Heading into the 2026 college football season, it’s important to look at ESPN’s football power index.
Remember, the FPI is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.
In simpler terms, the higher the FPI, the better a team is projected to be.
All 18 Big Ten teams were ranked on this scale, and the range is incredible. The projected 2026 conference champion leads the way at 28.7 while five teams have a score lower than 1.0. Two of them are even in the negative numbers.
2026 Big Ten football FPI rankings
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: 2026 Big Ten preseason power rankings via ESPN’s Football Power Index
Reporting by Jordon Lawrenz, Badgers Wire / Badgers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jordon Lawrenz, Badgers Wire | USA TODAY Network
