Ohio State has fallen. After the Buckeyes' 30-18 loss to USC in Week 9, Ryan Day's program is now one loss away from being knocked out of the CFP picture.
The Big Ten only has a handful of programs that look capable of continuing the conference's streak of three straight championships. It's increasingly unclear if Ohio State is one of them without starting quarterback Julian Sayin.
How does the B1G shake out after a wild Halloween weekend?
No. 1: UCLA
Knocking off a sub-.500 Nevada squad 27-0 isn't the most impressive win, but UCLA is the only undefeated program in the conference. Until proven otherwise, Bob Chesney's program is the class of the Big Ten. We'll see if the Bruins can keep up their torrid pace without starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava for the rest of the year.
No. 2: Indiana
Curt Cignetti's team still has its fastball after a come-from-behind 23-16 win in Week 9. Indiana kicker Paddy McAteer matched Minnesota PK Luke Drzewiecki's 60-yard field goal in the final minute to send the game into overtime.
Backup Hoosiers quarterback Grant Wilson threw a touchdown pass to Charlie Becker on the first OT play, and Drake Lindsey and the Golden Gophers couldn't respond. Indiana is now suffering the same starting quarterback injury issues as OSU and UCLA, but Cignetti's machine has been humming along regardless of the personnel for three straight years now.
No. 3: Ohio State
Now with two losses, the Buckeyes have a lot of work to do to avoid this season falling off the rails. The offense doesn't seem to know its identity anymore with Luke Fahey running the show. While Bo Jackson finally had a breakout game on the ground, unless he can up the ante from that, and Isaiah West can give the team a Quinshon Judkins-TreVeyon Henderson type of 1-2 punch, this offense probably can't carry Matt Patricia's defense the rest of the way. The loss to the Trojans was an abysmal effort from Patricia's unit.
No. 4: Iowa
Iowa absolutely dominated Wisconsin 30-0 at Kinnick Stadium. As always under Kirk Ferentz, the Hawkeyes are dangerous against the majority of the conference, though maybe not the very top.
No. 5: USC
Beating the Buckeyes is a statement. Only USC can say it's done that from the B1G this season.
No. 6: Northwestern
Losing at Autzen Stadium was expected coming into the season, but Northwestern has played so well that it's a disappointment to lose to the Ducks in Chip Kelly's Eugene homecoming.
No. 7: Minnesota
Almost beating Indiana keeps Minnesota in the top half of the conference. P.J. Fleck's team is still on schedule this season despite the loss.
No. 8: Oregon
Oregon is back in good graces with a strong win over the Wildcats, but this season has still been a massive disappointment for Dan Lanning's program.
No. 9: Washington
Heading to Lincoln and knocking off Nebraska 17-10 keeps Washington at the front of the line in the middle of the Big Ten's pack.
No. 10: Illinois
Barely beating Maryland isn't the highlight of Illinois's last few weeks. That'd be downing the Ducks last weekend. Still, the Fighting Illini have now won three straight and enter November with a chance to make this a special season in Champaign.
No. 11: Wisconsin
The Badgers were embarrassed in Iowa City and now have a much different outlook on the 2026 season entering November. Luke Fickell is not out of the woods yet, though the next four weeks really only present one big challenge in the Border Battle.
No. 12: Penn State
Penn State picked up its first win since September with a 31-17 win over Purdue at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. That's what they celebrate in State College, PA, these days.
No. 13: Michigan
Barely beating Rutgers doesn't get you any higher in these rankings, unfortunately.
No. 14: Nebraska
It just never happened for Matt Rhule and Big Red. Nebraska is likely not going to prolong his tenure for another 7-5 season.
No. 15: Purdue
The Boilermakers not getting by the Nittany Lions solidifies Purdue's place in the bottom half of the conference, barring a miracle November.
No. 16: Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights may be the most impressive 2-6 team in the conference, for whatever that's worth.
No. 17: Michigan State
The bye week did Michigan State no favors, with a lot of the bottom-tier teams stepping up in Week 9.
No. 18: Maryland
There were glimmers of intrigue from the Terrapins in the first game of the post-Mike Locksley era. There was also another loss.
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