Week 1: Thursday, September 3 through Saturday, September 5, 2026. All times Eastern. Updates every week of the season.
Big Ten Network carries seven games in Week 1, more than any other conference channel, including the top ranked team in the country in its opener and the first game ever played at the rebuilt Ryan Field.
| Time (ET) | Game | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 6:00 p.m. | UMass at Rutgers | Final: UMass 37, Rutgers 21 |
| Thu 9:00 p.m. | UAB at Illinois | Final: Illinois 42, UAB 23 |
| Fri 7:00 p.m. | Indiana State at Purdue | Final: Purdue 44, Indiana State 19 |
| Sat 12:30 p.m. | Ball State at No. 1 Ohio State | Columbus. The preseason No. 1 opens at home |
| Sat 4:15 p.m. | Northern Illinois at No. 22 Iowa | Iowa City |
| Sat 8:00 p.m. | Hampton at Maryland | College Park |
| Sat 8:00 p.m. | South Dakota State at Northwestern | First game at the rebuilt Ryan Field |
Rankings are the AP preseason poll. With two games at 8 p.m., check your local BTN feed for which one airs in your market; both stream in the Fox Sports app.
How to Watch Big Ten Network
BTN is a cable and satellite channel, so it is not free over the air. It is included in the standard packages on YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo and DirecTV Stream, and on Sling Blue depending on your add ons. Big Ten Network games also stream through the Fox Sports app and FOX One with a login. The Fox broadcast network (North Texas at Indiana at noon, Boston College at Cincinnati at 3:30) is a separate channel; those games are on our Fox schedule.
What Else Is On
The other conference channels: SEC Network has Kent State at South Carolina at 12:45, North Alabama at Arkansas at 4:15 and Florida Atlantic at Florida at 7:45. ACC Network has New Hampshire at Syracuse at noon, Tulane at Duke at 3:30 and VMI at Virginia Tech at 7:30. The full channel by channel list is on our college football TV schedule, and every Big Ten score is on Big Ten football scores.
The Bottom Line
Big Ten Network’s Saturday starts with Ohio State at 12:30, runs through Iowa at 4:15 and finishes with Maryland and Northwestern at 8. You need a pay TV or live streaming package that carries BTN; there is no way to buy the channel by itself.