Jon Joseph

We live today in a peripatetic, wired world. The moment is what matters; forget about yesterday. Three Big Ten (B1G) teams have won the last three college football (CFB) championships. The usual suspects, Michigan in 2023 and Ohio State in 2024, won it all. The suspect Indiana Hoosiers completed the greatest two-year turnaround in the history of CFB, defeating Miami on its home field to capture last season's crown. Move over Hickory High and Gene Hackman. So Hats Off to the B1G! But does this B1G trifecta mean that the conference has surpassed the It Just Means More SEC, the conference that dominated BCS and Playoff titles from the 1998 season through 2022? I say, Not So Fast, my B1G friends! Yes, Indiana, one of three B1G teams in the field, came through in 2025, but let's not forget that the SEC placed five teams in the field. It's also chic today to note that the B1G will likely have more first-round NFL draft picks in 2026 than the SEC. However, the draft is a seven-round exercise, and over the seven rounds, which conference is expected to have the most picks? It's the SEC, for the 20th consecutive year, extending its record from 2007 through 2025. NIL has spread the talent around, no doubt. But the SEC continues to send the most players to the NFL. On April 16, 2026, The Athletic's Dane Brugler released his fourth mock 2026 draft, predicting every pick from No. 1 to No. 257. Although the holes were rather small, I had to count them all. Now I know how many holes it takes to fill Pittsburgh's Acrisure Hall. 😁 Here's a summary of the eight Ducks expected to be drafted in 2026. Oregon Ducks On SITwo Oregon Ducks Drafted To Dallas Cowboys In New PredictionThe 2026 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and several former Oregon Ducks are expected to be selected by various NFL teams. Dane Brugler, an NFL Draft anal I was not surprised to see these Elite 8 Ducks on the list. I was surprised to see OT Alex Harkey going ahead of OT Isiah World. This is the number of players chosen from the B1G and the SEC through seven rounds. 1st Round - B1G - 11 - Ohio State - 4/ Indiana - 2/ Oregon - 2/ Penn State, USC, and UW - 1 each 1st Round - SEC - 8 - 2 each from Tennessee and Texas A+M/ 1 each from Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, and LSU 2nd Round - B1G 6/ SEC 15 64 players taken in the 1st and 2nd rounds - the cream of the draft crop. The SEC leads in the 2nd round and thereafter through the 7th round. 3rd Round - B1G 9/ SEC 15 4th Round - B1G 13/ SEC 14 5th Round - B1G 9/ SEC 10 6th Round - B1G 12/ SEC 16 Total - B1G - 69 players drafted/ SEC 75 players drafted B1G - 3.83 drafted per 18-member schools/ 4.68 drafted per 16-member schools. What these numbers do not necessarily account for is the quality of the coaching in the two conferences. Overall, the Big Ten has the more experienced coaches New coaches Whittingham at Michigan, Campbell at Penn State, and Fitzgerald at Michigan State come from Utah, Iowa State, and Northwestern programs, which they left with the most wins in program history. New coaches at Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, and Ole Miss have no regular-season Power 4 head coaching experience. LSU is the exception. Roster rankings do support the SEC teams, top to bottom, having more talent than Big Ten teams. But talent is potential that will succeed only if the coaching results in the sum of the whole being greater than the parts. Big Ten projected draft picks: Illinois 2/ Indiana 8/ Iowa 7/ Maryland 2/ Michigan 5/ Michigan State 2/ Nebraska 1/ Northwesten 3/ Ohio State 10/ Oregon 8/ Penn State 7/ USC 5/ UCLA 1/ Washington 3/ Wisconsin 1 If all draft-eligible Ducks players had entered the draft, Oregon would have more players drafted than Ohio State. IMO, that's a WOW! The Big Ten has closed the gap, but IMO the conference has yet to dethrone the SEC.

ESPN - It's going to be a B1G draft, including OBD - ESPN.comCollege football fan guide to the 2026 NFL draftAttention college football fans: The NFL draft is coming. Here's everything you need to know.

Spot on, H! Your logical P12 alignment didn't happen because USC fans wanted their trip to SFO every season to watch SC vs Stanford or Cal. Thus, the Cali, Pat Haden, scheduling format. A Big Ten East-West division alignment based on past results in Big Ten play would hose over the teams in the East. I don't fault B1G HQ for underestimating the prowess of Indiana in 2023. Who knew? And who knew that many potential top draft picks would be returning to Oregon instead of playing in the NFL? Equitable scheduling in today's CFB with NIL, largely unrestricted CFB free agency, and significant roster turnover every season is not possible IMO. Especially when a scheduling goal is for every conference member to play one another at least twice over five years. As I noted above, you might convince Tony to adopt Mike's well-thought-out plan. But Tony's consent is meaningless without the approval of the media partners. Unequal scheduling in CFB would be a lesser problem if the PO committee revealed its metrics and used them. No E$PN sneak peeks before the ultimate field is revealed, with the metrics that support the field and the seeding of the field revealed at the same time. If the field and the seeding do not match the metrics, the committee spokesperson has to explain the reasoning behind ignoring the metrics. A 24-team field would also help with the disparity in scheduling. Yes, the 25th team and its fans would beef, but would No. 25 be able to win four games on the way to a title?

This is the 🤬we get from the Football Playoff PO Committee - https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-playoff-rebrands-logos-cfp/?eid=c7d8647c6247db8d08c59fe44bc30380a147aa90b9e33099045cd46ddc6a485b&ftag=SNL-04-10aaa0b&ET_CID=542848&ET_

Mike, scheduling change updates in the NFL - The emphasis in the NFL is always on parity - CFB Billionaire Battles are not seen in the NFL - Here is the College Football News national SOS ranking for B1G champ contender schedules, including OOC games: Oregon 6, Michigan 7, USC 15, Ohio State 17, UW 26, Indiana 50, Penn State 51, and Iowa 55. The team with the highest ranking in The Sporting News Composite top 25 ranking with the easiest schedule is No. 7 Texas Tech. The Red Raiders' schedule is ranked 65th out of 68 Power 4 teams. One preseason-ranked team, No. 23 Houston, is on the schedule, with the game to be played in Lubbock. This disparity, IMO, is an even bigger issue than in-conference scheduling equity. Especially with a PO committee that makes things up as they go along. The Basketball Committee discloses a team's schedule strength week by week. The Football Committee does its business in the dark except for the light that shines on Alabama. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-tweak-scheduling-formula-if-regular-season-stays-at-17-games/?eid=c7d8647c6247db8d08c59fe44bc30380a147aa90b9e33099045cd46ddc6a485b&ftag=SNL-04-10aaa0b&ET_CID=542848&ET_RID=5248271

Good thoughts, Mike, thanks. Please cc: the honchos at Fox, CBS, and NBC. Tony might love the idea, but the inventory is owned by the media. This season, Oregon plays UCLA, USC, and UW. The four West Coast teams playing each other every season and one less trip to the Eastern or Central time zones would be an easy fix and one that would be acceptable to the broadcast partners, I think. Divisions? I'm not sure anyone in B1G HQ wants to return to an East-West split, with the East being the more difficult conference and dominating Big Ten championship games. In 2030, we could see a Super Conference dominated by B1G and SEC teams with value-added programs like Notre Dame added on. If the B1G stays on its own, I think we will see the conference expand to 24 teams, with playoff revenue split by success on the field and court, and media income split by the number of viewers over a given period. This is today's revenue share model in the ACC. Miami keeps all of the football playoff revenue it earned last season. Regardless, we will see significant change on or before 2030, including a 24-team playoff, and your thoughts on equitable scheduling will be even more relevant if the B1G adopts the ACC revenue distribution model. The worst teams in the NFL play the easiest schedules the league can arrange. But the goal in CFB is not focused on parity. SEE: 3-loss Bama in the 2025-26 PO and 2-loss BYU on the bench. The B12 champ game loss mattered; the SEC champ game loss did not matter. Nor did a loss to a bad FSU team. Equity in every endeavor organized and managed by homo sapiens is elusive. But it never hurts to try, peacefully, to find equity. Thanks again for your thoughts.

Thanks, H. Easy? Compared to what? If you are looking for easy, check out Texas Tech, one game vs a top 25 opponent, No. 23 Houston, in Lubbock. UGA also plays Florida in Atlanta, Oklahoma, Auburn, Missouri, and Georgia Tech. College Football News ranks the Dawgs schedule the 14th most difficult in 2026. The Sporting News 2026 composite top 25 has Georgia playing Nos. 10, 15, 16, and 24. Unlike Indiana, USC, Penn State, and Nebraska, in 2026, Georgia plays 10 and not nine Power 4 opponents. Georgia's schedule is not as difficult as the Arkansas schedule, but it is not easy.

TE Jamari Johnson, who broke out in 2025, is expected to improve in 2026 - 10 college football players with breakout potential in 2026

This is not a computer-generated Top 25 ranking. Not ESPN's FPI or SP+. This ranking comes from ESPN journalist Mark Schlabach's wet computer, his brain. Programming unknown. Mark has eight B1G teams in his top 25: 1 Ohio State, 2 OREGON, 6 Indiana, 14 Michigan, 15 Penn State, 17 Washington, 19 Iowa, and 20 USC. Comment from Heritage Hall - Go to 🤬! I think the Trojans have a case. Iowa's schedule is the easiest in the Big Ten, but 18 starters have to be replaced, including the QB, Goronowski, who led the Hawkeyes to a bowl win over 10-2 Vanderbilt. And the Trojans play OBD and Ohio State in LA. Mark's B1G Elite 8 as ranked by College Football News strength of schedule (SOS) rankings from 1 to 138. 6 OREGON, 7 Michigan, 15 USC, 17 Ohio State, 26 UW, 50 Indiana, 51 Penn State, and 55 Iowa. (The Buckeye ranking is lower than on many other sites.) The Hoosiers are not sending out a scheduling SOS. If Penn State finishes 10-2, I believe several 9-3 B1G teams will be better than the Nittany Lions. Iowa State went 8-4 last season. How will the play of the 24 Iowa State players transferring to PSU fare in the Big Ten? I will not be surprised if one or more Big Ten teams outside the top 25 make the PO Committee's final top 25. I like: No. 3 Georgia being ranked above No. 5 Texas. Mississippi 9, Texas A+M 10, and LSU 11, I question. No. 16 Alabama and No. 25 Tennessee both have new starting QBs. Alabama finished 125th in rushing last season. Will the former Oregon coach and new Bama OL coach, Adrian Klemm, make a significant difference? Tennessee hired Jim Knowles as its DC. How did that work out at Penn State last season? Their schedules and talent justify Notre Dame being ranked 4th, and Miami 7th. I believe five B12 teams being ranked is generous. Although Utah's SOS is No. 54, Houston's is 64, and Texas Tech comes in at 65. ESPN.com2026 college football Way-Too-Early Top 25: Spring updateWith rosters settled and practices underway, we rank the top contenders for the 2026 college football season.

Big Ten Media Days will be held in Chicago - Danno gets his turn on day 2 https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/big-ten-drops-2026-football-171319901.html

Prepare yourself for a B1G draft 🥶that will have B1G fans wearing shades 😍 https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2026/04/14/nfl-draft-big-ten-sec-debate-most-players-2026/89550515007/?utm_source=usatoday-sports-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=usatbaseline&utm_term=Content%20List%20-%

How about another 8-Clap for the history-making UCLA women. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2026/04/13/2026-wnba-draft-winners-losers-ucla-latson/89599350007/?utm_source=usatoday-sports-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=usatbaseline&utm_term=hero&utm_content=usat-

26 Questions for the Big Ten heading into the 2026 season - No. 11 - Does Oregon have that one extra gear? A - Fingers crossed, wood knocked. https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/big-ten-football-2026-26-key-questions

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-top-25-teams-best-worst-case-scenarios-2026-season/

On Wisconsin! But On Luke Fickell? The AD who hired and supported his coach is resigning to take a position with the Big Ten conference. If Luke doesn't improve things this season, New Mexico coach Jason Eck, who played on the Wisconsin O-line, will be high on any new hire list. AP NewsChris McIntosh steps down as Wisconsin AD to take over ne...Chris McIntosh is stepping down as Wisconsin’s athletic director and moving into the Big Ten office as the conference’s deputy commissioner for strategy.