Indiana, football and 2026 schedule
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For the first time, Indiana has a national championship to defend in 2026. The schedule is out, with eight home games in Bloomington and a critical stretch in October with games against Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan on consecutive weekends.
The Big Ten became the final Power Four conference to unveil its schedule for the 2026 college football season when it released on Tuesday the full slate for its 18 members. One game in particular stands above the rest with reigning conference and national champion Indiana set to host Ohio State on Oct.
The Hoosiers know one of their Big Ten dates already, and it's a big one. The Buckeyes will look to exact revenge from the league championships game.
After an all-time great season, can the Hoosiers run the table again? Here's the CFN breakdown of the 2026 Indiana football schedule.
Indiana, Michigan and USC are the most challenging matchups for the Scarlet Knights, who will entertain each of those preseason top-15s at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. Rutgers has a favorable shot at getting off to a hot start in September against UMass, Boston College and Howard before reality sets in for Greg Schiano's team.
Some of these matchups go head-to-head against the best games on the SEC’s 2026 schedule, such as Georgia at Alabama on Oct. 10, Ole Miss at Texas on Oct. 24 and Alabama at LSU on Nov. 7. But the Big Ten’s schedule should be deep enough to counter its rival conference on most weeks.
Of the five teams with the best odds to win the national championship in 2026, one is Ohio State and three are teams the Buckeyes will play in the regular season.
Indiana’s Big Ten schedule was released Tuesday on the Big Ten Network’s B1G Live show. The Hoosiers open Big Ten play against Northwestern on Sept. 26 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. The Cream and Crimson face back-to-back road games against Rutgers on Oct. 3 and Nebraska on Oct. 10, before returning home to face Ohio State on Oct. 17.
FOX Sports' Joel Klatt calls Penn State's 2026 schedule the easiest in the Big Ten.