USC really needs to go 10-2 and make the CFP this year. Lincoln Riley therefore faces a tough challenge, given how difficult the Big Ten schedule is. I felt earlier in the offseason that Riley might need to go 10-2 to save his job in 2026. I'm going to step back from that view and say 9-3 is what he absolutely must accomplish. Let's explain why.

The last three national champions all play one another, while Oregon faces both Ohio State and Michigan. How does the schedule stack up?

Even with those caveats, though, Wisconsin fans will surely take this schedule over the daunting 2025 schedule. The Badgers' nine 2025 Big Ten foes that averaged 5.67 conference wins in 2024, and they ended up playing even better than that with 6.11 conference wins per team in 2025.

Rutgers has accrued a deficit of over half a billion dollars after joining the prestigious Big Ten Conference in 2014.

Rutgers athletics has run a $516M deficit since joining the Big Ten, including a $78M shortfall in 2024–25, per new financial reports

Time/TV channel: 7 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. CT, 4 p.m. PT (ugh!) on Big Ten Network This is one I’m headlining for the intrigue.