RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Big Ten Media Days rolled on Wednesday with a pair of heavyweight coaches and some long-time veterans of the league, including one making his return in a much different-colored suit.
These events are filled with platitudes as coaches and players alike attempt to stay on message. Everyone is optimistic. Everyone had a great offseason. Everyone is bigger and stronger than last year.
That's why it's important to separate fact from fiction after an event like this.
With that in mind, we examined a few quotes from Day 2 of Big Ten Media Days and determined whether they were fact or fiction.
Ryan Day heaped praise on his third-year quarterback Julian Sayin during his Wednesday press conference. The Buckeyes' wide receiver room doesn't need an introduction, with Jeremiah Smith fronting that group. That's why Day views the Buckeyes' run game as the factor that will determine the team's ceiling.
There's a reason for that, looking back to last year.
Ohio State went 12-0 in the 2025 regular season but fell short in the postseason. The Buckeyes managed 58 yards rushing against Indiana in the Big Ten title game. A few weeks later, Ohio State totaled just 45 yards in a quarterfinal loss to Miami.
That's a big reason why Day challenged his young backs, Bo Jackson and Isaiah West, heading into the season.
"This has got to be a huge year for those guys," Day said.
Some of that postseason production shortfall can be traced to a shaky interior offensive line. That unit should be better in 2026. The Buckeyes return a ton of snaps. Even though the final starting iteration of the group is yet to be determined, there's optimism Ohio State's experienced unit will be a strength.
As for Jackson and West, both are hoping to build on strong 2025 debuts. West had 310 yards on 5.3 yards per carry as a true freshman. Jackson, for his part, ran for 1,090 yards on 6.1 yards per carry as a Freshman All-American.
Teams have to shade their coverage to prevent the Buckeyes' passing attack from going off. There's room in the box to run. How Jackson, West and the Buckeyes o-line take advantage of that against the best defensive units in the country will go a long way in determining if Ohio State can win a national title.
Oregon has made the College Football Playoff each of the last two years, thanks in large part to extremely talented rosters. The Ducks have landed four straight top 10 recruiting classes, loading up with fast, physical freaks.
But Oregon's also been very young the last two years.
The Ducks returned just five starters in 2025. The year prior, they were 53rd in the Power Four with just 10.
Looking ahead to the 2026 campaign at Big Ten Media Days, Lanning highlighted Oregon's experience with 14 starters back as one of the key differences in this year's roster compared to years past.
"Last year I felt like we had a team that had a ton of talent," Lanning said. "This year we have a team that has a lot of experience returning. A lot of those young guys that played are guys that have great experience. I am excited to see what that looks like."
Dante Moore passed on a probable first-round draft selection to return as a second-year starter. Dakorien Moore is no longer a five-star freshman. He's one of the Big Ten's top returning receivers. On defense, the Ducks return three future draft picks in Bear Alexander, Matayo Uiagalelei and A'Mauri Washington, along with one of the best edges in the country, Teitum Tuioti.
Oregon's never lacked talent under Lanning. This is the first year that recruiting success is mixed with time in Oregon's development incubator to create a full-fledged Lanning team.
PJ fleck opened up Day 2 of Big Ten media days with a fact: Only seven of the league's 18 teams have won at least eight games in back-to-back seasons. Most of them are the usual suspects: Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois and … Minnesota.
The Gophers have consistently overachieved under Fleck. They've won seven-plus games every year since 2018 (sans the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign) and have won eight-plus in four of the last five years. They've managed to succeed even outside the structure of the Big Ten West.
So, can Minnesota defy the odds -- and its 6.5-win over/under -- and win seven-plus games again? I'd bet on it.
The schedule is reasonable. The Gophers will be underdogs on the road against Indiana. They have tough games with Washington, Michigan and Iowa. But they did avoid Ohio State and Michigan.
Eleven starters are back, including star quarterback Drake Lindsey, standout running back Darius Taylor and stellar guard Greg Johnson, who will be a high-round draft pick in a few months. Minnesota also spent big on its defensive line to keep all-Big Ten edge rusher Anthony Smith from entering the transfer portal.
This is one of the more talented Minnesota teams in recent memory, which should lead to wins.
2025: 4-1 2024: 3-5 2023: 3-2 2022: 3-1 2021: 3-3
Minnesota won eight-plus games every one of those seasons except 2024. That penchant for winning close contests carries the Gophers to seven-plus wins in 2026.
Pat Fitzgerald returned to Big Ten media days for the first time since 2022 with a different color scheme. Instead of the purple he rocked for 17 years as the head coach of Northwestern, he's instead wearing Michigan State Spartans green.
At one point during his press conference, Fitzgerald cracked a joke
"I'm riding shotgun next to a guy named Izzo. Have you heard of him?"
Izzo, is of course, Tom Izzo, the Hall of Fame Spartans basketball coach. But is it fair to say Michigan State football (and the program's new, high-profile coach) is secondary to Izzo's basketball program? I don't think so.
Other than an 11-win campaign under Mel Tucker in 2021, the Spartans football program has been lost in the wilderness for much of the last decade. People forget, but Michigan State went 8-2 against Michigan from 2008-17. The Spartans made the 2015 College Football Playoff....
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