How Northwestern could shake up Big Ten Football hierarchy

In the rapidly changing college football landscape, programs can quickly rise to prominence and dominate — the Big Ten knows that all too well after Indiana won a national championship last season during Curt Cignetti's second season as IU's head coach. As impressive as Indiana's championship run was last season, and as good as they've been thus far in 2026 (5-0 and ranked No. 5 in the nation), there are other teams in the Big Ten who could soon be powerhouses in the conference — one of those is Northwestern. A new era is underway at Northwestern.