Big Ten football predictions: Projecting every team's 2026 record

College football is officially here, with Week 0 having kicked off on Saturday. In that, the first Big Ten team notched its first win, with USC having taken down San Jose State (the Trojans will have yet another game before most, with Fresno State coming to Los Angeles on Friday next week). But which teams will reign supreme in the conference of champions?

We went through every single Big Ten team's schedule and predicted the winners and losers of every game. In that, you can find predictions for all 12 regular season games and final record predictions for all 18 teams. Here are our prognostications for every team's season in 2026.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Wins: UAB, Duke, Southern Illinois, Purdue, Michigan State, Maryland, Iowa

Losses: Ohio State,Oregon, Nebraska, UCLA, Northwestern

Record: 7-5

Indiana Hoosiers

Wins: North Texas, Howard, Western Kentucky, Northwestern, Rutgers, Nebraska, Ohio State, Minnesota, USC, Washington, Purdue

Losses: Michigan

Record: 11-1

Iowa Hawkeyes

Wins: Northern Illinois, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue, Nebraska

Losses: Michigan, Ohio State, Washington, Minnesota, Illinois

Record: 7-5

Maryland Terrapins

Wins: Hampton, UConn, Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Purdue

Losses: UCLA, Nebraska, Ohio State, Illinois, Wisconsin, USC, Penn State

Record: 5-7

Michigan State Spartans

Wins: Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Rutgers

Losses: Notre Dame, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Northwestern, UCLA, Michigan, Washington, Oregon

Record: 3-9

Michigan Wolverines

Wins: Western Michigan, Oklahoma, UTEP, Iowa, Penn State, Indiana, Rutgers, Michigan State, UCLA

Losses: Minnesota, Oregon, Ohio State

Record: 9-3

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Wins: Eastern Illinois, Mississippi State, Akron, Michigan, Purdue, Iowa, UCLA, Northwestern, Wisconsin

Losses: Washington, Indiana, Penn State

Record: 9-3

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Wins: Ohio, Bowling Green, North Dakota, Michigan State, Maryland, Illinois, Rutgers

Losses: Indiana, Oregon, Washington, Ohio State, Iowa

Record: 7-5

Northwestern Wildcats

Wins: South Dakota State, Colorado, Ball State, Michigan State, Rutgers, Illinois

Losses: Indiana, Penn State, Oregon, Iowa, Ohio State, Minnesota

Record: 6-6

Ohio State Buckeyes

Wins: Ball State, Kent State, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, USC, Northwestern, Nebraska, Michigan

Losses: Texas, Indiana, Oregon

Record: 9-3

Oregon Ducks

Wins: Boise State, Oklahoma State, Portland State, USC, UCLA, Nebraska, Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Washington

Losses: None

Record: 12-0

Penn State Nittany Lions

Wins: Marshall, Temple, Buffalo, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue, Minnesota, Rutgers, Maryland

Losses: USC, Michigan, Washington

Record: 9-3

Purdue Boilermakers

Wins: Indiana State

Losses: Wake Forest, UCLA, Notre Dame, Illinois, Minnesota, Washington, Penn State, Maryland, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana

Record: 1-11

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Wins: UMass, Boston College, Howard, Wisconsin

Losses: USC, Indiana, Maryland, Northwestern, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, Michigan State

Record: 4-8

UCLA Bruins

Wins: California, San Diego State, Purdue, Maryland, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Nevada, Illinois

Losses: Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan, USC

Record: 8-4

USC Trojans

Wins: San Jose State, Fresno State, Louisiana, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Maryland, UCLA

Losses: Oregon, Washington, Penn State, Ohio State, Indiana

Record: 7-5

Washington Huskies

Wins: Washington State, Utah State, Eastern Washington, Minnesota, USC, Iowa, Purdue, Nebraska, Penn State, Michigan State

Losses: Oregon, Indiana

Record: 10-2

Wisconsin Badgers

Wins: Western Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Michigan State, Maryland, Purdue

Losses: Notre Dame, Penn State, UCLA, USC, Iowa, Rutgers, Minnesota

Record: 5-7

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Big Ten football predictions: Projecting every team's 2026 record