Two Historic College Football Programs Predicted to Win 10 Games in 2026

A former college football player has projected these two Big Ten programs to win 10 games next season.

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates a catch during the NCAA football game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 1, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Just under five months separate the beginning of April from the first weekend of the 2026 college football season.

Every offseason provides a time for college football media to predict the possible outcomes of the approaching season. These predictions come in a variety of different forms, such as record predictions, top 25 rankings and College Football Playoff brackets.

Former Oregon and NFL tight end George Wrighster III and Ralph Amsden projected the 2026 records of each Big Ten team on a recent edition of "The Unafraid Show." Wrighster projected two traditional Big Ten powerhouses to reach 10 wins in 2026.

Ohio State

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches during Student Appreciation Day spring practice | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Buckeyes were the first of the two Big Ten teams Wrighster projected to win 10 games in 2026. Ohio State has failed to win 10 games in just five seasons since 2000, the last of which was due to COVID shortening the 2020 season.

The two games Wrighster projected the Buckeyes to lose were at Texas and at USC. Ohio State travels to Texas for the road end of its home-and-home with the Longhorns in the second week of the season. The Buckeyes defeated the Longhorns 14-7 in Columbus to open the 2025 season.

The game at USC will be the first meeting between the Trojans and Buckeyes as conference foes. The last meeting was a 24-7 victory for Ohio State in the 2017 Cotton Bowl.

Notable wins Wrighster is projecting the Buckeyes to earn are against Illinois, at Iowa, at reigning national champion Indiana and at home against Oregon and Michigan. Maryland is the only Big Ten foe the Buckeyes face that ended 2025 with a losing record.

Penn State

Matt Campbell poses for a photo after being announced as the Penn State Nittany Lions new head coach during a press conference | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Wrighster is among those who have noted the conduciveness of Penn State's 2026 schedule to early success for Matt Campbell. The Nittany Lions open with three consecutive Group of Six games, miss Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon and play four of their nine conference games against teams who finished 2025 with losing records.

The first loss Wrighster projected Penn State to suffer is at Michigan on Oct. 17. The Nittany Lions and Wolverines have seen a once annual meeting interrupted by the dissolution of conference divisions following the Big Ten's expansion in 2024. Michigan won the last meeting 24-15 at Penn State in 2023 on its quest to the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

The second loss Wrighster projected for Penn State is at Washington on Nov. 7. The Nittany Lions and Huskies met for the first time as conference foes at Beaver Stadium in 2024, a dominant 35-6 victory for Penn State.