BIG TEN PREVIEW: Contender Tiers, The Big Three & Sweet Lady Schedule | College Football

In this college football podcast episode, we open our three-part 2026 Big Ten preview by zooming out before diving into the individual team breakdowns. The conference has produced the last three national champions, enters the season with another wave of major coaching and coordinator changes, and features a surprising number of familiar quarterbacks. We sort all 18 Big Ten teams into contender tiers and ask whether Ohio State, Oregon and defending national champion Indiana have separated from the field. Is USC talented enough to overcome its schedule and lingering defensive questions? Could Penn State, Michigan, Washington or Iowa emerge as the conference’s fourth College Football Playoff team? And how much faith should we place in new systems, new play callers and transfer quarterbacks across the league? We also work through the crowded middle of the conference, where favorable schedules, volatile quarterbacks and major rebuilds make almost every projection feel negotiable. Plus: Sweet Lady Schedule, the Big Ten’s overarching theme of faith, Bob Chesney’s elite hairline, a renewed commitment to the Minnesota Support Zoom, and a fun announcement about the show's place in the college football media sphere. Timestamps:00:00 — Intro & Show News07:35 — The Big Ten’s three-year heater10:15 — New head coaches, coordinators and familiar quarterbacks15:46 — The Big Ten’s Big Three21:33 — The quest for a fourth playoff team25:54 — Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana and... USC?40:16 — Who's Next?41:12 — The potential for a 10-2 Iowa48:15 — The Illinois contender debate52:56 — Penn State’s reset with Matt Campbell58:57 — Michigan begins the Kyle Whittingham era1:02:04 — Washington’s next step under Jedd Fisch1:07:34 — Minnesota and Nebraska1:15:45 — UCLA’s Bob Chesney rebuild1:22:03 — Wisconsin, Luke Fickell and a friendlier schedule1:27:02 — Maryland’s upside and unresolved questions1:30:48 — Northwestern, Rutgers, Michigan State and PurdueSupport the show!: https://www.patreon.com/solidverbalSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.