Here’s your official 2026 Big Ten Tournament bracket:

When SEC fans argue that their conference is better, remember the facts. Last two national champions? B1G. Top 2 seeds in the CFP? B1G. 2024 bowl records? B1G 11-6, SEC 8-7. 2025 bowl records? B1G 6-0, SEC 2-5. The SEC’s reign is over. The Big Ten sits atop the throne.

Decided to do a small project on college football roster construction and how resources could be allocated by position. The framework is grounded in data and research on how NFL teams construct rosters and allocate the salary cap by position. Those patterns serve as the starting point, with one major adjustment for the college game: roster size. The NFL has 53 players. College football allows up to 105. To make the comparison work, our model mirrors the top 53 roster spots using NFL allocation tendencies, then sets aside $30k per player so the remaining roster still receives revenue share. Important reminder: this revenue share is on top of full scholarships (tuition, room and board, fees, etc.) and is separate from NIL compensation. For 2025, the maximum revenue share per school is $20.5M. That pool can be divided across athletic programs however the AD sees fit. A commonly used assumption is football receives ~75%, or $15.375M, which serves as the baseline here. It’s also worth noting that many schools won’t have the resources to fully fund the $20.5M max. This is where the divide between the B1G/SEC and the rest of the sport is likely to widen over the coming years. This isn’t meant to be prescriptive. Think of it as a starting point informed by data, not a rigid blueprint. Coaches and GMs will move money around based on philosophy, roster strengths, and development pipelines. Want to splurge on a $2.5M QB? Roughly $740k has to be cleared elsewhere. That might come from the bottom of the depth chart or by finding value at RG and RT. Tradeoffs are unavoidable. The same logic applies at other positions. If three RBs are of similar caliber, the split doesn’t have to be $330k / $120k / $60k. It could look more like $230k / $210k / $170k. Roster building is now as much about allocation as it is evaluation.

In his 3 seasons at Illinois… 8,098 total yards 67 TDs / 21 INTs 64.5% completion 145.1 rating Captain Back-to-back bowl games 23 wins Thanks for choosing to wear the orange and blue and taking this program to new heights. There’s only one way to send him off… LUUUUUUUUUUKE

TFP 6.7 - Ohio State Preview The gang’s all here. @MDFlash_7 rejoins the pod to preview Saturday’s showdown with #1 Ohio State. 🎙️Apple: apple.co/3k0OP7h 🎙️Spotify: spoti.fi/369Ugf1 🎥YouTube: youtu.be/t4oeI6WLeOs