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What are the 26 biggest and most important games of the 2026 college football season?
If we’re being totally honest here, the 26 biggest games this season will all be played in the Big Ten, with two gigantic Big Ten non-conference games and one Notre Dame date thrown in there, but the season is obviously bigger than one conference – sort of – so we mix it up a little bit.
These 26 will shape the season, the College Football Playoff race, and they’re the games you have to go out of your way to see.
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26 for ’26, No. 9: The Biggest College Football Games of the Season
26: Winningest Programs Yet To Make the CFP
25: ACC Key Questions
24: Big 12 Key Questions
23: Big Ten Key Questions
22: Top 2027 NFL Draft Prospects
21: SEC Key Questions
20: What’s Next in Realignment?
19. Ranking all 30 New Head Coaches
18. Who Has the Easiest Schedules?
17. Who Has the Hardest Schedules?
16. Who Might Be the Next Indiana?
15. Group of Six Teams with Best CFP Shot
14. 5 Teams Due For a Letdown
13. 5 Programs Under the Most Pressure
12. 26 Bold Predictions
11. 5 Teams We’re Disrespecting
10. 5 Hottest Head Coaching Prospects
26. North Dakota State at Hawaii, November 14
We start by giving a nod to what we think will be the most important Group of Six game this season when it comes to the College Football Playoff. It’ll kickoff at midnight on the East Coast on the CW, with the winner in fantastic shape to go to the Mountain West Championship. The Bison should be 8-1 in this – the road game at UNLV will be tough – and the Rainbow Warriors might only have two losses.
25. Houston at Texas Tech, September 19
Texas Tech doesn’t play anyone in non-conference play, and somehow doesn’t have a road game against anyone who went to a bowl game last year. Houston returns loaded and looking to make a huge statement right away in its Big 12 opener.
24. Penn State at Michigan, October 17
If Penn State gets by USC at home, it’ll probably be 6-0. If Michigan can slip past Oklahoma, there’s a fantastic shot it’ll be 5-0, with Indiana next, and road games at Oregon and Ohio State still to go.
23. Oregon at USC, September 26
This is a moment for Lincoln Riley. Oregon will be 3-0 and at least No. 2 in the polls, and as long as there isn’t a gack at Rutgers, USC will be 4-0 with a brutal second half coming up. This is when Riley has to show the world that his Trojans matter.
22. Texas A&M at LSU, September 26
With a nightmare of a final five games – at Alabama, at South Carolina, Tennessee, at Oklahoma, Texas – this is a make-or-break moment for Texas A&M. LSU will be coming off the trip to Oxford against Ole Miss.
21. Michigan at Oregon, November 14
There’s a not-crazy chance that Michigan is still unbeaten at this point, or maybe has one loss. It would take wins over Oklahoma, Indiana, Penn State, and Iowa for that to happen, but all four of those games are in Ann Arbor. It has to go on the road to close the regular season at Ohio State, and it has to travel to Eugene.
20. Miami at Clemson, October 3
The ACC is painfully unrepresented on here, but that’s mainly because it’s so even that at least 15 games are around the same level of importance. This is the one ACC game that should mean everything. Clemson has to win this to be a true player, and this should be Miami’s toughest conference game.
19. Texas at LSU, November 14
Sticking with our belief that LSU is going to be fantastic right away under Lane Kiffin, with Alabama before this and a trip to Tennessee to follow, this is a huge deal for the Tigers. Bottom line for Texas: its season might be effectively over if it loses this game.
18. Indiana at Washington, November 21
This is here for one key reason. We have a sneaking suspicion that Washington is one of this year’s hidden gems. Its schedule isn’t that bad – at USC, and home games against Penn State and Iowa are the problem before this. If it can pull this off against the defending national champs, the date at Oregon the following week might be a massive deal.
17. USC at Indiana, November 14
We’re supposed to be past the point of doing this, but brand name-wise, it’s USC, and it’s Indiana. USC is 4-0 in four meetings with the Hoosiers, but things have changed a wee bit since the 28-7 Trojan win in 1982. No matter what, this is a fun moment for the new and improved Big Ten.
16. Ohio State at USC, October 31
You might notice a slew of USC games on this list. Try this – Oregon, Washington, at Penn State, at Wisconsin, Ohio State, and then a date at Indiana. There’s an honest chance that Lincoln Riley might need a win over Ohio freaking State at this point to keep his gig.
15. LSU at Ole Miss, September 19
It’s Lane Kiffin going to Ole Miss for the cheekiest SEC opener ever. Just accept the inescapable crush of media hype and enjoy the show.
14. Texas at Texas A&M, November 27
Honestly, this is probably way too high, but we’ll take the chance that it’s not. At LSU, at Missouri, at Alabama, at South Carolina – Texas A&M might be an NPC at this point. If it’s not, great, but if it’s in the midst of a disappointing season, having a shot to ruin the Longhorns’ season would be everything.
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13. BYU at Utah, November 7
Considering Texas Tech might have the most favorable schedule of any Power Four team – it doesn’t have to face BYU or Utah – the rest of the Big 12 will likely be playing for the other spot in the Big 12 Championship. This is a giant moment in the first full season of the Morgan Scalley era at Utah in what should be a College Football Playoff elimination game.
12. Michigan at Ohio State, November 28
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s Michigan vs Ohio State, but considering the brutal paths both teams have to take to get here, it’s not totally off the rails to think they could both be 9-2 with the winner in the College Football Playoff and the loser out.
11. Indiana at Michigan, October 24
Okay, Michigan. Let’s see how this whole Kyle Whittingham thing is working out. Win this, and all of a sudden the expectations for the 2026 Wolverine season go up several notches. On the other side, Indiana is coming off the date with Ohio State, and it still has USC and at Washington to go. This could be a giant moment for the defending national champs.
10. Alabama at LSU, November 7
Alabama vs LSU is always a big deal – it wasn’t that long ago when this matchup stopped the world – but this time around it should define both programs and seasons. Alabama hired Kalen DeBoer and gave him an extension, and it didn’t go after Lane Kiffin. There will be analysis for a long, long time after the game.
9. Oklahoma at Georgia, September 26
The last time these two met, they put on one of the best shows in the brief history of the College Football Playoff, with Georgia slipping past Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma in a whale of a Rose Bowl at the end of the 2015 season.
The Bulldog schedule isn’t easy, but it’s favorable – unless it loses this. It’s the SEC opener for the Sooners, but they’ll have already played Michigan, and they go to Texas next. Speaking of which …
8. Oklahoma vs Texas, October 10
It always matters outside of whatever it means for a conference race – Texas won last year, but Oklahoma ended up going to the College Football Playoff. This time around, the Sooners will be coming off the road trip to Georgia, and they still have a loaded finishing kick to deal with.
The Longhorns will have already played Ohio State and gone to Tennessee, and they still have Florida, Ole Miss, at Missouri, at LSU, at Texas A&M … yeah, this is massive.
7. Oklahoma at Michigan, September 12
You’d assume that these two college football powerhouses gave the world a slew of classics over the last 100+ years, but … not even close. The Sooners won 24-13 last year and won 14-6 in the 1975 Orange Bowl.
This time around, it’s the first big moment of the Kyle Whittingham era, it’s a must-win for OU with Georgia and Texas coming up fast.
6. Notre Dame at BYU, October 17
Notre Dame should be 6-0 to start the season, and if it’s not, something went very, very wrong. This is the first big moment and the first key test. The world will be waiting for the showdown against Miami, but this will be even more dangerous.
5. Georgia at Alabama, October 10
It was the moment that ended up defining the College Football Playoff. All of Alabama’s sins – like not showing up in the opener against Florida State – were wiped away with a thrilling 24-21 win over Georgia in late September. That’s what the committee remembered, and the rest is college football rankings history. Kirby Smart has yet to beat the Crimson Tide in the regular season.
4. Miami at Notre Dame, November 7
It rarely works out the way you hope. The 1988 all-timer between these two – the 31-30 Irish win – had been building, but that was played in mid-October. This time, a rematch of the 2025 season-opener that turned out to derail the Irish’s playoff hope comes in early November.
If Notre Dame can avoid a stumble and if it gets by BYU in Provo, it will be 8-0. Miami has a few landmines to sidestep, and if it rolls into South Bend a clean 8-0, there’s a real shot that this will be No. 1 vs No. 2.
3. Ohio State at Texas, September 12
At least it’s not the opener – these two kicked off last season against each other in a somewhat ragged 14-7 Buckeye win. Ohio State gets a tune-up against Ball State, Texas starts with Texas State, and then comes what might be the defining moment of the season.
The SEC desperately needs this win, Ohio State has to pull this off with a brutal slate ahead, and the intensity will make this the game we’ve been waiting all offseason to see.
2. Oregon at Ohio State, November 7
Going into the season, it’s the AP No. 1 vs No. 2, but this comes on November 7th when both teams will have been run through the ringer. If by some chance both teams are here without a scratch, it will almost certainly be the most-hyped non-Michigan home game in the Ryan Day era.
1. Ohio State at Indiana, October 17
Unless Ohio State gets clocked at Iowa, at worst, it’s 5-1 with a loss to Texas coming into this. Indiana has to deal with a trip to Nebraska before this, but it’ll be a slight shock if it’s not 6-0 and on a 22-game winning streak. No matter what, this should be the most electric home game in the history of Hoosier football.
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This story was originally published August 17, 2026 at 10:17 PM.