Josh Pate Names Two Major Programs as Clear Favorites to Win the Big Ten

The road to the national title has run through the Big Ten, with three straight CFP crowns, and so when college football analyst Josh Pate talks about the Big Ten in 2026, he's really talking about the national title picture. On his college football show, Pate talked about his two clear favorites for 2026 and snubbed the defending champ among other worthy candidates.

Michigan won the league and national title in 2023 and Indiana claimed in it 2025. But neither is anywhere near Pate's top two teams in 2026. Admittedly, Pate went with a pair of talent-heavy teams, but as the Wolverines and Hoosiers have proven, there can be more to the championship formula than just stockpiling talent.

Pate's Pair of Big Ten Favorites

Discussing the favorites to win the Big Ten, Pate didn't hesitate. "Ohio State, yes, I have no doubt about that," he said. "Oregon, I have no doubt about that."

"I don't want to be disrespectful to Ryan Day and Dan Lanning," continued Pate. "I'm not going to waste a whole lot of time talking about them here."

Pate termed Ohio State's schedule as its biggest challenge, overruling some noise against Ryan Day and saying that if Ohio State was playing Penn State's schedule "they'd be a slam dunk favorite." That said, Pate still admitted, "I've got them at 10 on the confidence scale" in regard to OSU's Big Ten title chances.

From there, Pate expressed his admiration for Oregon's roster. "I've got so few questions about Oregon relative to the rest of the Big Ten," he said. "So I've got them as a 10 as well... on my confidence level that they can win the Big Ten."

Pate on Other Contenders

There is a bit of a mystery on how two teams can both be completely capable of winning the Big Ten. Perhaps a tie? Pate further muddied the waters by saying Indiana as a 9 on his confidence scale of capability of winning the Big Ten. He further dropped Penn State as an 8/10 contender on his confidence scale based off a very winnable schedule.

Pate then landed Michigan at 6/10 confidence, but admitted that if the schedules of Michigan and Penn State were flipped, so would his confidence be on both teams' mettle as a Big Ten contender.

Perhaps more important than winning the league is earning a CFP spot. With three straight titles, it's difficult to fathom the Big Ten not landing four teams in the 2026 CFP field. That might allow for both Ohio State and Oregon and a couple more competitors (Indiana? Penn State?) to get their title shots.

Dan Lanning and his Ducks are one of two teams Josh Pate sees as a 10/10 possibility of winning the Big Ten title. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images