Big Ten 2026 Football Schedules Released: Key Matchups and Changes
The Big Ten Conference has just dropped its long-awaited 2026 college football schedule. It looks like a season packed with wild matchups and some big changes.
This time, there are 18 teams in the mix. Every team except USC gets just one bye week—kind of brutal, honestly.
There are fresh faces leading the way at Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, and UCLA. That’s a lot of new energy and, let’s be real, probably a few growing pains.
One of the juiciest storylines? Michigan State’s new coach, Pat Fitzgerald, gets to face Northwestern—his old squad—in Week 7.
Oh, and Indiana, last year’s national champs, get a shot at Ohio State in a rematch of the Big Ten title game. That one could get spicy.
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2026 Big Ten College Football Schedule Highlights
The 2026 season feels like it might be one of the most unpredictable in a while. There are new coaches, high-stakes games, and plenty of drama brewing.
New Head Coaches
Four big programs are rolling out new head coaches for 2026:
- Michigan: The Wolverines are hoping for a turnaround with their new leader.
- Michigan State: Pat Fitzgerald, fresh from Northwestern, steps in and gets that reunion game.
- Penn State: The Nittany Lions want to make some noise with their own new coach.
- UCLA: The Bruins are shaking things up with a brand-new staff.
Key Matchups
There are a few games you probably shouldn’t miss if you care about the Big Ten race (or just love chaos):
- Week 7: Michigan State vs. Northwestern – Pat Fitzgerald’s homecoming, sort of.
- Week 7: Indiana vs. Ohio State – That Big Ten title game rematch. Expect fireworks.
- Week 8: Oregon at Ohio State – Feels like a heavyweight fight.
Team-by-Team Schedules
Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana’s coming off a dream season as national champs. Their 2026 slate looks like this:
- Sept. 5: vs. UAB
- Sept. 12: vs. Duke
- Sept. 19: vs. SIU
- Sept. 26: at Ohio State
- Oct. 3: vs. Purdue
- Oct. 10: at Michigan State
- Oct. 24: vs. Oregon
- Oct. 31: at Maryland
- Nov. 7: vs. Nebraska
- Nov. 14: at UCLA
- Nov. 21: vs. Iowa
- Nov. 28: vs. Northwestern
Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State’s schedule is loaded with big-time games:
- Sept. 5: vs. North Texas
- Sept. 12: vs. Howard
- Sept. 19: vs. Western Kentucky
- Sept. 26: vs. Northwestern
- Oct. 3: at Rutgers
- Oct. 10: at Nebraska
- Oct. 17: vs. Indiana
- Oct. 24: at Michigan
- Oct. 31: vs. Minnesota
- Nov. 14: vs. USC
- Nov. 21: at Washington
- Nov. 28: vs. Purdue
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan’s got a new coach and a schedule that stacks up like this:
- Sept. 5: vs. Northern Illinois
- Sept. 12: vs. Iowa State
- Sept. 19: vs. Northern Iowa
- Sept. 26: at Michigan
- Oct. 3: vs. Ohio State
- Oct. 10: at Washington
- Oct. 24: at Minnesota
- Oct. 31: vs. Wisconsin
- Nov. 7: at Northwestern
- Nov. 14: vs. Purdue
- Nov. 21: at Illinois
- Nov. 27: vs. Nebraska
UCLA Bruins
UCLA’s rolling the dice with a new coach and this schedule:
- Sept. 5: vs. Howard
- Sept. 12: at UConn
- Sept. 19: vs. Virginia Tech
- Sept. 26: vs. UCLA
- Oct. 3: at Nebraska
- Oct. 10: at Ohio State
- Oct. 17: vs. Rutgers
- Oct. 31: vs. Illinois
- Nov. 7: at Purdue
- Nov. 14: vs. Wisconsin
- Nov. 21: at USC
- Nov. 28: vs. Penn State
Conclusion
The 2026 Big Ten college football season is shaping up to be quite the ride. There’s no shortage of rivalry games, new coaching faces, and some wild stakes on the line.
Fans can expect some truly electric matchups. Who knows—maybe we’ll see a surprise champion rise up?
For the full schedule and all the gritty details, check out the official Big Ten schedule release.
