Top Four Candidates for "Most Surprising Big 10 Team of 2026"

Ripcord · Sep 27, 2026

The following are presented In order of most likely to amaze us fans (i.e., overachieving for the entire season) are as follows:
(admittedly, this post is inherently premature, with only one Big 10 game played and 8 more to go)

1) Northwestern. Friday night they looked about as good as Indiana during their playoff run last year, albeit with a loss nonetheless. Moral Victory of the Season

2) Iowa. 'nuff said. Orchestrated a highly-unlikely-to-succeed final 91-yard drive and minor miracle finish.

3) Nebraska. only beat 3 cream puffs and a somewhat decimated Michigan State team, but still I have a feeling about them that this is the year they turn the corner.

4) Wisconsin. overcame 17-point deficit on the road against Penn State. Yikes.

Now, for good measure three possible candidates for Most Disappointing Big 10 Team for 2026:

1) Washington. too many injuries and maybe other issues that are not readily known/understood.

2) Michigan. Uber talented, but a very lucky "win" in game 1 and lost to us after thoroughly outplaying us for about 3 or 3.5 quarters yesterday. sooner or later, it might all catch up with them.

3) Penn State. no way they should blow a 17-point lead against a team picked near the bottom of the conference.

The season has a long, long way to go, but the mystique of uncertainty and concomittant surprises are what makes college football what it is.

Jayb01 · Sep 27, 2026

While the outcome was mostly unexpected, the score of the game wasn't. It was likely to be a single digit win one way of the other, and it went to the road team. So I wouldn't call it a surprise for Iowa as 4-0 was very possible for a preseason top 25 team. The other teams you mentioned have far exceeded expectations.

I also don't really think michigan and penn state are particularly 'surprising'. They both have new coaches. One was fired mid season, went .500 and then became Iowa State with white clothes. Michigan had a pretty decent year but they fired their guy for entirely different and awesome reasons lol. But a coaching change nonetheless. I guess a lot of that one matters on how the western Michigan is ultimately regarded. They did also best Oklahoma. But Washington kind of blows.

Doctor Hawktagonapus · Sep 27, 2026

I'd still have Oregon in disappointing even with the good win last night just due to how high the expectations were. This was supposed to be their year to finally put it all together, but they have been soft in the trenches and Ohio State and Indiana still look significantly better. I don't see them winning in the Horseshoe in November, so they probably will need to be perfect the rest of the way.

BlIIlken2 · Sep 27, 2026

Everyone knew nebby would be 5-0. Nothing really looks new from there and their freshman Rb is hurt I guess. I would wait until they play tougher opponents. Having said that 8-4 would be a solid season for them.

Wisky is the one I’m shocked with.

Grayhair1981 · Sep 27, 2026

I have been underwhelmed by OSU. They had enough firepower to put Illinois away but their defense is not that good.

Palmerhawk · Sep 27, 2026

Ucla is looking very good...a bit of a surprise with new coach. That ucla vs USC game could be back to a good rivalry game like in past.

uihawk82 · Sep 27, 2026

Doctor Hawktagonapus said:
I'd still have Oregon in disappointing even with the good win last night just due to how high the expectations were. This was supposed to be their year to finally put it all together, but they have been soft in the trenches and Ohio State and Indiana still look significantly better. I don't see them winning in the Horseshoe in November, so they probably will need to be perfect the rest of the way.

Indy's pass coverage looked terrible against jNW or jNW's pass game is excellent.

Ohio St is Ohio St but Coach Day will always make one or two bonehead decisions to lose a game and they still cant kick a FG when it can ice a game.

uihawk82 · Sep 27, 2026

BlIIlken2 said:
Everyone knew nebby would be 5-0. Nothing really looks new from there and their freshman Rb is hurt I guess. I would wait until they play tougher opponents. Having said that 8-4 would be a solid season for them.

Wisky is the one I’m shocked with.

Was it Wisky or is PSU soft? Maybe Wisky smashed PSU in the mouth a few extra times in the first half and the kitty cats decided to curl up in the corner. Campbell's guys are used to playing in the Big 12 pillow fights

uihawk82 · Sep 27, 2026

Grayhair1981 said:
I have been underwhelmed by OSU. They had enough firepower to put Illinois away but their defense is not that good.

Yes, and it is strong defense that wins the trophies

Hawkmanic23 · Sep 27, 2026

Ripcord said:
The following are presented In order of most likely to amaze us fans (i.e., overachieving for the entire season) are as follows:
(admittedly, this post is inherently premature, with only one Big 10 game played and 8 more to go)

1) Northwestern. Friday night they looked about as good as Indiana during their playoff run last year, albeit with a loss nonetheless. Moral Victory of the Season

2) Iowa. 'nuff said. Orchestrated a highly-unlikely-to-succeed final 91-yard drive and minor miracle finish.

3) Nebraska. only beat 3 cream puffs and a somewhat decimated Michigan State team, but still I have a feeling about them that this is the year they turn the corner.

4) Wisconsin. overcame 17-point deficit on the road against Penn State. Yikes.

Now, for good measure three possible candidates for Most Disappointing Big 10 Team for 2026:

1) Washington. too many injuries and maybe other issues that are not readily known/understood.

2) Michigan. Uber talented, but a very lucky "win" in game 1 and lost to us after thoroughly outplaying us for about 3 or 3.5 quarters yesterday. sooner or later, it might all catch up with them.

3) Penn State. no way they should blow a 17-point lead against a team picked near the bottom of the conference.

The season has a long, long way to go, but the mystique of uncertainty and concomittant surprises are what makes college football what it is.

Looking at Nebraska’s schedule they will be fortunate to go 3-4 in their final 7 games. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they go 2-5 during that stretch.

Hawkmanic23 · Sep 27, 2026

Jayb01 said:
While the outcome was mostly unexpected, the score of the game wasn't. It was likely to be a single digit win one way of the other, and it went to the road team. So I wouldn't call it a surprise for Iowa as 4-0 was very possible for a preseason top 25 team. The other teams you mentioned have far exceeded expectations.

I also don't really think michigan and penn state are particularly 'surprising'. They both have new coaches. One was fired mid season, went .500 and then became Iowa State with white clothes. Michigan had a pretty decent year but they fired their guy for entirely different and awesome reasons lol. But a coaching change nonetheless. I guess a lot of that one matters on how the western Michigan is ultimately regarded. They did also best Oklahoma. But Washington kind of blows.

Hope Washington still “blows” in two weeks when Iowa plays there.

Hawkmanic23 · Sep 27, 2026

BlIIlken2 said:
Everyone knew nebby would be 5-0. Nothing really looks new from there and their freshman Rb is hurt I guess. I would wait until they play tougher opponents. Having said that 8-4 would be a solid season for them.

Wisky is the one I’m shocked with.

I didn’t watch any of the Neb vs Mich State game yesterday…what Neb freshman running back is hurt?

Ripcord · Sep 27, 2026

Hawkmanic23 said:
I didn’t watch any of the Neb vs Mich State game yesterday…what Neb freshman running back is hurt?

Ithink his name is Jamal Rule (no relation to coach) or something like that. have heard a lot of good about him up to this, an I don't know how long he is out for.

Grayhair1981 · Sep 27, 2026

uihawk82 said:
Yes, and it is strong defense that wins the trophies

They had one of the best defenses I have seen last year and they didn't win any trophies

nu2u · Sep 27, 2026

You added a “Most Disappointing” but omitted Maryland.

I’ve been saying this for years now but what in the hell do the Terps see in Mike Locksley? Have they completely given up on football?

This is Locksley’s 8th season as head coach at Maryland. He is 15 games below .500 overall there, never had a season with a winning conference record (1-8 in 2004 & 2005) and just lost to UCLA by 50 in the conference home opener.

It’s not like Locksley was a hot commodity when Maryland hired him in 2019. He was 2-26 as HC of New Mexico from 2009-2011 …..and famously got suspended a game for starting a sideline fist fight with one of his assistants.

That’s it. An absolutely miserable failure that - somehow - keeps cashing multi-million dollar checks from Maryland. Baffling. That program has been run right into the ground.

Ripcord · Sep 27, 2026

nu2u said:
You added a “Most Disappointing” but omitted Maryland.

I’ve been saying this for years now but what in the hell do the Terps see in Mike Locksley? Have they completely given up on football?

This is Locksley’s 8th season as head coach at Maryland. He is 15 games below .500 overall there, never had a season with a winning conference record (1-8 in 2004 & 2005) and just lost to UCLA by 50 in the conference home opener.

It’s not like Locksley was a hot commodity when Maryland hired him in 2019. He was 2-26 as HC of New Mexico from 2009-2011 …..and famously got suspended a game for starting a sideline fist fight with one of his assistants.

That’s it. An absolutely miserable failure that - somehow - keeps cashing multi-million dollar checks from Maryland. Baffling. That program has been run right into the ground.

Well, I intentionally omitted Maryland (and Rutgers also) for the reason that I don't think anyone had much expectations for either of those teams going into this season. My list of "most Disappointing" was really for teams that seemed to get a lot of hype and appear at this early stage to be underpeforming. Neither Maryland nor Rutgers really had much expectations about them preseason.

nu2u · Sep 27, 2026

Ripcord said:
Well, I intentionally omitted Maryland (and Rutgers also) for the reason that I don't think anyone had much expectations for either of those teams going into this season. My list of "most Disappointing" was really for teams that seemed to get a lot of hype and appear at this early stage to be underpeforming. Neither Maryland nor Rutgers really had much expectations about them preseason.

I understand. There was a little bit of talk about a Maryland “breakout” (winning record?) season based on their 5-star QB but mostly “prove it” comments.

Madman_1 · Sep 27, 2026

nu2u said:
I understand. There was a little bit of talk about a Maryland “breakout” (winning record?) season based on their 5-star QB but mostly “prove it” comments.

All I have seen from Maryland under Locksley is poor discipline and bad team chemistry. He pulls in very good talent, but can't seem to get them to play like a team.

2D · Sep 27, 2026

This is the last week that Nebraska plays a cream puff, next week they start a much more difficult schedule going forward starting with Indiana and @ Oregon. They'll be coming back down to Earth soon.

Kceasthawk@77 · Sep 27, 2026

nu2u said:
You added a “Most Disappointing” but omitted Maryland.

I’ve been saying this for years now but what in the hell do the Terps see in Mike Locksley? Have they completely given up on football?

This is Locksley’s 8th season as head coach at Maryland. He is 15 games below .500 overall there, never had a season with a winning conference record (1-8 in 2004 & 2005) and just lost to UCLA by 50 in the conference home opener.

It’s not like Locksley was a hot commodity when Maryland hired him in 2019. He was 2-26 as HC of New Mexico from 2009-2011 …..and famously got suspended a game for starting a sideline fist fight with one of his assistants.

That’s it. An absolutely miserable failure that - somehow - keeps cashing multi-million dollar checks from Maryland. Baffling. That program has been run right into the ground.

Have never understood that either, and to add they sit in a very fertile recruiting ground. While Locksley does land some guys it seems obvious he either can't coach them up, or there's a major "culture" issue.

hawkeyebob1962 · Monday at 10:13 AM

BlIIlken2 said:
Everyone knew nebby would be 5-0. Nothing really looks new from there and their freshman Rb is hurt I guess. I would wait until they play tougher opponents. Having said that 8-4 would be a solid season for them.

Wisky is the one I’m shocked with.

Don't worry about RB, Nebby RBs always have a shiv...er, ace up their sleeve...

The guy that charged with a domestic abuse/violence manged to get back on the field. Mekhi Nelson, I believe?

BunchofAholes · Monday at 10:18 AM

It's early. Circle back around Nov 1st and we'll know who's for real and who's not.

hawkeyebob1962 · Monday at 10:19 AM

Ripcord said:
The following are presented In order of most likely to amaze us fans (i.e., overachieving for the entire season) are as follows:
(admittedly, this post is inherently premature, with only one Big 10 game played and 8 more to go)

1) Northwestern. Friday night they looked about as good as Indiana during their playoff run last year, albeit with a loss nonetheless. Moral Victory of the Season

2) Iowa. 'nuff said. Orchestrated a highly-unlikely-to-succeed final 91-yard drive and minor miracle finish.

3) Nebraska. only beat 3 cream puffs and a somewhat decimated Michigan State team, but still I have a feeling about them that this is the year they turn the corner.

4) Wisconsin. overcame 17-point deficit on the road against Penn State. Yikes.

Now, for good measure three possible candidates for Most Disappointing Big 10 Team for 2026:

1) Washington. too many injuries and maybe other issues that are not readily known/understood.

2) Michigan. Uber talented, but a very lucky "win" in game 1 and lost to us after thoroughly outplaying us for about 3 or 3.5 quarters yesterday. sooner or later, it might all catch up with them.

3) Penn State. no way they should blow a 17-point lead against a team picked near the bottom of the conference.

The season has a long, long way to go, but the mystique of uncertainty and concomittant surprises are what makes college football what it is.

No UCLA?

HawkeyePride24 · Monday at 10:40 AM

Jayb01 said:
While the outcome was mostly unexpected, the score of the game wasn't. It was likely to be a single digit win one way of the other, and it went to the road team. So I wouldn't call it a surprise for Iowa as 4-0 was very possible for a preseason top 25 team. The other teams you mentioned have far exceeded expectations.

I also don't really think michigan and penn state are particularly 'surprising'. They both have new coaches. One was fired mid season, went .500 and then became Iowa State with white clothes. Michigan had a pretty decent year but they fired their guy for entirely different and awesome reasons lol. But a coaching change nonetheless. I guess a lot of that one matters on how the western Michigan is ultimately regarded. They did also best Oklahoma. But Washington kind of blows.

If you have a $34M roster budget, your expected to beat Iowa. This outcome has pissed a lot of folks off in Ann Arbor.

Palmerhawk · Monday at 12:52 PM

Wisconsin has a very soft schedule missing iu,OSU,oregon.....if they get by @UCLA, USC and at Iowa...playoff bound?

The Big Z · Monday at 1:03 PM

Ripcord said:
The following are presented In order of most likely to amaze us fans (i.e., overachieving for the entire season) are as follows:
(admittedly, this post is inherently premature, with only one Big 10 game played and 8 more to go)

1) Northwestern. Friday night they looked about as good as Indiana during their playoff run last year, albeit with a loss nonetheless. Moral Victory of the Season

2) Iowa. 'nuff said. Orchestrated a highly-unlikely-to-succeed final 91-yard drive and minor miracle finish.

3) Nebraska. only beat 3 cream puffs and a somewhat decimated Michigan State team, but still I have a feeling about them that this is the year they turn the corner.

4) Wisconsin. overcame 17-point deficit on the road against Penn State. Yikes.

Now, for good measure three possible candidates for Most Disappointing Big 10 Team for 2026:

1) Washington. too many injuries and maybe other issues that are not readily known/understood.

2) Michigan. Uber talented, but a very lucky "win" in game 1 and lost to us after thoroughly outplaying us for about 3 or 3.5 quarters yesterday. sooner or later, it might all catch up with them.

3) Penn State. no way they should blow a 17-point lead against a team picked near the bottom of the conference.

The season has a long, long way to go, but the mystique of uncertainty and concomittant surprises are what makes college football what it is.

UCLA is clearly number 1 here. Let's wait and see on Wisconsin. They've already been drubbed by 30 by ND. They're not good.

The Big Z · Monday at 1:05 PM

Palmerhawk said:
Wisconsin has a very soft schedule missing iu,OSU,oregon.....if they get by @UCLA, USC and at Iowa...playoff bound?

Not a chance.

Passing Is For COMMIES · Monday at 1:14 PM

nu2u said:
You added a “Most Disappointing” but omitted Maryland.

I’ve been saying this for years now but what in the hell do the Terps see in Mike Locksley? Have they completely given up on football?

This is Locksley’s 8th season as head coach at Maryland. He is 15 games below .500 overall there, never had a season with a winning conference record (1-8 in 2004 & 2005) and just lost to UCLA by 50 in the conference home opener.

It’s not like Locksley was a hot commodity when Maryland hired him in 2019. He was 2-26 as HC of New Mexico from 2009-2011 …..and famously got suspended a game for starting a sideline fist fight with one of his assistants.

That’s it. An absolutely miserable failure that - somehow - keeps cashing multi-million dollar checks from Maryland. Baffling. That program has been run right into the ground.

From 2021-2023 they had 3 winning season in a row, which they hadn’t done for 20 years (01-03). I think that earned him a longer leash, but it’s time. He’ll be gone after this season.

The Big Z · Monday at 1:20 PM

Passing Is For COMMIES said:
From 2021-2023 they had 3 winning season in a row, which they hadn’t done for 20 years (01-03). I think that earned him a longer leash, but it’s time. He’ll be gone after this season.

I don't think he makes the end of the season. How do you come back from losing a conference game 54-3 to anyone not named Ohio State?

squeezebox_1 · Monday at 1:21 PM

hawkeyebob1962 said:
No UCLA?

Surprise, but that schedule for now isn't great. Maryland is well...Locklsey, Cal is mid, and then there is Purdue..lol. We will see in 2 weeks if they are legit.

The Big Z · Monday at 2:30 PM

squeezebox_1 said:
Surprise, but that schedule for now isn't great. Maryland is well...Locklsey, Cal is mid, and then there is Purdue..lol. We will see in 2 weeks if they are legit.

The title the thread was most surprising. UCLA no matter who they’ve played is the most surprising team in the league and it’s not close. They’ve been atrocious for awhile. It’s a legit offense. And we know where the new coach came from? It’s starting to give me Cignetti vibes. They’re not winning a natty but that offense is for real.

squeezebox_1 · Monday at 2:37 PM

The Big Z said:
The title the thread was most surprising. UCLA no matter who they’ve played is the most surprising team in the league and it’s not close. They’ve been atrocious for awhile. It’s a legit offense. And we know where the new coach came from? It’s starting to give me Cignetti vibes. They’re not winning a natty but that offense is for real.

That's fair, I would easily take NW for that. They have proven they can hang with the best in the league while being picked to finish behind even UCLA in preseason polls.

Top Four Candidates for "Most Surprising Big 10 Team of 2026"

Senior

Senior

Senior

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

Senior

All-Conference

All-Conference

Senior

All-Conference

Senior

All-American

All-American

Senior

All-Conference

Senior

Freshman

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference