Hammer and Rails Readers Reacts Survey: Predicting the 2026 Big Ten Football Champion

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Purdue fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

The Big Ten has been a very competitive football conference for a long long time. However, in years past there have been a big three teams (Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State) with some other folks jumping up every now and then to compete for the conference crown. That has included, at various times, Purdue, Iowa, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and more recently the Indiana Hoosiers. The conference has of course added a number of tough teams in recent years, from a football perspective at least, in USC, Oregon, and yes even Nebraska. This has made the conference harder to win and even harder to compete in. This is especially true for teams like Purdue.

With that in mind, I wanted to see who you all thought would be the conference champion this season. Will it be defending National Champion Indiana (still an absolutely bizarre sentence to type), or will more traditional powers like Michigan and Ohio State be the cream of the crop? Then there’s Oregon, USC, and Nebraska who could pop up to the top during any particular season.

Just one question this week, results will be posted later in the week so vote early and vote often!