College GameDay Crew Predicts Winner of Big Ten Championship

Four members of the panel picked three different teams, and the conference's own hosts cannot agree on which contender finishes on top

Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit on the ESPN College Gameday set during the 2026 Rose Bowl. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

College football's biggest names are already picking sides for a game that hasn't set its matchup yet. Country star Lainey Wilson joined the College GameDay desk in Baton Rouge for Week 1, and the celebrity guest picker did not shy away from the conference many analysts consider the deepest in the country.

Wilson and Howard side with Oregon

Oregon Football head coach Dan Lanning speaks during Big Ten Media Days at Hilton Chicago. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Wilson, a Louisiana native performing on College GameDay's Week 1 stage, picked Oregon to win the Big Ten. Howard agreed with her. The Ducks enter the season ranked second in the country behind quarterback Dante Moore, and Dan Lanning's roster returns a senior-heavy defensive line that includes Matayo Uiagalelei, Teitum Tuioti, A'mauri Washington and Bear Alexander. Oregon avoids Indiana during the regular season and does not play Ohio State until a trip to Columbus in November, giving the Ducks a path to arrive in December unbeaten.

Lanning has never won a national championship at Oregon. Howard has been outspoken about the Ducks' ceiling this season, and pairing his pick with Wilson's gives Oregon two votes from the desk before a single Big Ten snap has been played.

Saban backs Ohio State, McAfee and Herbstreit side with Indiana

Head Coach Curt Cignetti heads in during The Walk before the Indiana versus North Texas football game at Memorial Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Saban picked Ohio State, the preseason No. 1 team in the country. Quarterback Julian Sayin returns for a second season as the starter, and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith enters 2026 with more receiving yards and touchdown catches than any FBS player over the last two seasons. Ryan Day's team has not won the Big Ten since 2020, a stretch that includes back-to-back losses in the championship game, including a 13-10 defeat to Indiana a season ago. Ohio State still won the national title two seasons ago, but without the conference trophy.

McAfee and Herbstreit both picked Indiana. The Hoosiers enter the season as the defending national champions under Curt Cignetti and sit sixth in the preseason AP poll, a number that has already drawn criticism from analysts who believe Indiana was ranked too low given the result of last season. TCU transfer Josh Hoover takes over at quarterback after Fernando Mendoza left for the NFL as the No. 1 overall pick, and Indiana opened the season at home against North Texas as a heavy favorite. The Hoosiers have not won an outright Big Ten title since 1945, and a Cignetti team going back-to-back would be the first repeat champion in the conference since Ohio State's run from 2017 to 2020.

Rece Davis, who hosts the desk, has also weighed in separately on the league during a recent episode of the College GameDay podcast, picking Ohio State to finally get past the Hoosiers. Davis pointed to the Buckeyes falling just short of Indiana a season ago as a reason to believe Day's team finishes the job in 2026.

A three-way race with no consensus

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day walks his team into Ohio Stadium for the season-opening NCAA football game against the Ball State Cardinals. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Three teams, four votes, and no agreement from the desk is not unusual for a conference carrying this much preseason firepower. Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana are the only three Big Ten teams ranked inside the AP preseason top six, and all three enter the season with realistic Playoff and national title expectations. USC, Michigan, Washington, Penn State and Iowa round out a group of eight Big Ten teams in the preseason top 25, giving the conference more ranked depth than any other league in the country.

The season opens with Ohio State hosting Ball State and Indiana hosting North Texas, both considered lopsided matchups on paper. Oregon opens at home against Boise State. The three programs at the center of the Big Ten Championship debate do not meet each other until much later in the schedule.