COLUMBUS, Ohio — There was a time a half century ago when Ohio State and Michigan under the leadership of legendary coaches Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, respectively, left the rest of the Big Ten in their dust.
With that, the conference earned the derisive moniker the “Big Two and the Little Eight.”
Times have changed.
The Big Ten is now 18 teams stretching from coast-to-coast. There is still a top tier. But now it’s three teams with Ohio State the lone constant from yesteryear.
The Buckeyes, Indiana and Oregon are not only competing for a Big Ten title but are serious contenders for the College Football Playoff championship.
In the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll, Ohio State is first, Oregon second and defending national champion Indiana sixth among the eight ranked Big Ten teams. It’s no surprise considering the trio place high in most rankings for recruiting, success in the transfer portal and team valuation based on name, image and likeness (NIL).
Yet, unlike the Woody and Bo era and the perceived “Little” ones behind them, the Big Ten has strength in numbers at the top with the likes of Michigan, Penn State, USC and Washington hoping to earn spots in the 12-team playoff.
The Wolverines started the Big Ten’s run of three straight national champions in 2023. Ohio State and Indiana, followed, causing Oregon coach Dan Lanning to take a light jab at the SEC when asked how the conferences should be compared.
“They’re both great conferences, great leagues,” he said. “At the end of the day there’s hardware that you hope is sitting in your conference when all is said and done and the Big Ten has been able to do that the last few years.”
Lanning, who has SEC roots at Georgia, hopes the Ducks are next in line considering they have the second-best winning percentage in FBS the past two seasons with a 26-3 record (.897) to trail Indiana (27-2, .931) but ahead of third-place Ohio State (26-4, .867).
“Obviously, Indiana had an unbelievable team last year,” Lanning said. “I think everybody that played them got to see that, and certainly everybody that watched. And then Ohio State the year before.
“So, I’m excited about this group. It’s a different level of experience that we have going into this year with this group and a different coaching group as well, so should be a lot of fun.”
Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon made the playoffs in 2024 and 2025 and should again this season. The league has a 22-9 postseason record the past two seasons, including 8-2 against the SEC.
“When we line up to play our regular seasons and then when we send our teams out to go play for national championships, we can actually say that we’re in a good spot, it’s fair, and we have a great shot to win,” Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said.
It’s a combination of factors. According to NILstandard.com, Oregon is second nationally behind Texas ($49.3 million) with a roster value of $43.4 million. Ohio State is fourth ($39.3). The next Big Ten schools are USC ($35.2) in sixth and Indiana in 10th ($33.1).
The Buckeyes and Ducks were near the top of the 247Sports’ composite recruiting rankings for 2026, although USC was the national leader. Oregon was third and the Buckeyes fourth.
Indiana, 22nd in recruiting, subtracted Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
But the Hoosiers reloaded with an eighth-place finish in the 247Sports national rankings for 2026, a spot behind Ohio State. Penn State topped the conference at No. 4 while Oregon checked in at No. 21.
All of which makes it tough for any Big Ten program to crack the top three of the Buckeyes, Hoosiers and Ducks.
“When you go to 18 teams and you add the four teams we added from the West Coast (Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington), we added championship-level teams, so the competition is at an all-time high,” Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald said.
