The Big Ten Conference, which featured three teams in the 2025-26 College Football Playoff, has emerged as the best conference in all of college football. Along with consistently enjoying success in postseason games, they have also enjoyed three consecutive National Champions (Michigan, Ohio State, and Indiana).

Who could be the next Big Ten team to continue the trend and become the fourth Big Ten team in four seasons to win the Playoff? Well, schedule has a lot to do with getting there.

Ahead of a long and tumultuous offseason, FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt ranked the three easiest Big Ten schedules next season on the latest edition of ‘The Joel Klatt Show‘.

Sept. 5: vs. Marshall
Sept. 12: @ Temple
Sept. 19: vs. Buffalo
Sept. 26: vs. Wisconsin
Oct. 2: @ Northwestern
Oct. 10: vs. USC
Oct. 17: @ Michigan
Oct. 31: vs. Purdue
Nov. 7: @ Washington
Nov. 14: vs. Minnesota
Nov. 21: vs. Rutgers
Nov. 28: @ Maryland

“The best schedule in the Big Ten, the jackpot winner that hit the lottery, is new head coach Matt Campbell and the Penn State Nittany Lions,” Klatt said. “This thing is not difficult. It just isn’t at all. They don’t have much in the non-conference with Marshall, Temple, and Buffalo. That’s obviously manageable, even for a new coach.”

“They only face two of what I would categorize as the top-six teams in the conference. They happen in October, and one of them is at home. By the way, your lone really tough game on the road is Michigan, and they’ve got a brand new coach. This is the absolute schedule lottery in the Big Ten.”

No Big Ten team has it easier this season than Penn State and newly hired head coach Matt Campbell. The Nittany Lions avoided Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon, and Illinois, while one of their two hardest games (USC and Michigan) is at home in Happy Valley. The program could bounce back from a disappointing 2025 in a big way this season.

Sept. 5: vs. UAB
Sept. 12: vs. Duke
Sept. 19: vs. Southern Illinois
Sept. 26: @ Ohio State
Oct. 3: vs. Purdue
Oct. 10: @ Michigan State
Oct. 24: vs. Oregon
Oct. 31: @ Maryland
Nov. 7: vs. Nebraska
Nov. 14: @ UCLA
Nov. 21: vs. Iowa
Nov. 28: @ Northwestern

“Illinois hit the schedule lottery, and again, you look at this (schedule) and think they have to play Ohio State on the road and Oregon,” Klatt said. “They sure do, but it matters when it happens and it matters what happens around them. Duke is on the non-conference schedule for Illinois, and they lost their quarterback. That’s a different team without their quarterback.”

“For Illinois, really their toughest test, on the road is at Ohio State. Even if you lose that one, you’ve got Oregon at home and Iowa at home. It’s really not a tough slate.”

Bret Bielema and the Illinois Fighting Illini have posted back-to-back seasons of nine-plus wins for the first time in program history, but have yet to break into the College Football Playoff picture. If it could pull off an upset win against either Ohio State or Oregon and win all the games they’ll be projected to win, the Illini could make some noise come December.

Sept. 5: vs. Northern Illinois
Sept. 12: vs. Iowa State
Sept. 19: vs. Northern Iowa
Sept. 26: @ Michigan
Oct. 3: vs. Ohio State
Oct. 10: @ Washington
Oct. 24: @ Minnesota
Oct. 31: vs. Wisconsin
Nov. 7: @ Northwestern
Nov. 14: vs. Purdue
Nov. 21: @ Illinois
Nov. 27: vs. Nebraska

“Iowa got a pretty darn good schedule,” Klatt said. “First and foremost, their big non-conference game is Iowa State. Iowa State was decimated when they lost their coach, Matt Campbell. He went to Penn State and their entire roster basically left. That’s their tough non-conference game, and it’s at Kinnick.

“I don’t see another top-six team in the conference on that list (across Iowa‘s final six games). To me, that’s a schedule lottery win for Iowa. If they can get through their first five with just two losses and win at Washington, all of a sudden you’re scaring at a 10-win season because the back half of your schedule is not entirely unmanageable.”

Iowa has won at least eight games in 10 consecutive (full) seasons dating back to 2015. In the era of the 12-team College Football Playoff, 10 wins (which the Hawkeyes have done four times in that span) would likely be enough to earn them their first ever CFP appearance.