Ranking the 10 most-anticipated college football games for the 2026 season
Press Conference: Northwestern football introduces Chip Kelly
Northwestern made a massive offseason splash, hiring Chip Kelly as its offensive coordinator. He was introduced on Wednesday.
There are less than two months before college football returns on fall Saturdays.
With it will come a handful of highly
Here's how we rank the 10 most-anticipated college football games for the upcoming 2026 season between Notre Dame, Northwestern, NIU and Illinois.
10. Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin – Sept. 6
Much has been made about this upcoming Notre Dame season.
After the Irish were left out of the 2025 College Football Playoff, declined a bowl game bid and slid off into the offseason, this is where we’ll finally answer the question hatched back in December.
How will Notre Dame respond to the end of its 2025 season? A game against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field where Marcus Freeman faces one of his old bosses in Luke Fickell will tell us a great deal.
9. Northwestern vs. Colorado – Sept. 19
In what we assume will be the final game of the Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium era in Evanston, who else is better to man the opposing sidelines for the swan song of the ‘Cats’ final game at their temporary stadium than Coach Prime?
Deion Sanders and his Colorado Buffaloes travel to Evanston on Sept. 19.
It’ll be an exciting litmus test for Northwestern. Colorado went 3-9 last season, but wasn’t short on athletes. The Buffs lost by just one score to the trio of West Virginia, BYU and Georgia Tech.
Colorado’s entire starting defense is projected to be comprised entirely of transfers, too.
How will David Braun approach his game plan for a team that boasts talent at the seams?
8. NIU @ Iowa – Sept. 5
In a new era for the Huskies, they open the 2026 season against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Iowa went 9-4 last year, including 5-2 in home games. NIU interim head coach Rob Hartley has a chance to get his tenure started in an incredible way in Iowa City.
It won’t be easy. There’s a reason Kirk Ferentz is the longest-tenured coach in the Big Ten.
Iowa will be looking for a way to fill quarterback Mark Gronowski’s shoes. All-purpose playmaker Kaden Wetjen is gone, too.
NIU, which took an experienced approach to the transfer portal by bringing in players that have playing experience at programs, will be hoping that experience pays off by the time this game comes around.
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7. Notre Dame vs. BYU – Oct. 17
This is one of three Notre Dame games to watch this season.
The Irish’s schedule isn’t inherently difficult. Games against Miami (FL), BYU and SMU will tell you all you need to know about Notre Dame football.
This game against the Cougars is one of those games.
But, it’s also Notre Dame’s answer when the ND-USC rivalry went on its indefinite hiatus.
The Irish needed to fill that vacancy with a game of consequence, or else Notre Dame’s schedule would have been perhaps too light.
Now, they’ll travel to Provo, Utah, to take on a team that was young in 2025 when it went on a run to the Big 12 Championship Game.
6. Northwestern @ Michigan State – Oct. 17
Hey there, Pat Fitzgerald.
The coach who lifted Northwestern into relevancy in the Big Ten is back in East Lansing. He was exonerated from any wrongdoing in the Northwestern Hazing Scandal in 2023 that shook the university and football program.
On the third weekend of October, the program Fitzgerald built will travel to the program Fitzgerald now presides over.
Not to mention NU head coach David Braun was handpicked by Fitzgerald to be his defensive coordinator in 2023 after the program moved on from Jim O'Neil, who was handpicked to replace long-time Fitzgerald friend Mike Hankwitz.
Somehow, MSU transfer quarterback Aidan Chiles is far down on the list of impactful storylines in a Big Ten Conference game.
CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 13: Head coach David Braun of the Northwestern Wildcats celebrates after the Northwestern Wildcats score a touchdown during a college football game between the Oregon Ducks and the Northwestern Wildcats on September 13, 2025,
5. NIU vs. Air Force – Oct. 10
Welcome to the Mountain West, Huskies.
The first game for NIU in its new football-only conference takes place on Oct. 10, when Air Force comes to DeKalb for NIU’s homecoming game.
This ends a pretty tough non-conference slate for NIU. The Huskies play Iowa and Arizona on the road, before finishing with one final road test against Georgia Southern.
Air Force went 4-8 in the 2025 season, but use the triple-option offense is always a tough scheme to defend against because of how unorthodox it is.
Not many teams run the option offense. But, NIU has a chance to make a great first impression as a Mountain West team.
4. Northwestern vs. Illinois – Nov. 28
The Battle for the Hat carries intense bragging rights, especially after Northwestern wrestled the upper hand in the late 2010s and the Illini won it back in the last four years.
This game might end up higher on our anticipated-games list if more stakes are involved when it comes to Big Ten conference seeding, bowl eligibility and more.
Being the last game of the season, there are usually more than just bragging rights at stake for this game.
Whatever happens in the future, it’s still one of the more-anticipated games on our list.
3. Illinois @ Ohio State – Sept. 26
Illinois’ first three games are at home against UAB, Duke and FCS Southern Illinois.
The fourth week of the year sends the Illini to Columbus, where they’ll play on Ohio State’s home turf.
The bottom line here is simple: Whatever Illinois does in Games 1 through 3 might be a moot point.
We’ll really find out what the Illini are made of come Sept. 26 vs. Ohio State.
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2. Northwestern vs. Penn State – Oct. 2
Goodbye, Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium.
Hello, New Ryan Field.
This Friday game vs. Penn State marks the official grand opening of the New Ryan Field, which took two seasons to overhaul from the ground up.
This officially begins a new era at Northwestern. Debuting a state-of-the-art stadium in an NIL era will be important as the ‘Cats try and keep up with a Big Ten Conference that requires investment from the powers at the top of each program.
It’s a good start, opening the New Ryan Field.
It’ll be even better to beat Penn State to commemorate the occasion.
1. Notre Dame vs. Miami – Nov. 7
This game has claimed the top spot on this list for a while.
At the NFL Combine, I asked Jeremiyah Love why he hurdles defenders. He said it’s because it deepens his offensive bag and mentioned his favorite hurdle was one that got called back against Miami.
The only reason is he doesn’t really like Miami.
When the Irish lost to the Hurricanes last year in Miami, it was one of the two strokes that kept them out of the College Football Playoff and helped vault the U into a run to the CFP National Championship game.
Now, the ‘Canes are coming to South Bend. Notre Dame has this one circled. It could vault the Irish into a playoff run, or doom their chances with a loss.
Expect this atmosphere to be akin to a CFP playoff game. It’ll match the stakes at hand.