The college football season is almost here. The Big 10 has won three straight national titles with three different teams. It might not have the top-to-bottom depth of the SEC, but the top of the Big 10 is better than any conference in the nation. Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon are all serious national title contenders, and the conference has several other teams that could compete for playoff spots.
Here is a breakdown of the odds to win the Big 10, the win totals for each team and the best futures bets to make.
2026 Odds to Win the Big 10
Big 10 Win Totals
- Illinois: o/u 7.5 wins (+134/-160)
- Indiana: o/u 10.5 wins (+105/-125)
- Iowa: o/u 7.5 wins (-140/+120)
- Maryland: o/u 5.5 wins (+105/-125)
- Michigan: o/u 8.5 wins (+140/-180)
- Michigan State: o/u 4.5 wins (+130/-156)
- Minnesota: o/u 6.5 wins (+130/-150)
- Nebraska: o/u 6.5 wins (+115/-136)
- Northwestern: o/u 5.5 wins (+110/-130)
- Ohio State: o/u 9.5 wins (-180/+150)
- Oregon: o/u 10.5 wins (+100/-120)
- Penn State: o/u 8.5 wins (-166/+130)
- Purdue: o/u 3.5 wins (+120/-140)
- Rutgers: o/u 4.5 wins (-156/+130)
- UCLA: o/u 6.5 wins (+110/-132)
- USC: o/u 8.5 wins (+115/-136)
- Washington: o/u 7.5 wins (-170/+140)
- Wisconsin: o/u 6.5 wins (-105/-115)
Big 10 Preview
The Big 10 has become the dominant conference in college football over the past three years. After a nearly two-decade run of the SEC winning a large majority of the national titles in the sport, the Big 10 has won three in a row. What makes it all the more impressive is that it has been won by three different programs. That is something the SEC did a few years ago with LSU, Alabama and Georgia, when the conference was at the peak of its powers.
Ohio State and Oregon are factories when it comes to bringing in new talent. While they might be in a bit of a down period, USC, Penn State and Michigan are some of the most historic programs in college football and could get to the top again within the next few years. Not to mention, the new kids on the block and the defending national champions, the Indiana Hoosiers. As long as Curt Cignetti is in Bloomington, they need to be considered serious contenders.
The conference would love to produce a fourth straight national championship and get a handful of teams in the College Football Playoff. Outside of that top tier, it will be interesting to see if any mid-tier teams could emerge and make a playoff run. Illinois, Washington, Wisconsin and Iowa are among the teams to watch in that group.
Best Big 10 Futures
Oregon to win the National Championship (+750)
Oregon is my pick to win the National Championship this season. It would be remarkable to see, but the Big 10 could win its fourth consecutive national title with four different teams. It seems improbable, but the SEC did it from 2007 to 2010 with LSU, Florida, Alabama and Auburn all winning consecutive titles. A national title this year would be the culmination of everything Dan Lanning has done to build this program up over the past few years.
Last season, Dan Lanning’s Ducks were arguably the second-best team in the nation. They went 11-1 in the regular season, only losing to Indiana. They were then knocked out of the CFP in the semifinals by Indiana. The same argument could be made about the year prior. The 2024 Ducks won the Big 10 after going undefeated in the regular season, but lost to eventual champions Ohio State in the College Football Playoff. In 2023, there was no expanded College Football Playoff so the Ducks didn’t make it, but they only lost to Washington that season, once in the regular season and once in the Pac-12 title game.
So, excluding his first season in charge in Eugene, Lanning has only lost to one team in each of his other three seasons at Oregon. One made the national title game and the other two won national titles. He has been right on the brink of the mountaintop each of the past three seasons, but has not quite reached it. This season, Dante Moore returned despite having the chance to be a top-10 NFL Draft selection. Lanning and Moore are determined to finally get their hands on a National Championship.
Oregon has one of the best quarterbacks in the country and one of the best receiving corps in the nation for him to throw to. Evan Stewart, Dakorien Moore and Jeremiah McClellan are a scary group for any defense in the country. Lanning also returns a lot of stars on defense and used the transfer portal to shore up a couple of holes in the roster. This team is as good as anyone in the country, and at +750 it presents more value than the likes of Ohio State, Notre Dame and Texas.
USC to make the CFP (+240)
This could be the year Lincoln Riley finally makes the postseason at USC. Riley’s first USC team, led by Caleb Williams, would have easily made the 12-team College Football Playoff, but it just missed out on the four-team field that year. He has not been able to replicate that success since, although last year’s team was close. Jayden Maiava is returning at quarterback for Riley, and he will be one of the best signal-callers in the country.
Last season, D’Anton Lynn made a lot of improvements to the USC defense that had been dreadful over Riley’s first couple of years in Los Angeles. Unfortunately for USC, Lynn left to take the DC job at Penn State after the season. However, Lincoln Riley went and hired Gary Patterson out of retirement to help keep that momentum going on the defensive side of the ball. If the defense can improve even further, along with Maiava’s quarterback play, this could be the team that emerges from that second tier in the Big 10 to make the CFP.
If USC wins nine games, with the only losses coming to Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana, it will have a strong case to make the College Football Playoff. Also, don’t be surprised if Riley finds a way to knock off one of those top teams and secure a signature win for his team.
Iowa Under 7.5 Wins (+120)
My favorite win total in the conference is for Iowa to win under 7.5 games. Kirk Ferentz has built a machine at Iowa. Over the past two decades, it has not been one of the best programs in the country, but it has been remarkably consistent. It has made a bowl game in 13 consecutive seasons and hit some real highs during that stretch. However, it’s important to note that a lot of that consistency was done in the Big Ten West, when the conference still had divisions. The West was a significantly weaker division and Iowa was able to consistently win.
Since moving to the expanded Big 10 two seasons ago, Iowa has still won eight regular-season games in both of those seasons. However, this could be the year Iowa drops below that eight-win threshold. It has a brand of football that always works for it, plays high-level defense and elite special teams. That being said, the offense has been dreadful for Iowa in recent years. The Hawkeyes should struggle on that side of the ball again, especially after losing three great offensive linemen to the NFL Draft.
The schedule is the major detractor for Iowa this year, however. The Hawkeyes should start strong in the non-conference, but then face an absolutely brutal five-game stretch. That stretch involves traveling to Michigan, hosting Ohio State, traveling to Washington, traveling to Minnesota and hosting Wisconsin. After a couple of winnable conference games, they then finish by traveling to Illinois and hosting Nebraska. Those are seven tough games for the Hawkeyes, and they would need to go 3-4 to get over their win total, and that’s assuming they go 5-0 in their more favorable games. At plus-money, there is real value on Iowa going under this win total.
