Big Ten's 2026 Scheduling Highlights a Major Problem with Conference Realignment

The mega conference phenomenon is a major problem for several legitimate reasons, but the scheduling imbalance stands head and shoulders above the rest.

Don't mind the fact that the Stanford Cardinal are in the ACC (Atlantic Athletic Conference) or the Oregon Ducks are in the Big Ten. No, that's beside the point here. The point here is that because there are so many teams in each conference, the imbalance in strength of schedule is tangible.

In 2025, the Ohio State Buckeyes were the beneficiaries of a very soft schedule. After playing Texas in Week 1, they only faced two more ranked opponents the rest of the season. One of those was No. 17 Illinois, which had been beaten by Indiana by 53 points.

Some of the opponents on the ledger last year were Rutgers, UCLA, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Washington, to name just a few.

While their 2025 docket was easy sledding, their 2026 campaign is anything but it. 

Ohio State's 2026 schedule features seven (7) opponents that will be ranked heading into the season. They get Texas in week two, Illinois and Iowa in back-to-back weeks, USC sandwiched between Indiana and Oregon, only to finish with a trip to Nebraska before hosting the Michigan Wolverines.

In between some of the big games, the Buckeyes have several trap games mixed in. 

Ohio State's schedule is the hardest one in the Big Ten by a wide margin.

For example, Penn State's conference opponents are Wisconsin, Northwestern, USC, Michigan, Purdue, Washington, Minnesota, Rutgers, and Maryland. That isn't exactly a gauntlet of opponents. 

This isn't picking on Penn State because it is just the luck of the draw, and that docket is similar to the Buckeyes from a year ago, but this underscores a major issue in the current mega-conference system.

Ohio State and Penn State will compete in the same conference, gunning for the same spot in the College Football Playoff, but will take two wildly different paths. 

This element of the current state of College Football is a major problem that isn't talked about much, but it is a major issue. It's not just with these two programs and this conference. It is an issue with every team in the Big Ten and frankly, every team in every conference. 

Ohio State catches the short end of the stick in 2026, and to get back to the National Championship, they will have to take one of the hardest paths in America.

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