Big Ten Football Power Rankings Entering Week 1 of the 2026 College Football Season

Fall camp settled every quarterback battle in the conference, and USC has already taken the field before the rest of the Big Ten opens its season this week

This is how all 18 teams in Big Ten football rank entering Week 1 of the 2026 college football season. | USA TODAY Sports

Every open quarterback competition in the Big Ten has been settled since spring. Fall camp closed the questions that lingered through August, and USC has already played a game, beating San Jose State to open the season.

The conference's first tier, made up of Indiana, Oregon and Ohio State, features some of college football's best. Those three teams are still separated by very little.

Everywhere else, fall camp and one early result nudged the order from where things stood after spring. Here is an updated look at how all 18 Big Ten teams stack up entering Week 1.

18. Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue Boilermakers quarterback Ryan Browne (15) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Second-year coach Barry Odom needs a real step forward after Purdue's last Big Ten win came in November 2023. Ryan Browne is entrenched at quarterback. The secondary fell short of expectations a year ago, and the defensive back additions, like safeties John Slaughter and Jaden Mangham, brought in this offseason need to produce immediately before Wake Forest and Notre Dame even arrive.

17. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Greg Schiano's long quarterback competition is over. Boston College transfer Dylan Lonergan beat out AJ Surace and starts the opener against UMass. Wide receiver KJ Duff and running back Antwan Raymond remain proven playmakers, but Rutgers stays in the bottom tier until the defense improves.

16. Michigan State Spartans

Pat Fitzgerald's first camp as Michigan State's coach settled one question fast. Alessio Milivojevic keeps the job he won late last season, giving the Spartans rare continuity during a coaching change. Everything else is still being installed, which caps the ceiling for now.

15. Maryland Terrapins

Maryland Terrapins head coach Mike Locksley questions a call during the second half against the Oregon Ducks. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Malik Washington is the reason Maryland isn't ranked lower. The sophomore set the program's freshman passing record a year ago and enters 2026 as the unquestioned starter. Wyoming transfer Chris Durr Jr. gives him a new top target, but coach Mike Locksley still needs more proven depth around him.

14. Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern added the two biggest names of its offseason in the same building. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and Michigan State transfer quarterback Aidan Chiles are both new, and both are tasked with fixing a stagnant offense. Kelly kept the quarterback competition open into August, a sign that those pieces are still finding their fit. Three starters are gone from the offensive line, but Ezomo Oratokhai returns after starting all 13 games a year ago, giving that line an anchor instead of a total rebuild

13. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Drake Lindsey's return gives Minnesota rare quarterback continuity, but the offense around him still needs work. The Gophers managed only 14 offensive plays of 30+ yards last season, and coach P.J. Fleck says that has to change.

"We have to be an explosive offense," Fleck said. Until it is, an 8-5 record is close to Minnesota's ceiling.

12. Wisconsin Badgers

Quarterback Colton Joseph posted big numbers last season at Old Dominion. Can he do the same in 2026 for Wisconsin? | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Wisconsin overhauled its roster with 34 transfers, and quarterback Colton Joseph is the headliner. The Old Dominion transfer showed poise through fall camp, and coordinator Jeff Grimes' wide-zone scheme fits his skill set. Right tackle Kevin Heywood and right guard Emerson Mandell are both still working back from injury, which keeps Wisconsin below the teams that can chase a bowl bid without complication.

11. UCLA Bruins

Bob Chesney brought more than 40 transfers with him from James Madison, and quarterback Nico Iamaleava is learning his third offensive system in three years. Chesney said Iamaleava looks "a lot more comfortable" early in camp, but the offensive line remains unsettled. Center Riley Robell has taken over the competition there, but the tackle spots are still a three-way battle between Sam Davis, Garrett Somerville and Cole Schmidt. That much turnover usually takes longer than one fall to settle.

10. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Matt Rhule has his sixth different starting quarterback in four seasons, and Anthony Colandrea might be the most talented of the group. The UNLV transfer was the Mountain West's offensive player of the year and adds a running threat the offense lacked a year ago.

The backfield behind him is replacing Emmett Johnson with Mekhi Nelson and Isaiah Mozee, a duo with one combined career start. That inexperience is why Nebraska sits just outside the top half of the conference.

9. Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema calls a timeout against the Tennessee Volunteers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Illinois is coming off the best two-year stretch in program history, but continuing that run means replacing three-year starter Luke Altmyer and an almost entirely new group up front, led by Christian Martin and Jake Renfro at the Division I level and JUCO transfer Maika Matelau.

East Carolina transfer Katin Houser earned the job outright, and his quick release has already drawn praise in the building, but an almost entirely new group up front needs time to gel. That rebuild, more than any drop in talent, is what keeps Illinois out of the top half for now.

8. Washington Huskies

Demond Williams Jr. briefly entered the transfer portal this offseason before Washington worked out a new deal to keep him, and the drama undersells how good he was as a sophomore, accounting for 32 total touchdowns.

Coach Jedd Fisch is rebuilding the receiver room around him almost entirely, with Rashid Williams as the clearest returning option downfield. Until that group proves it can separate consistently, Washington's ceiling sits a step below the teams ranked just ahead.

7. Iowa Hawkeyes

Kirk Ferentz opens his 28th season with the answer at quarterback finally in hand. Jeremy Hecklinski won the job over Hank Brown, ending a competition that lingered through the spring game and deep into fall camp.

The bigger question now sits along the defensive front. Iowa lost five contributors off last season's defensive line, and Elon transfer Kahmari Brown is the clearest name stepping into that rebuild. If that group finds answers as quickly as the quarterbacks did, Iowa moves up. If not, the Hawkeyes stall where they have for years.

6. Michigan Wolverines

Michigan Football student-athlete Bryce Underwood speaks during Big Ten Media Days. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Kyle Whittingham hasn't hedged on his quarterback, but that should come as no surprise. "Bryce is our clear No. 1," the first-year coach said of Bryce Underwood, and Whittingham graded Underwood's fall camp performance an A+.

New coordinator Jason Beck is installing a new system on offense, and a new staff is doing the same on defense, which is why Michigan sits behind USC and Penn State until those installations show up in games rather than practice reports.

5. Penn State Nittany Lions

Matt Campbell's first Penn State camp produced almost nothing but good news at quarterback. Rocco Becht, who followed Campbell from Iowa State, has been "almost flawless," and offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser said Becht has "exceeded all of the expectations" the staff had for him. The schedule makes that praise matter.

Penn State is one of only two Big Ten teams that avoid Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana entirely, clearing a real path for a staff installing two new schemes and integrating 55 new players. That combination, more than raw talent, is why Penn State climbs above Michigan and into the group chasing the conference's top three.

4. USC Trojans

USC is the only Big Ten team that has already played a game, and Jayden Maiava made the most of it. He completed 86% of his passes in a 42-26 win over San Jose State, the best completion rate by a USC quarterback in 30 years, and did so with three true freshmen, Trent Mosley, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and Tron Baker, starting at receiver. That kind of efficiency is what Lincoln Riley needs from his fifth-year quarterback to finally reach the Playoff.

The bigger swing factor is a defense now run by Gary Patterson, whose track record at TCU is why the Trojans rank above Penn State and Michigan despite lingering questions about how the offense performs on the road.

3. Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti during the Hoosiers' football camp practice on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Defending a national title looks different than anything Curt Cignetti has done before, and it starts with replacing Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza with TCU transfer Josh Hoover. Cignetti says he isn't worried, since Kurtis Rourke and Mendoza both looked unsteady in their own first outings before becoming stars, and his track record with portal quarterbacks is the biggest reason Indiana stays in the top three despite the turnover.

"I've never been held to a standard as high as I am here," Hoover said of his new team. How quickly he absorbs the offense will decide whether Indiana repeats or simply competes.

2. Oregon Ducks

Dante Moore turned down a shot at a top-five NFL Draft pick to come back to Oregon, and fall camp suggests why he feels unfinished. Coach Dan Lanning has praised Moore's command at the line of scrimmage. With the return of eight defensive starters, Oregon has a group that can match any offense's talent at almost every position.

Wide receiver Evan Stewart returns as a proven downfield threat, giving Moore a security blanket the passing game didn't always have last season. Everything else says this team is built to make Ohio State's path to a first Big Ten repeat as difficult as possible.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin (10) listens as head coach Ryan Day addresses the team during Student Appreciation Day spring practice. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Ohio State has not won a Big Ten title since 2020, but do conference championships really mean anything anymore?

Julian Sayin returns for his second year as the starting quarterback, throwing to what could be the deepest receiver room in the country behind Jeremiah Smith, who enters his final season chasing the program's career receiving records.

The defense returns only three starters, but transfer EDGE Beau Atkinson has already shown the kind of playmaking Ryan Day's staff needs to replace the production that's gone.

Sayin adjusting to his third different offensive coordinator in three years is the closest thing to doubt surrounding a team most of the sport already expects to finish on top.