The Big Ten rolled into Chicago sounding less like a league seeking validation and more like one prepared to set the terms of the conversation. After three straight national championships, the conference has little appetite for being cast behind the SEC. What once might have been dismissed as Midwestern bravado now comes across as justified belief. Coaches, athletic directors and league officials are no longer sidestepping the comparison. They are leaning into it.
The opening day brought a clear sense of urgency, especially from programs staring at seasons that could define their current direction. At USC, Lincoln Riley drew plenty of attention as the Trojans enter a pivotal Year 5 with patience wearing thin. A College Football Playoff berth increasingly feels like the standard needed to affirm the school’s investment in Riley’s plan. The roster looks stronger, the defense has taken steps forward and, at this point, the margin for excuses has all but disappeared.
Penn State carried its own compelling storyline, with Matt Campbell now leading a program still searching for its first major breakthrough in the expanded playoff era. Campbell’s ties to several former Iowa State players on the roster should help smooth the adjustment, but the pressure in Happy Valley remains intense. The previous staff was dismissed despite producing five top-10 finishes over the past 12 seasons, a reminder that steady success is not always enough at Penn State.
Wisconsin, meanwhile, finds Luke Fickell under growing scrutiny after back-to-back underwhelming seasons and ongoing questions about the offense. The Badgers have talked about progress, but another year of unfulfilled promises would be difficult to sell. After loading up with a 33-player transfer class, Wisconsin has pushed its chips toward the middle of the table.
Tuesday’s discussions, including a tone-setting excerpt from Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, underscored the conference’s expanding depth and rising ambition. Still, the strongest messages came from coaches who know the stakes have shifted. In this version of the Big Ten, winning is not simply encouraged. It is expected.
Why Penn State should be taken seriously
Campbell enters Penn State with an advantage most first-year Power Four coaches do not have: real familiarity with a sizable portion of his locker room. Half of his projected starting lineup is made up of former Iowa State players, giving him a built-in layer of continuity. Alex Golesh has a similar dynamic at Auburn, but Campbell also benefits from a more forgiving path. Penn State’s schedule ranks among the most favorable in the country.
As the only Big Ten team that avoids Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana during the regular season, Penn State has a clear opening to reach nine wins or more. With 40 transfers and a staff that has already made a strong early impression, the Nittany Lions have the pieces to turn opportunity into momentum.
In Happy Valley, that sense of alignment is already beginning to show.
“I’ve always believed when you put the right culture and the right people, that’s what truly breeds success in college football,” Campbell said. “Over the last six months, what we’ve worked really hard to make sure we have the right people, the right people with the right value.”
Campbell, who nearly took the Detroit Lions’ opening in 2021, said only a “perfect opportunity” could pry him away from the Cyclones, and the Penn State job was just that.
USC embracing high-end expectations
Lincoln Riley realizes this is the season USC’s grand experiment must finally produce something substantial. The recruiting momentum is real after signing the nation’s top class, the roster welcomes back a nation-leading 15 starters and the Trojans appear better equipped to handle the Big Ten’s physicality.
Now comes the difficult part: creating week-to-week consistency.
“This is what it’s supposed to feel like here,” Riley said about CFP pressure. “I’ve said this multiple times. I mean, the only two places I’ve been a coach were blue-blood schools with the highest expectations. I haven’t really known anything different. We’re. product of our own experiences, and that’s been mine.
“Every year, I expect to win. I expect us to win and compete for and win championships. That hasn’t changed. I do, though, will give you what has changed. I think we’re more equipped than the previous three years. That’s not a hope or a wish. Those are facts, and there are a lot of facts to back that up. It all stems from alignment and momentum within the program. It’s real, and it’s palpable.”
USC did not break the bank to pry Riley away from his previous post for nine-win seasons or respectable bowl trips. The expectation is College Football Playoff appearances, an honor the Trojans haven’t yet experienced since the postseason expanded in 2014. Anything short of a spot in the 12-team bracket this season will intensify questions about whether Riley is capable of restoring the program to championship status.
There are no more convenient excuses. Riley has reshaped his staff, most notably by hiring new defensive coordinator Gary Patterson. He’s a proven defensive mind tasked with simplifying the scheme while amplifying the Trojans’ talent. USC’s schedule presents challenges, but it also offers multiple opportunities to impress the selection committee.
The Trojans do not necessarily need to win the Big Ten to save Riley from the hottest of seats. They do, however, need to be part of the playoff conversation late in the year. This season’s about delivering, not selling another vision.
Perhaps returning star quarterback Jayden Maiava, who led the conference in passing with 3,711 yards, pushes the Trojans to the next level.
“Of all the guys I’ve been fortunate enough to coach, I don’t know that I’ve had any that have improved from Day 1 up to this point as Jayden has,” Riley said. “It’s been fun to see him grow as a player, grow as a leader and really start to embrace what it means to be the starting quarterback at USC.”
Luke Fickell understands job pressure
There’s no room for another false start at Wisconsin for Fickell, who was hired to modernize a proud program and contend in the Big Ten. Inconsistency, offensive misfires and roster turnover have stalled that vision, with tangible progress needed.
Fickell acknowledges this program has failed to evolve under his watch, but tangible progress is coming.
“The last two years for us have not been up to the standard, and I’m not shying away from that,” Fickell said. “The standard of what we have to uphold as a football program hasn’t been. That’s not just in the wins and losses, the physicality, the toughness … it hasn’t been there. We’ve got to do a helluva lot better job. I can promise you that we will. Things are obviously moving in that direction.”
The Badgers needed more size, speed and proven production after another wave of departures and believe they have solidified those roster issues through the portal. Whether those pieces mesh quickly will determine Fickell’s future, and there’s no runway for experimentation, either.
Wisconsin opens against Notre Dame before playing Penn State and Michigan State during the first five games.
“I can tell you this, we’re going in a different direction,” Fickell said.
Former Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh reportedly asked Fickell if he wanted to step away during a six-game losing skid in 2025, but both agreed to hunker down. McIntosh eventually gave Fickell a public vote of confidence, but he resigned this spring. Successor Shawn Eichorst, who spent the last eight years at Texas, may have a shorter leash.
Illinois is all in on new-look Illinois offensive line
Illinois coach Bret Bielema spent much of last season’s second half ensuring his primary position group would be a team strength this fall.
The team is protecting its investment in former ECU starting quarterback Kaitin Houser with a couple of experienced newcomers at the line of scrimmage.
“I made a huge commitment of time on my behalf and our personnel staff to look at potential portal players and make sure we’re going after the right people,” Bielema said. “We don’t have snaps at Illinois, but Christian Martin, my left tackle, played a lot of football at Colorado. Maika Matelau played a lot of JUCO football. We have Jake Renfroe, who has started at Cincinnati and Wisconsin — a lot of reps, even though it hasn’t been at Illinois.
“Brandon Henderson is our right guard, the only returning player who’s been a starter for two years. Our right tackle, Nate (Knapkik) started in the bowl game for us has played a lot of good football.”
Bielema coached at Wisconsin from 2006 through 2012 before spending five years at Arkansas in the SEC. Now, Big Ten programs are spending at the level of other top programs for talent.
“You go around to every team, the rosters have changed because of those two components — the transfer rule and revenue sharing. It’s a different world,” Bielema said. “Anything beyond that is nonsense. That’s where I’m coming from.”
Rutgers’ Greg Schiano harps on foundational changes
For the first time since returning to Rutgers ahead of the 2020 season, Schiano feels the pieces are in place to turn things around. Schiano credited the braintrust of Rutgers Board of Governors Chair Amy Towers, university president William Tate and athletic director Keli Zenn for pushing that vision.
“Vertical alignment to me isn’t a slogan, vertical alignment is when you have a board chair, a president, an AD and a football coach who look at winning at Rutgers the same,” Schiano said. “And also look at the investment needed to do it. We have a deep and talented roster, the deepest and most talented I’ve had since I’ve been back.”
Schiano is 31-41 overall with only two winning seasons since his return, but he has come up empty against the Big Ten’s best teams. He’s hoping all-conference-caliber playmakers KJ Duff at wideout and running back Antwan Raymond can be the cogs that get the Scarlet Knights back to respectability this fall.
Iowa’s quarterback situation iffy at best
It’s either Hank Brown or Jeremy Hecklinski for the Hawkeyes under center this season, but as of now, Kirk Ferentz has no idea which player he’ll choose with the help of offensive coordinator Tim Lester after an even split of offseason reps.
Hecklinski was the backup to Mark Gronowski last fall, but Brown — an Auburn transfer — closed the gap during the spring.
“Right now, we don’t know the answer, and I can only tell you we’ll know the answer when we know it, hopefully,” Ferentz said. “Sometime in August, maybe that will become apparent. Maybe in-season. Can’t rule out any possibilities. The bottom line is we don’t know who our starter is at this point, but we’re really pleased with the guys we have competing and the growth they’ve shown within the program.”
Ouch.
That’s hardly reassuring for an Iowa offense still searching for stability at the most important position.
Tony Petitti, Greg Sankey are great ‘frienemies’
The Big Ten and SEC’s working relationship is far from fractured, though it may appear so thanks to the CFP expansion drama.
Petitti said he spoke with the SEC’s Greg Sankey five times before taking the podium Tuesday as the pair shared thoughts on the Protect College Sports Act and where they stood as leading voices in college football. He believes the competition between the sport’s two best leagues only strengthens the game as a whole.
“SEC fans really like the rivalry,” Petitti said. “It would be great if we played each other more. From a fan perspective, having a rivalry between SEC and Big Ten, it couldn’t be better.”
The Big Ten has long been an advocate of a 24-team College Football Playoff model. Sankey, who floated the idea of the SEC breaking away from the NCAA last week, appears to be on an island with their expansion preference.
“People point to the playoff and try to make it bigger than it is,” Petitti said. “The fans love the rivalry, we want to double down on that because it’s the right thing for all our sports to play those games. And as a working partner, I don’t think it can be much better to be honest with you.”
While Petitti lauded his relationship with the other “Power Two” league, he pushed back on the notion that the SEC’s depth made its nine-game schedule much harder than the Big Ten’s — a talking point repeated several times during SEC Media Days last week in Tampa.
“The idea that the middle of our conference isn’t hard? That’s not right,” Petitti said.
