2026 Big Ten team skill ratings
UCLA 88 92 87 88 2 
Indiana 86 90 93 87 3 
Ohio State 90 88 87 87 4 
Oregon 89 86 93 87 5 
Washington 88 93 76 87 6 
USC 91 86 83 86 7 
Minnesota 86 88 83 85 8 
Penn State 89 87 80 85 9 
Nebraska 90 85 77 84 10 
Illinois 88 84 78 83 11 
Michigan 85 87 77 83 12 
Wisconsin 87 87 70 83 13 
Maryland 89 88 59 82 14 
Northwestern 87 85 71 82 15 
Iowa 84 80 85 81 16 
Michigan State 84 87 69 81 17 
Rutgers 84 85 62 80 18 
Purdue 86 81 56 78 Team skill = weighted blend of squad ratings (offense, defense, special teams) and the head-coach rating, from the same skill engine behind every player and coach page (83.8 = conference average). Computed from CollegeFootballData stats. Click any team for its full skill profile.
All 18 Big Ten programs ranked by overall skill, a blend of squad ratings (offense, defense, special teams) and head coaching. Bars right of center are above the 83.8 conference average, left is below.
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Frequently asked questions
Which Big Ten team has the best roster and coaching in 2026?
UCLA has the top overall skill rating in 2026 at 88, blending a 88 squad rating with a 87 coaching rating.
How is the team skill rating calculated?
Each team's projected starters are rated with the same position-normalized skill engine used on every player page, averaged into offense, defense and special-teams ratings, then blended with the head-coach rating. It updates weekly from CollegeFootballData stats.
Where does the data come from?
Everything is computed from public CollegeFootballData game stats and roster data. No subjective power-ranking votes are used.