Big Ten Bowl Projections for 2026

With the start of the 2026 college football season less than 40 days away, it’s never too early to project bowl games and playoff contenders for the 18-team Big Ten. With Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana among the favorites to win it all this year, a fourth consecutive national championship (and more bragging rights over the SEC) is within reach. The Buckeyes are Athlon’s pick to win it all, but the Hoosiers and Ducks also have all the right pieces to finish No. 1.

In addition to the strength at the top, the Big Ten has plenty of depth. Michigan, USC, Washington, Penn State and Iowa could all contend for a playoff spot or one of the top bowl tie-ins in the conference. Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota and UCLA headline the next tier of teams in ’26, with Wisconsin, Northwestern, Maryland, Rutgers, Michigan State and Purdue needing a few breaks to win six games and reach the postseason. 

With fall practice just around the corner, where do Big Ten teams stack up in bowl projections for ’26? Athlon Sports projects Big Ten teams and bowls for this fall:

Big Ten 2026 Preview:Predictions | Coach Ranks | 138 Team Rankings | Bowl Projections
All-America | Big Ten All-Conference Team

Big Ten Bowl Projections for 2026

Athlon Sports released its complete preseason bowl projections earlier this offseason, so let’s take a look at how the predictions stack up for where Big Ten teams will spend their postseason:

The Order of Selections for 2026

1. College Football Playoff

Note: Due to conference realignment, former Pac-12 teams (Oregon, Washington, UCLA and USC in the Big Ten) will be selected for bowls previously tied to the league. This includes Alamo, Holiday, Las Vegas, Poinsettia and Sun Bowls.

BowlSelection Order After Playoff

2. Citrus

The Citrus Bowl has the top pick after College Football Playoff teams are selected. The Big Ten has not released an official selection order for the remaining five tie-ins:

ReliaQuest
Music City
Pinstripe
Duke’s Mayo
Cactus

The Projections for 2026-27

College Football Playoff

The 12-team CFB Playoff field features five automatic bids and seven at-large selections. The four champs from power conferences are guaranteed a spot. The highest-ranked Group of 6 team is also guaranteed a bid. If ranked inside the top 12 in the final top 25, Notre Dame will automatically earn a spot in the field. Also, the selection committee's top four teams will receive a first-round bye.

Big Ten Teams Projected to Reach Playoff

Ohio State (No. 1 seed)
Indiana (No. 5 seed)
Oregon (No. 6 seed)

Numbers indicate projected College Football Playoff seeds

Hawaii Bowl*: Mountain West vs. American (Dec. 24)

Projection: Hawaii vs. UCLA*
*Athlon's projections indicate the American Conference would fail to fill allotted bowl spots. UCLA was projected as an at-large replacement.

Pinstripe Bowl: ACC vs. Big Ten (Dec. 26)

Projection: Pitt vs. Minnesota

Duke's Mayo Bowl: ACC vs. Big Ten (Dec. 26)

Projection: Virginia Tech vs. Iowa

Cactus Bowl: Big 12 vs. Big Ten (Dec. 26)

Projection: TCU vs. Illinois

Alamo Bowl: Big 12 vs. Pac-12 (Dec. 29)

Projection: BYU vs. USC

Music City Bowl: Big Ten vs. SEC (Dec. 30)

Projection: Nebraska vs. South Carolina

ReliaQuest Bowl: Big Ten vs. SEC (Dec. 31)

Projection: Penn State vs. Florida

Citrus Bowl: Big Ten vs. SEC (Jan. 2)

Projection: Michigan vs. Ole Miss

Holiday Bowl: ACC vs. Pac-12 (TBD)

Projection: Clemson vs. Washington