This was a fairly quiet, non-controversial week in the Big Ten with six teams on bye and every ranked program emerging unscathed — though USC needed a second-half comeback against Nebraska and Michigan didn’t pull away from Purdue until the early stages of the fourth quarter. Yet when all was said and done late Saturday night, order was preserved across the conference.
The two statement victories belonged to No. 1 Ohio State, which thrashed spiraling Penn State in a game that — two months ago — seemed like it might be one of the league’s most influential in the race for the College Football Playoff, and No. 2 Indiana, which obliterated Maryland to notch a fourth consecutive win by double digits and a second straight by 45 points or more. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers continue separating themselves from everyone else.
For a more in-depth look at the league, here’s a new set of Big Ten Power Rankings following Week 10:
The Top 10
Result: 38-14 home win over Penn State
A nip-and-tuck affair broke open when Ohio State scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to pull away from the Nittany Lions and reinforce its standing as the best, most complete team in the country.
One of the biggest storylines entering Saturday’s game centered on the matchup between the Buckeyes’ offense and Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who held the same role at Ohio State the past three seasons. That battle tilted decidedly toward Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Ryan Hartline on an afternoon when their offense outgained the Nittany Lions by 280 total yards.
Quarterback Julian Sayin, who might well be the Heisman Trophy front-runner, turned in another spectacular effort by connecting on 20 of 23 passes for 316 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He leads the country in completion rate at 80.7% and ranks third in touchdown passes with 23, trailing only Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson (26) and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza (25).
That Sayin’s top two targets — Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate — might be the two best wide receivers in the country certainly helps his cause. The former caught six passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns against Penn State, while the latter made five catches for 124 yards and one score. Both wideouts are on pace to surpass 1,000 yards during the regular season.
Result: 55-10 road win over Maryland
The machine assembled by second-year head coach Curt Cignetti just keeps rolling. Even in a game when quarterback Fernando Mendoza tossed an early interception and star wide receiver Elijah Sarratt exited in the first quarter with hamstring tightness, the Hoosiers still cruised to another lopsided victory by topping 50 points for the fifth time this season.
Tailbacks Kaelon Black, Roman Hemby and Khobie Martin all rushed for at least 80 yards and a touchdown as Indiana averaged 7.1 yards per carry and gashed the Terrapins for 367 rushing yards with four scores. For the Hoosiers to now rank sixth nationally and first in the Big Ten in rushing at 245.7 yards per game speaks to their incredible balance considering how much attention has been given to Mendoza’s passing prowess — and rightfully so considering the Cal transfer is fifth in the country for completion rate (72.3%) and second in touchdown passes (25).
Plenty of praise should also be given to defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, one of the fastest-rising assistant coaches in the country and a potential head-coaching candidate in what is going to be a wild carousel cycle. Haines’ group forced five Maryland turnovers on Saturday (two INTs, three fumble recoveries) and limited the Terrapins to just 37 rushing yards on 17 attempts. Indiana travels to Penn State on Saturday in what could be the Hoosiers’ toughest remaining test in the regular season.
3. Oregon (7-1 overall, 4-1 Big Ten)
Result: Idle
Given the impressive overall and conference records, there’s certainly no reason for head coach Dan Lanning and his staff to panic coming off an ugly win over Wisconsin. But the context surrounding Oregon’s résumé as it currently stands and the Ducks’ remaining schedule is worth exploring ahead of the first College Football Playoff rankings this week. Because of the implosion by Penn State, which sat No. 3 in the AP Poll when Oregon traveled to Beaver Stadium and won in overtime on Sept. 27, the Ducks are still without a victory over an opponent likely to be ranked on Tuesday night.
Forthcoming games against Iowa (away), Minnesota (home), No. 20 USC (home) and No. 24 Washington (away) means Lanning and Co. will have plenty of chances to boost their profile between now and the end of the regular season. But for a team that played poorly in its loss to then-No. 7 Indiana and then struggled to pull away from Wisconsin in two of its last three outings, nothing about the difficult closing stretch is guaranteed. It’s fair to wonder which way the Ducks’ season will tip.
Result: 21-17 road win over Nebraska
This was, on so many levels, a massive victory for the Trojans. Not only did USC battle back from a narrow fourth-quarter deficit to produce the winning touchdown with 10:06 remaining on a 6-yard run by King Miller, a walk-on tailback-turned-revelation for head coach Lincoln Riley this season following injuries to fellow running backs Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders. Not only did USC find a way to win, despite quarterback Jayden Maiava producing the program’s lowest passing total (135 yards) since former quarterbacks JT Daniels and Matt Fink combined for 132 against Utah in 2018. Not only did the Trojans weather the storm of 86,529 fans at Memorial Stadium, one of the most difficult venues in the league, to win a Big Ten road game for just the third time in eight attempts since joining the conference. They managed to accomplish all those things in a pressure-packed moment that amounted to a College Football Playoff elimination game between two teams that entered the night with two losses apiece — a reflection, in Riley’s eyes, of legitimate growth in his prolonged rebuild. “Is it a sign of progress?” Riley said in his postgame news conference. “Of course.”
Now, the Trojans will prepare to face upstart Northwestern for a Friday night kickoff at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where USC is unbeaten this season.
Result: 21-16 home win over Purdue
There’s no disputing what Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said in his postgame media session on Saturday after the Wolverines staved off Purdue to maintain their one-loss conference record: “We’re in a position to do everything we wanted to accomplish,” he said. And that is technically true. Michigan is still in the mix to reach the Big Ten Championship game. It still has a chance to beat No. 1 Ohio State for a fifth straight time. It can still reach the College Football Playoff by finishing the regular season 10-2 overall, which necessitates a win over the Buckeyes. That’s the 30,000-foot view for the Wolverines. But on a micro level — zooming in on how Michigan performed against the Boilermakers and where things stand with an inconsistent offense under first-year coordinator Chip Lindsey — the story is more concerning.
The Wolverines didn’t pull away from lowly Purdue until tailback Jordan Marshall found the end zone with 10:03 remaining in the fourth quarter. And for quarterback Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 cycle, Saturday marked his second consecutive game with zero passing touchdowns and fewer than 150 yards through the air. Lindsey’s unit now ranks 107th nationally in passing at 185.7 yards per game.
The Wolverines will face Northwestern and Maryland away from home before taking on Ohio State in Ann Arbor.
Result: Idle
Once again, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz is entering November with a very good football team. And once again, the Hawkeyes are flying under the national radar because very little about their operation would be considered eye-catching. It’s easy to forget that Iowa gave Indiana a tougher test than anyone else this season, including then-No. 3 Oregon, and also scored lopsided wins over Wisconsin (37-0) and Minnesota (41-3) that reflect the completeness of Ferentz’s squad in all three phases.
The Hawkeyes will now host No. 6 Oregon on Saturday in what could be a trajectory-defining matchup for both programs before traveling to face No. 20 USC next week. If Iowa can get through that two-game gauntlet unscathed, nobody will be overlooking Ferentz’s team anymore.
Result: Idle
A favorable closing stretch for Washington, which still ranks among the top 30 nationally in both scoring offense (35.5 points per game) and total offense (438.6 yards per game), includes winnable games against Wisconsin, Purdue and UCLA over the next three weeks. That means head coach Jedd Fisch’s team could be in position to enter its regular-season finale with No. 6 Oregon — an annual rival — at 9-2 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten, firmly in the mix for an at-large berth in the College Football Playoff.
It’s easy to forget that the Huskies’ only losses this season came against No. 1 Ohio State and then-unranked Michigan, which didn’t pull away until Washington committed a flurry of turnovers in the fourth quarter. The Huskies are still a legitimate threat.
8. Illinois (6-3 overall, 3-3 Big Ten)
Result: 35-13 home win over Rutgers
What a strange situation Illinois now finds itself in for the rest of the season following another convincing victory over one of the league’s bottom feeders. In losing three games to then-No. 19 Indiana, No. 1 Ohio State and Washington by a combined 88 points — including a 63-10 shellacking against the Hoosiers — it’s clear that head coach Bret Bielema’s team isn’t good enough to contend with most of the league’s top teams. But in handling business convincingly against Purdue and Rutgers, plus nipping then-No. 21 USC at home on a last-second field goal, the Illini are clearly a solid outfit hovering around the conference’s second tier.
All three of Illinois’ remaining games are exceedingly winnable — Maryland (home), Wisconsin (away), Northwestern (home) — which means the Illini are likely to secure back-to-back nine-win seasons for the first time in program history. That, in and of itself, is remarkable. And yet, because of the lopsided early losses to quality opponents, Illinois will be nowhere near the College Football Playoff discussion down the stretch despite entering the campaign with sky-high expectations. Bielema said it best in his postgame news conference: “I put us as good as any 6-3 team out there. That doesn’t mean anything, but I like this team.”
Result: 23-20 home win over Michigan State in OT
One week after Minnesota got drilled, 41-3, on the road at Iowa, things appeared bleak for the Gophers yet again when Michigan State scored a go-ahead touchdown with 1:52 remaining. But redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey, a former three-star recruit, led an impressive nine-play, 65-yard scoring drive that tied the game in the waning seconds. Lindsey completed passes of 13 yards, 8 yards and 9 yards to help Minnesota into the red zone, at which point he finished the job himself with a short touchdown run to force overtime. A strong Gophers defense that racked up seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss limited Michigan State to a field goal in the extra session, opening the door for another clutch moment from Lindsey. He answered the call by plunging across the goal line for his second rushing touchdown, this one from 3 yards out, to give Minnesota the walk-off win and secure bowl eligibility.
This is now the fifth straight campaign in which the Gophers will reach the postseason under head coach P.J. Fleck and the seventh time in the last eight years overall. They are off this weekend before traveling to No. 6 Oregon for a Friday night game on Nov. 14.
Result: 21-17 home loss to No. 23 USC
The headline following Nebraska’s gutting defeat to USC on Saturday night is quite simple: For the 29th consecutive time, the Cornhuskers failed to beat a ranked opponent. It’s a stunning indictment of a program that harbors national championship aspirations after winning three titles in the 1990s but has been largely dormant ever since, at least when it comes to conversations about the best teams in college football.
For head coach Matt Rhule, who agreed to a lucrative contract extension last week while his name circulated as a potential candidate at Penn State, this was his 19th straight defeat to a ranked opponent across his coaching stints at Nebraska, Baylor and Temple combined — another unsightly indictment.
It must be noted, however, that the Cornhuskers were leading 14-6 when starting quarterback Dylan Raiola exited the game with a right ankle injury and did not return. Reports surfaced Sunday afternoon that Raiola suffered a broken fibula and will be out for the season. His replacement, true freshman TJ Lateef, was a former four-star prospect and the No. 20 quarterback in the 2025 class. Lateef completed 5 of 7 passes for just 7 yards and fumbled three times, though none were recovered by USC.
A third conference defeat for Nebraska, which harbored visions of reaching the College Football Playoff in Raiola’s second season, effectively eliminated the Cornhuskers from contention.
The Rest
Result: Idle
Despite earning their fifth victory in an impressive shutout of Purdue on Oct. 18, the Wildcats still face an uphill battle to reach bowl eligibility considering the difficulty of their remaining schedule. Northwestern travels to No. 20 USC this week for a tricky Friday night kickoff before facing No. 21 Michigan at Wrigley Field in what is expected to feel like a home game for the Wolverines. Head coach David Braun and Co. will then close the season by facing Minnesota (home) and Illinois (away), two more teams that have already notched six wins this season. Pro Football Focus ranks the Wildcats’ remaining schedule as the 11th-toughest in the country, while ESPN has it 19th.
Result: Idle
For the first time since mid-September, a revamped UCLA coaching staff led by interim coach Tim Skipper, offensive play caller Jerry Neuheisel and defensive play caller Kevin Coyle had a chance to regroup and recharge with a bye this past weekend. It offered a much-needed reset following a whirlwind stretch in which three straight victories transformed the Bruins into one of the best stories in college football before an embarrassing 56-6 loss at No. 2 Indiana burst that bubble on Oct. 25. A very difficult November slate includes games against Nebraska (home), No. 1 Ohio State (away) and No. 24 Washington (home) before the crosstown rivalry with No. 20 USC to end the regular season. It’s difficult to see where the Bruins will add another win.
Result: 38-14 road loss to No. 1 Ohio State
Despite everything that has gone wrong for Penn State in the last six weeks — from the firing of head coach James Franklin, to the season-ending injury suffered by starting quarterback Drew Allar, to the losing streak that has now reached five games — the Nittany Lions deserve some credit for hanging with Ohio State as long as they did on Saturday afternoon. A short touchdown run from tailback Kaytron Allen late in the second quarter trimmed the Buckeyes’ lead to 17-14 at halftime, sending momentary shockwaves of concern through the Ohio Stadium crowd given the talent that still graces interim coach Terry Smith’s roster, but Penn State crumbled in the third quarter of an eventual lopsided defeat. Ohio State shredded former defensive coordinator Jim Knowles for 480 total yards, including 316 through the air, to sink the Nittany Lions to 0-5 in the conference for the first time since 2003 in a non-pandemic season.
Result: 55-10 home loss to No. 2 Indiana
While it’s true that Maryland entered Week 10 having dropped three in a row to Washington, Nebraska and UCLA, head coach Mike Locksley and his staff could take solace in the fact that their combined margin of defeat in those games was only 10 points. The Terrapins’ capitulation against Indiana was something entirely different. Maryland’s defense surrendered a staggering 367 rushing yards and four touchdowns (7.1 yards per carry) while allowing the Hoosiers to convert eight of 13 times on third and fourth down combined. Its offense was incapable of running the ball (37 rushing yards), holding onto the ball (two INTs, three lost fumbles) and getting the ball past the line to gain in critical moments (3-for-12 on third down). After a 4-0 start to the season, Locksley’s team is trending in the wrong direction.
Result: 35-13 road loss to Illinois
This was a disappointing effort from the Scarlet Knights one week after snapping a four-game losing streak with a solid road win at Purdue. Two field goals from kicker Jai Patel trimmed Illinois’ lead to 7-6 late in the second quarter, but the Illini responded with two touchdowns in the span of 95 seconds to blow the game open before halftime. In total, Illinois scored 28 unanswered points from the latter stages of the second quarter through the waning moments of the third to distance themselves from Rutgers for good. The Scarlet Knights must win two of their final three games against Maryland (home), No. 1 Ohio State (away) and Penn State (home) to reach bowl eligibility in a third consecutive season for the first time since 2012-14 under former coach Kyle Flood.
Result: Idle
No coach and no team needed a week off more than Luke Fickell and Wisconsin, which failed to win a game in October after facing four of the best six teams in the league: then-No. 20 Michigan (20-14 road loss), Iowa (37-0 home loss), No. 1 Ohio State (34-0 home loss) and No. 6 Oregon (21-7 road loss). The Badgers will enter their Week 11 matchup with Washington ranked 135th out of 136 FBS teams in both total offense (261.9 yards per game) and scoring offense (12.5 points per game) under first-year offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, whom Fickell hired when his original offensive coordinator — Phil Longo, now the head coach at Sam Houston — oversaw a group that finished 99th in total offense (350.3 yards per game) and tied for 108th in scoring (22.6 points per game) last season.
Result: 23-20 road loss to Minnesota in OT
In yet another sign of how bad things have gotten for the Spartans, embattled head coach Jonathan Smith decided to change his starting quarterback by swapping Aidan Chiles — a highly regarded prospect who followed Smith from Oregon State to Michigan State — for redshirt freshman Alessio Milivojevic, a former three-star recruit and the No. 53 quarterback in the 2024 class. To Milivojevic’s credit, he responded well by completing 20 of 28 passes for 311 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in the first start of his career, but the Spartans still fell behind 10-0 and then, after climbing back into the game, squandered a 17-10 lead in the final two minutes of regulation. Michigan State is now 0-6 in the Big Ten for the first time since 2016 and just the second time this century.
18. Purdue (2-7 overall, 0-6 Big Ten)
Result: 21-16 road loss to No. 21 Michigan
Purdue arrived at Michigan Stadium mired in a six-game losing streak that included multi-score defeats to USC, Notre Dame, Illinois and Northwestern. But head coach Barry Odom and his staff got the Boilermakers to play with immense effort in a narrow defeat that was still in question with fewer than five minutes remaining. Two drives that advanced deep into Michigan territory in the first quarter but failed to produce a single point will be lamented by Purdue in the days to come. The Boilermakers have three games remaining — No. 1 Ohio State (home), No. 24 Washington (away) and No. 2 Indiana (home) — to secure a win that will prevent them from going winless in the Big Ten for a second straight year, something that has never happened in the program’s history.
Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.
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