Big Ten schedule takeaways: Good luck, USC

We're only nine days removed from Indiana's stunning national championship victory, but the calendar has officially flipped to the 2026 campaign in the Big Ten.

The conference released its schedule for next season on Tuesday, and it's full of absolute blockbuster matchups between the league's elite programs.

Here are six takeaways from the schedule release.

Good luck, Lincoln Riley

The 2026 season is shaping up to be a big one for Lincoln Riley at USC, as the team has underwhelmed since joining the Big Ten. Well, good luck with that. The Trojans arguably have the hardest schedule in the conference this upcoming campaign, facing Oregon, Indiana, and Ohio State. Those contests would be hard enough on their own, but all three opponents will have the upper hand in some way when they meet the Trojans.

The Ducks come to Los Angeles a week after facing an FCS opponent, while Riley's program will be dealing with the fatigue of a 5,400-mile round trip to Rutgers in Week 3. Meanwhile, both the Hoosiers and Buckeyes have bye weeks before their date with USC - not exactly the two teams you'd want to give extra time to prepare.

Include road games against Wisconsin and Penn State and a home date with Washington, and the seat might be very hot for Riley by the end of this year.

Ohio State will have to earn it

Two things can be true: Ohio State was undoubtedly one of the best teams in the nation last year, and it also benefited from a pretty comfortable Big Ten schedule free of Indiana and Oregon. The Buckeyes enjoyed a favorable five-game midseason stretch, during which they played five straight games against teams in the bottom seven of the league standings.

That won't be the case in 2026. Ohio State's slate is loaded this time, featuring not only the Hoosiers and Ducks but also tough matchups against Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, and USC. Factor in the Week 2 road game at Texas - a rematch of the 2025 opener - and the Buckeyes will have definitely earned another shot at the Big Ten title if they make it.

New era at Michigan comes with brutal finish

Kyle Whittingham better get cooking early in his first season at Michigan, because the back half of the Wolverines' schedule is as hard as it gets in the Big Ten. While a home date with Indiana on Oct. 17 will be a good litmus test to see how Whittingham's Michigan stacks up against the nation's best, it's the final three-week stretch that'll likely determine whether the Wolverines are a playoff team.

A lengthy road trip to Oregon on Nov. 14 will be among the toughest any program takes this year. Returning home to play UCLA a week later will only offer a brief respite before Michigan heads to Columbus for the rivalry game against Ohio State to close things out.

Add the Week 2 contest with Oklahoma and a visit from Iowa on Sept. 26, and the Wolverines will have five games against teams ranked inside the top 17 of the final AP Poll from last season.

Fitzgerald gets Northwestern at new home

Though it's not as dramatic a subplot as if he traveled to Northwestern, Pat Fitzgerald will take on the Wildcats for the first time in a home game at Michigan State. After settling a $130-million wrongful termination lawsuit with his former school in August, Fitzgerald was introduced as the new head coach in East Lansing in December. One has to think he has the Nov. 7 contest circled on the calendar.

Fitzgerald won't be the only one contending with his past in the matchup, as new Northwestern quarterback Aidan Chiles will return to East Lansing after two seasons with the Spartans. Chiles transferred west to join the Wildcats and new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly in hopes of rebooting his career after a midseason benching at Michigan State.

It's about to get real at Nebraska

The quick takeaway from Nebraska's schedule release: Matt Rhule should be pretty damn happy he signed a monster extension last season. The challenge will ramp up for the third-year coach in Lincoln, especially after the team failed to take advantage of a 2025 schedule that didn't include three Big Ten playoff teams - Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana. That won't be the case in 2026, with all three on the slate. The toughest part of the gauntlet comes when the defending champion Hoosiers visit Memorial Stadium on Oct. 10, followed by a trip to Oregon on Oct. 17.

Compounding the Cornhuskers' problems, their matchup against the Buckeyes is their only home game in November. They close out the season with three of their final four contests on the road.

Campbell gets to ease in at Penn State

The main question surrounding Matt Campbell's move to bring over more than 20 players from Iowa State to Penn State is whether they can handle the jump in competition from the Big 12 to the Big Ten. However, the Nittany Lions' favorable 2026 schedule could leave us without a definitive answer by season's end.

Penn State not only avoids the mighty trio of Indiana, Oregon, and Ohio State, but it'll also benefit from playing five teams that finished in the bottom half of the conference last season. And although the two toughest games are back-to-back matchups against USC and Michigan, the Trojans have to make the cross-country trip to State College for the meeting.

Penn State may not be a playoff team given all the moving parts for Campbell, but it's reasonable to think the Nittany Lions could win nine games in Year 1 under the new regime.