Another summer, another iteration of talking season in college football as conferences across the country hold their media day events this month in anticipation of the 2026 season. The Big 12, ACC and SEC have all enjoyed their turns in the spotlight in recent weeks, and now it's time for the Big Ten — which has won three straight national titles — to do the same. Beginning on Tuesday at the Hilton Chicago, not far from the league office in Rosemont, Illinois, the Big Ten will kick off its annual three-day spectacle that serves as an unofficial start to football season.
Once again, each day will feature representatives from six programs in the 18-team league: Day 1: Illinois, Iowa, Penn State, Rutgers, USC, Wisconsin Day 2: Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Oregon, Purdue, UCLA Day 3: Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Washington To prepare for the event and look ahead to the upcoming season, I've explored a key storyline for each of the conference's teams. Here are some of the biggest talking points to follow in Chicago. * Recruiting and transfer portal rankings courtesy of 247Sports. Last year: 9-4 overall, 5-4 Big Ten Postseason: 30-28 win over Tennessee in the Music City Bowl Head coach: Bret Bielema, sixth season, 37-26 at Illinois Coordinators: Barry Lunney Jr. (offense); Bobby Hauck (defense) Recruiting: No.
24 nationally, No. 6 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 43 nationally, No.
11 in the Big Ten Key storyline: New defensive scheme Bielema opted to change the defensive system once coordinator Aaron Henry Jr. left to become the co-defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach at Notre Dame. He convinced Hauck, the former Montana head coach, to spurn a brief retirement and install the same 3-3-5 scheme that produced top-20 defenses three times in the last five years for the Grizzlies. How that system will fare against some of the run-heavy offenses in the Big Ten remains to be seen.
The strength of Hauck’s unit in Year 1 is expected to be a secondary that returns three starters, including All-Big Ten performer Xavier Scott at nickel. He and safety Matthew Bailey bypassed the NFL Draft for another season with the Illini. Last year: 16-0 overall, 9-0 Big Ten Postseason: 27-21 win over Miami in the National Championship game Head coach: Curt Cignetti, third season, 27-2 at Indiana Coordinators: Mike Shanahan (offense); Bryant Haines (defense) Recruiting: No.
29 nationally, No. 9 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 8 nationally, No.
3 in the Big Ten Key storyline: Replacing QB Fernando Mendoza When Mendoza joined the Hoosiers following two impressive seasons at Cal, where he blossomed from a low-level recruit into a transfer portal darling, there were already big shoes to be filled at the quarterback position. Kurtis Rourke, who served as Cignetti’s original signal-caller at Indiana, had guided the program to new heights by reaching the College Football Playoff in 2024. All Mendoza did was raise that bar to include a Big Ten championship, a national championship and the Heisman Trophy.
Next in line for Cignetti is TCU transfer Josh Hoover, a three-year starter who enters the upcoming season having thrown for 9,629 career yards and 71 touchdowns. Will the magic continue? Last year: 9-4 overall, 6-3 Big Ten Postseason: 34-27 win over Vanderbilt in the ReliaQuest Bowl Head coach: Kirk Ferentz, 28th season, 209-128 at Iowa Coordinators: Tim Lester (offense); Phil Parker (defense) Recruiting: No.
26 nationally, No. 7 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 77 nationally, No.
17 in the Big Ten Key storyline: An ongoing QB competition Ferentz’s search to replace dual-threat quarterback Mark Gronowski, who led the Hawkeyes with 16 rushing touchdowns last season, will continue into fall camp after an even battle between Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski — both of whom were with the program in 2025. Brown is a 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior who originally transferred from Auburn two years ago. He served as Gronowski’s primary backup and completed 11 of 21 passes for 107 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Hecklinski is a 5-foot-11, 188-pound sophomore who enters the 2026 campaign having only attempted two career passes. Whichever player wins the job will need to enliven a passing attack that ranked 129th nationally and 17th in the Big Ten last year. Last year: 4-8 overall, 1-8 Big Ten Postseason: None Head coach: Mike Locksley, ninth season, 37-49 at Maryland Coordinators: Clint Trickett (offense); Ted Monachino (defense) Recruiting: No.
42 nationally, No. 11 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 62 nationally, No.
16 in the Big Ten Key storyline: The head coach’s job security Questions regarding how, when and if the Terrapins should move on from Locksley dominated the second half of Maryland’s season. After a 1-8 Big Ten record in 2025, Locksley has now finished below .500 in Big Ten play for seven consecutive years. What felt like a legitimate surge in momentum from 2021-23 — a promising stretch in which Locksley won 23 games and tallied three straight bowl victories — fizzled out rather swiftly amid back-to-back disastrous campaigns.
Now, Locksley enters the 2026 season as one of the leading figures in any discussion about coaches with tenuous job security. He’ll need sophomore quarterback Malik Washington, who opened some eyes as a true freshman last fall, to take a noticeable step forward if the Terrapins want to sniff the postseason. Last year: 9-4 overall, 7-2 Big Ten Postseason: 41-27 loss to Texas in the Citrus Bowl Head coach: Kyle Whittingham, first season, 177-88 overall Coordinators: Jason Beck (offense); Jay Hill (defense) Recruiting: No.
12 nationally, No. 4 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 24 nationally, No.
5 in the Big Ten Key storyline: QB Bryce Underwood’s development Few quarterbacks in college football, if any, will face more scrutiny than Underwood this fall. The former No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 cycle, Underwood navigated an uneven freshman season as the Wolverines’ starter — albeit for a program that would eventually fire head coach Sherrone Moore last December.
He ranked ninth in the Big Ten in passing yards, 13th in passing touchdowns and 14th in completion percentage amid issues with his footwork and touch. An excellent rushing attack and retooled wide receiver room, which includes high-level transfer JJ Buchanan from Utah, should offer Underwood more ballast than he enjoyed last season. But more is expected from a player with such lofty expectations and significant compensation.
Last year: 4-8 overall, 1-8 Big Ten Postseason: None Head coach: Pat Fitzgerald, first season, 110-101 overall Coordinators: Nick Sheridan (offense); Joe Rossi (defense) Recruiting: No. 45 nationally, No. 12 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No.
55 nationally, No. 14 in the Big Ten Key storyline: How will Fitzgerald adapt? Think about how different the sport looked when Fitzgerald last coached a game for Northwestern in 2022.
The College Football Playoff was still a four-team affair, and the batch of conference realignment that sent Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC and added a West Coast contingent to the Big Ten was still more than a year away from going into effect. The one-time transfer rule that has revolutionized roster building was still in its infancy, and revenue sharing remained a far-flung concept reserved for news conference soapboxes. So, while there’s no question about the successful program Fitzgerald built from 2006-2022 — a run that included six eight-win seasons and two trips to the Big Ten title game — he still has plenty to prove in the modern era.
Last year: 8-5 overall, 5-4 Big Ten Postseason: 20-17 win over New Mexico in the Rate Bowl Head coach: P.J. Fleck, 10th season, 66-44 at Minnesota Coordinators: Greg Harbaugh Jr. (offense); Danny Collins (defense) Recruiting: No. 28 nationally, No.
8 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 51 nationally, No. 13 in the Big Ten Key storyline: Fixing the running game When Fleck and the Gophers outperformed expectations by stringing together consecutive nine-win seasons in 2021 and 2022, they did so with one of the nation’s best rushing attacks that allowed Minnesota to control games.
The Gophers ranked 27th nationally in rushing (198 yards per game) during the ’21 campaign and 16th nationally (207.5 yards per game) in ’22, firmly in keeping with the league’s rugged reputation. Since then, however, Minnesota’s potency on the ground has waned rather precipitously: a 66th-place finish in 2023, a 109th-place finish in 2024 and a 128th-place finish last season. Any uptick in balance the Gophers can find will benefit promising sophomore quarterback Drake Lindsey and the passing game.
Last year: 7-6 overall, 4-5 Big Ten Postseason: 44-22 loss to Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl Head coach: Matt Rhule, fourth season, 19-19 at Nebraska Coordinators: Dana Holgorsen (offense); Rob Aurich (defense) Recruiting: No. 88 nationally, No. 18 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No.
31 nationally, No. 8 in the Big Ten Key storyline: Rhule vs. ranked opponents On one hand, Nebraska will enter the 2026 season having compiled back-to-back winning records for the first time since 2013-14 under former coach Bo Pelini. On the other hand, the Cornhuskers' current leader — Rhule — remains winless against ranked opponents (0-9) since taking over the program four years ago and hasn’t notched eight victories in a single season, college or otherwise, since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s schedule could include as many as six games against ranked opponents, headlined by dates with arguably the conference’s three best teams: Indiana (home), Oregon (away) and Ohio State (home). It’s time for Rhule to prove he can elevate Nebraska beyond its current middling status. Last year: 7-6 overall, 4-5 Big Ten Postseason: 34-7 win over Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl Head coach: David Braun, fourth season, 19-19 at Northwestern Coordinators: Chip Kelly (offense); Tim McGarigle (defense) Recruiting: No.
52 nationally, No. 13 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 42 nationally, No.
10 in the Big Ten Key storyline: A new offensive brain trust There probably weren’t many offseason college football bingo cards that had Northwestern as the program most likely to make a splashy offensive coordinator hire. However, the Wildcats swung big and landed Kelly, the former head coach at Oregon and UCLA and a national championship-winning offensive coordinator for Ohio State in 2024. It now falls on Kelly and freshly hired quarterbacks coach Jerry Neuheisel, formerly of UCLA, to finally maximize the many talents of transfer Aidan Chiles, the No.
153 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class. Chiles comes to Northwestern following two up-and-down seasons at Michigan State and a promising freshman year at Oregon State. The program should receive a nice boost from the opening of its new stadium (Ryan Field) in October.
Last year: 12-2 overall, 9-0 Big Ten Postseason: 24-14 loss to Miami in the CFP quarterfinals Head coach: Ryan Day, eighth season, 82-12 at Ohio State Coordinators: Arthur Smith (offense); Matt Patricia (defense) Recruiting: No. 4 nationally, No. 3 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No.
7 nationally, No. 2 in the Big Ten Key storyline: Another former NFL head coach There were plenty of questions surrounding Day’s decision to hire former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia as his defensive coordinator ahead of the 2025 season. Patricia, a longtime disciple of former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, hadn’t worked in college football since 2003.
His tenure with the Lions was rocky to say the least. But when push came to shove, Patricia established himself as one of the best coordinators in the country for a unit that finished first in scoring defense (9.3 points per game) and first in total defense (219.1 yards per game). Smith, meanwhile, hasn’t coached in college since he was a defensive intern at Ole Miss in 2010.
He served most recently as offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers (2024-25) and head coach of the Atlanta Falcons (2021-23). Can Day strike gold for the second straight year? Last year: 13-2 overall, 8-1 Big Ten Postseason: 56-22 loss to Indiana in the CFP semifinals Head coach: Dan Lanning, fifth season, 48-8 at Oregon Coordinators: Drew Mehringer (offense); Chris Hampton (defense) Recruiting: No.
3 nationally, No. 2 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 21 nationally, No.
4 in the Big Ten Key storyline: QB Dante Moore vs. elite defenses For as good as Moore was during his first season as the Ducks’ starter — he threw for 3,565 yards with 30 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions — it was difficult to shake the feeling that he underperformed against high-level opposition. He threw more interceptions (five) than touchdown passes (three) in games against Indiana (twice), Iowa and Texas Tech. His first pass in the national semifinals during a rematch with the Hoosiers, who had previously upended Oregon at Autzen Stadium earlier in the season, resulted in a pick-six for cornerback D’Angelo Ponds.
Eleven of the 17 total sacks he absorbed last season came in the aforementioned four games. The arm talent that made Moore a five-star recruit is undeniable; the toughness and poise to become a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate are still developing. Last year: 7-6 overall, 3-6 Big Ten Postseason: 22-10 win over Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl Head coach: Matt Campbell, first season, 107-70 overall Coordinators: Taylor Mouser (offense); D’Anton Lynn (defense) Recruiting: No.
65 nationally, No. 16 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 4 nationally, No.
1 in the Big Ten Key storyline: Life after James Franklin A long and winding coaching search to replace Franklin, who won at least 10 games in six of his 12 seasons with the Nittany Lions, ended with a figure most analysts agreed was an excellent choice for Penn State. Campbell, 46, has long been regarded as a rising star in coaching thanks to his yeoman’s work at Iowa State, a school largely bereft of top-end resources. His name is linked with high-profile jobs on what feels like an annual basis, both at the collegiate and NFL levels alike.
Now, after tallying five eight-win seasons with the Cyclones and two finishes among the top 15 in the AP Poll, he assumes control at a program that has never quite claimed its place in the upper echelon of the modern game. The ongoing national title drought for Penn State stretches to 1986. Last year: 2-10 overall, 0-9 Big Ten Postseason: None Head coach: Barry Odom, second season, 2-10 at Purdue Coordinators: Josh Henson (offense); Kevin Kane (defense) Recruiting: No.
55 nationally, No. 14 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 48 nationally, No.
12 in the Big Ten Key storyline: Churn, baby, churn When Odom took over the Boilermakers following a successful two-year run at UNLV, where he averaged 9.5 wins per season, one of his first orders of business was flipping the roster — a task made easier by the transfer portal. He added 86 new players, including 20 new starters, ahead of the 2025 campaign and promptly finished with an unsightly 0-9 record in conference play, the same as his predecessor Ryan Walters. So what did Odom do ahead of the 2026 season?
He flipped his roster again. Fifty-four new Boilermakers joined the program since the end of last year, including 15 players who project as starters. There are also changes at defensive coordinator, running backs coach, offensive line coach and wide receivers coach.
It’s anyone’s guess how well things mesh this fall. Last year: 5-7 overall, 2-7 Big Ten Postseason: None Head coach: Greg Schiano, 18th season (two stints), 99-108 at Rutgers Coordinators: Kirk Ciarrocca (offense); Travis Johansen (defense) Recruiting: No. 36 nationally, No.
10 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 81 nationally, No. 18 in the Big Ten Key storyline: Fixing the cratering defense In 2022 and 2023, under the direction of defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak, now the head coach at UMass, the Scarlet Knights ranked 38th nationally and 16th nationally, respectively, in total defense.
And then Rutgers went off a cliff. Schiano’s team plummeted to No. 95 nationally in 2024, which proved to be Harasymiak’s final season, and No.
127 last fall — worst in the Big Ten. In an effort to stop the bleeding, Schiano plucked Johansen from a sitting head-coaching job at South Dakota, a team that reached the national quarterfinals at the FCS level. Johansen, who had been at South Dakota in various roles since 2019, is now working in the power conferences for the first time.
His first real challenge will come against high-flying USC on Sept. 19. Last year: 9-4 overall, 7-2 Big Ten Postseason: 30-27 loss to TCU in the Alamo Bowl Head coach: Lincoln Riley, fifth season, 35-18 at USC Coordinators: Luke Huard (offense); Gary Patterson (defense) Recruiting: No.
1 nationally, No. 1 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 29 nationally, No.
7 in the Big Ten Key storyline: Welcome back, Coach Patterson Beginning in 2000, when TCU elevated him from defensive coordinator to head coach, Patterson oversaw one of the most successful runs the sport had ever seen from a program outside the power conferences. He tallied an incredible seven 11-win seasons with the Horned Frogs while playing in either Conference USA or the Mountain West from 2003-11, including an undefeated campaign in 2010. His success largely continued after TCU joined the Big 12 as Patterson racked up three more 11-win seasons from 2014-17, though momentum eventually fizzled toward the latter stages of his Hall-of-Fame tenure.
Now, the 66-year-old Patterson has come out of retirement in hopes of finally fixing a leaky Trojans’ defense that ranked 51st nationally in scoring last season. It might be playoff or bust for USC this fall. Last year: 3-9 overall, 3-6 Big Ten Postseason: None Head coach: Bob Chesney, first season, 132-52 overall Coordinators: Dean Kennedy (offense); Colin Hitschler (defense) Recruiting: No.
62 nationally, No. 15 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 25 nationally, No.
6 in the Big Ten Key storyline: Can Chesney match the hype? Regardless of what happens this fall and beyond, Chesney has earned this opportunity in the power conferences. As a small-school lifer, he’s worked his way from defensive coordinator roles at Delaware Valley and Johns Hopkins to head-coaching opportunities at Salve Regina, Assumption, Holy Cross, James Madison and, finally, UCLA.
The through line across his various stops? Winning. Chesney has endured just one losing season in 16 years as a head coach and guided JMU to the College Football Playoff last fall.
All of that made Chesney, 48, one of the most coveted names on the coaching carousel and an excellent hire — on paper, anyway — for a program in desperate need of stability. Last year: 9-4 overall, 5-4 Big Ten Postseason: 38-10 win over Boise State in the LA Bowl Head coach: Jedd Fisch, third season, 15-11 overall Coordinators: Jedd Fisch (offense); Ryan Walters (defense) Recruiting: No. 13 nationally, No.
5 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 59 nationally, No. 15 in the Big Ten Key storyline: Finding new skill players Washington dodged a potentially Heisman Trophy-sized bullet when quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who announced his intention to transfer after signing a $4 million NIL deal this offseason, reversed course and vowed to return.
For as great as that news was, it still only solved one of the Huskies’ problems on offense. Gone are top two running backs, Jonah Coleman and Adam Mohammed, a duo that combined for more than 1,300 yards and 21 touchdowns last season. Gone, too, are wide receivers Denzel Boston (62 catches, 881 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Raiden Vines-Bright (24 catches, 238 yards, 1 touchdown), the latter a very promising freshman.
Finding the right players to replace those proven commodities is one of the biggest challenges facing Fisch and the coaching staff this fall, especially for a team that believes it should contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Last year: 4-8 overall, 2-7 Big Ten Postseason: None Head coach: Luke Fickell, fourth season, 17-21 at Wisconsin Coordinators: Jeff Grimes (offense); Mike Tressel (defense) Recruiting: No. 78 nationally, No.
17 in the Big Ten Transfer portal: No. 38 nationally, No. 9 in the Big Ten Key storyline: Fickell’s last stand This certainly feels like the last chance for Fickell, who once guided Cincinnati to the College Football Playoff, to right the ship at Wisconsin.
Win totals have decreased in each of his three seasons with the Badgers — from seven in 2023, to five in 2024, to four in 2025 — and the athletic director who hired him, Chris McIntosh, recently left for a job in the Big Ten office. The lifelines are evaporating. But Fickell is hellbent on going down swinging, evidenced by a massive 33-player transfer haul that finished as the Big Ten’s largest class among programs without a new head coach.
A difficult first half of the season should give way to a friendly November against Rutgers, Maryland, Purdue and Minnesota that might allow Fickell to build some momentum.
