With the 2026 early signing period underway, here's what you need to know about where Big Ten programs stand in the college football recruiting rankings:

The five highest-ranked conference champions will make the playoff, regardless of whether they are in the Top 25. The Group of 5 teams in contention for a playoff spot include the American conference champion -- either North Texas or Tulane -- as well as James Madison, 11-1 and favored in the Sun Belt championship.

The battle for the top college football recruiting class is heating up, and one Big Ten program has the early edge in the rankings.

Rematches are hard to win a second time, but Texas Tech outclassed BYU in their first meeting to the tune of a 29-7 win in Lubbock. They will meet again at AT&T Stadium in Dallas-Fort Worth and the challenge for the Cougars is cracking the code on a Texas Tech defense that is among the best in the country.

Six of the nine Football Bowl Subdivision conference championship games will be rematches of regular-season meetings.

Tennessee finished its regular season ranked No. 31 nationally for strength of schedule. Ole Miss is the only SEC school ranked below the Vols for strength of schedule. The Rebels finished regular-season play ranked No. 40 nationally for strength of schedule. Final regular-season strength of schedule rankings are listed below.

On Saturday morning's episode of College GameDay, college football insider Pete Thamel provided a significant update regarding South Florida Bulls head coach Al