Kirk Herbstreit names which Big Ten programs could challenge Ohio State, Indiana

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The Big Ten conference has one of the biggest games of the season scheduled for Saturday, as Ohio State plays at Indiana. While many college football analysts believe one of those two teams will win the conference title this season, one commentator sees some other candidates. College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit is revealing what other conference teams could challenge in the Big Ten this year.

Herbstreit believes UCLA, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Nebraska are good enough to be powers this season in the conference. He made the comments on Saturday on ESPN’s College GameDay.

These next couple of weeks will be very interesting for the Big Ten 👀 pic.twitter.com/z9VkY1BPPM

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— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) October 17, 2026

UCLA is undefeated in conference play at 3-0 in the Big Ten this season. Wisconsin is closely behind at 2-0 in the Big Ten. Nebraska and Northwestern meanwhile have both lost conference games this year.

Indiana and Ohio State have been the cream of the crop in the Big Ten the last few years. Indiana is the defending national champion. The Hoosiers haven’t lost a game since the 2024 season, and look once again like a title contender.

Ohio State meanwhile won the 2024 national championship. The Buckeyes also made the College Football Playoff last season, before losing a game to Miami (FL). Ohio State, like Indiana, is undefeated so far this year in conference play.

Herbstreit sees the Big Ten as completely open after the Buckeyes and Hoosiers.

“The Big Ten is wild this year outside of Ohio State and Indiana,” Herbstreit said, per Sports Illustrated. “I don’t want to give up on USC, but you think of the bluebloods of the Big Ten… you think of Michigan and Penn State and again, you would throw USC into that mix and you’re just kind of waiting to see.”

Time will tell if another team wins the Big Ten this season. Ohio State and Indiana are playing at time of writing.

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