head coaches are running Big Ten programs

Kyle Whittingham took over at Michigan after Sherrone Moore was fired in December. Pat Fitzgerald returned to the conference at Michigan State. Bob Chesney left James Madison for UCLA. Matt Campbell replaced James Franklin at Penn State and was the only one of the four to speak Tuesday.

"I've always believed when you put the right culture and the right people, that's what truly breeds success in college football," Campbell said.

The Nittany Lions added 40 transfers, including Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht, and miss Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana on the regular-season schedule. Four programs hiring at once means four fan bases judging each other's search in real time, and Michigan getting picked fifth with a first-year staff shows how much benefit of the doubt the name still buys.

Several Big Ten coaches on the hot seat

Lincoln Riley enters his fifth season at USC without a playoff appearance since the Trojans joined the conference.

"I do believe we're more equipped than at any point in the previous few years. That's not a hope or a wish, there's a lot of facts to back that up," Riley said.

Quarterback Jayden Maiava returns after leading the Big Ten with 3,711 passing yards and pacing the nation with a 91.2 QBR. Wisconsin has won five and four games the past two seasons, and Luke Fickell did not dodge it.

USC head coach Lincoln Riley is one of many Big Ten coaches under pressure to turn their respective programs around this year. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"The last two years for us have not been up to the standard, and I'm not shying away from that," Fickell said.

Maryland's Mike Locksley is 37-49 entering Year 9. Nebraska's Matt Rhule is under similar pressure. Four coaches in one conference needing wins this fall will shape the Big Ten's next hiring cycle as much as the title race will.