Ranking the top-3 matchups around Big Ten football in Week 2

The Big Ten is looking to retain its status as the most accomplished conference in college football in 2026, with several programs looking to extend the league’s national championship streak to four following Indiana’s win last season.

With this in mind, we thought it’d be a good idea to take a look at that matchups around the Big Ten that’ll matter the most when the postseason rolls around. There’s simply way too many teams in this league for a full-on preview that puts enough detail into every game, so here’s the three biggest games and why you should bother tuning in:

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1) No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 4 Texas Longhorns

This one’s obvious and is the game of the week in college football at-large.

The Buckeyes and Longhorns faced off to open up their seasons in 2025, a rematch of a semifinal matchup in the previous year’s College Football Playoff. Both teams are looking to solidify their status as contenders with Texas in particular looking to avoid going 0-3 against Ohio State in three straight seasons.

It’s worth tuning in to catch a glimpse of what Arch Manning can do in his second season as a starter and what we’ve already known Jeremiah Smith can do out wide.

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2) Iowa State Cyclones at No. 21 Iowa Hawkeyes

Nope, not Oklahoma at Michigan. While it’d be interesting to see what the Sooners can do, I’m less than inclined to tune into any Wolverines matchup after the slop they put on the field in Week 1, clock controversy or not.

Anyway, this is an opportunity to take in one of the most heated rivalries in college football. Iowa City gets up for just about any football game at Kinnick Stadium, but this one’s gonna mean a bit more. It’ll also be interesting to see what direction Iowa State goes in following Matt Campbell’s departure for Penn State this offseason.

Crack open a beer, take a seat and enjoy some good, old-fashioned hate.

3) Duke Blue Devils at Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois dominated the eventual, improbable ACC champions on the road last season in what looked like another step for a promising season in Champaign before, well.

Anyway, Illinois welcomes Duke to Gies Memorial Stadium for a rematch. The Fighting Illini have turned a few pages with Katin Houser replacing the departed Luke Altmyer at quarterback and former Montana head coach Bobby Hauck taking over as defensive coordinator.

Bret Bielema has the program humming and it’ll be worth watching to see whether he can bring Illinois into that next tier in the Big Ten.