UCLA at Michigan, Nebraska at Iowa headline CBS college football slate for 2026

CBS Sports has set a 2026 college football schedule loaded with marquee matchups this fall, highlighted by 14 Big Ten appearances on CBS in the network's usual 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff window.

The Week 12 headliner on Nov. 21 sends UCLA to Michigan, with the Bruins trying to stay unbeaten under first-year coach Bob Chesney. Entering Tuesday night's third College Football Playoff rankings, UCLA is the Big Ten's highest-ranked team and is two wins away from playing for a top-four seed in the bracket for the first time in program history.

Michigan is trying to fix its issues on offense under Kyle Whittingham, who moved on from play-caller Jason Beck earlier this month and played both of his primary quarterbacks during Saturday's loss at Oregon.

The visit to the Big House will be UCLA's first since 1996. The Bruins have one of the nation's strongest defenses and have done enough offensively with backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach to keep pace inside the top five following a season-ending injury to Nico Iamaleava in October. UCLA will try to contain Michigan five-star freshman Savion Hiter, who scored the Wolverines' only touchdown at Oregon with a 70-yard touchdown run.

CBS will also broadcast the Black Friday rivalry game between Nebraska and Iowa, set this year for Iowa City on Nov. 27 at noon ET, before the final Big Ten on CBS game of the regular season on Nov. 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET.

The Nebraska-Iowa rivalry was reignited by the Cornhuskers' move to the Big Ten, and the game has been a late November fixture on the calendar since 2011. It is almost always close: of the 15 meetings as Big Ten foes, 10 have been decided by eight points or less and six have come down to a field goal.

Last season's 40-16 rout by Iowa reflected two teams finishing their campaigns in far different positions from a health perspective. The Hawkeyes were wrapping up a successful top-25 season while the Cornhuskers were down to backup quarterbacks and barreling toward a 2-5 finish. If both Nebraska and Iowa are playing for stakes late this year, history suggests it will be another tight one for the corn rivals.

The schedule also marks the return of the Pac-12. CBS Sports will bring coverage of the new-look league on CBS and CBS Sports Network, including some high-profile nonconference games and the Pac-12 Championship Game at the end of the season on CBS.

In addition to the Big Ten and Pac-12 games on the docket, CBS Sports will feature the three games in the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy rivalry between Army, Navy and Air Force. The series concludes with the Army-Navy game in its traditional spot on the calendar, hosted this year at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Games on the schedule are available on CBS and Paramount+.