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I don’t know if we talk enough about how impressive it is that the UCLA Bruins are still winning games and building momentum this season. There’s a ton to be proud of for that program as they remain the last unbeaten team in the Big Ten. That’s huge. Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon all have losses. But not UCLA.
Speaking of some of those other high profile teams in the Big Ten, the Buckeyes managed to get a significant win over the Hoosiers this past weekend (and Julian Sayin suffered a pretty notable injury in the process), while the Ducks found another way to survive (thanks in large part to the fact that Nebraska is cursed). How much longer will UCLA remain unbeaten? Can the Bruins keep building momentum? Will they be able to overtake the Buckeyes at the top of the Big Ten? Here's our power rankings heading into Week 8.
Everything is bad for Maryland Terrapins fans right now. Nothing is going right. Maryland just keeps losing. This time, the Terrapins lost to Rutgers, which is a horrific sort of loss to suffer. But at least they’ve got a new head coach who will be in place by the time next season starts. That's something to celebrate, right?
Well, you tried Michigan State. And you came close to beating a pretty decent Northwestern Wildcats team that has a fair bit of momentum! But you didn't win, and that's a bummer. This is not a fun year for Michigan State fans.
Good news: Rutgers got a win! The Scarlet Knights beat Maryland! Bad news: Rutgers is still bad and no win over a team like Maryland is going to change anyone's perceptions or do anything significant other than help the Scarlet Knights slowly inch closer to possibly, maybe finding a bizarre way of sneaking into bowl eligibility. But a win is a win, and Rutgers fans should take a breath after seeing the Scarlet Knights take that one.
Well. Penn State is, uh, bad. Really bad. Staying winless in conference play after facing Michigan this year isn't a good sign for what the rest of the season is going to yield.
A win is a win. A double digits win is a double digits win. Jedd Fisch and his struggling Washington Huskies just needed something to go their way, and they got it as they beat the Purdue Boilermakers by 12 points. Can that translate into something positive down the stretch as they get set to face Nebraska after their bye week?
Bret Bielema and Illinois haven't exactly had much fun this season, but a well-timed bye week might have done them some good as they prepare for an Oregon Ducks team that's not overwhelmingly impressive this year
Good for you, Michigan. Getting a win after a bye week and snapping a losing streak? That matters. It's not a great win, but beating Penn State by three points does indeed count as a win. Take it. Celebrate it. Build a little momentum.
What an absolute setback losing to the Washington Huskies was for a Purdue team that was building some decent momentum. After throttling the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Boilermakers just lost to an underwhelming and underachieving Washington team by 12 points. Which, given how bad Washington has been, is enough for me to have Purdue ranked worse than where I've got Minnesota. That feels weird. I don't like it. Purdue, don't lose to bad teams.
A bye week rarely hurts a team that is fresh off a bad loss. Losing to the Purdue Boilermakers by 28 points certainly qualifies as a bad loss. And that's the second time this season that Minnesota has been mangled by a team. Can the Golden Gophers find a way to defend their home turf against Iowa this weekend after a week of rest?
Oh, Nebraska. So, so close in back-to-back weeks. So, so close to making a statement and beating one of the better teams in the Big Ten in games that you should have won. Matt Rhule (and his absurd contract) and the Huskers should be 7-0! And yet, a 17-20 loss to Indiana on October 10 and a 14-17 loss to Oregon on October 17 probably doesn't feel very good.
Iterative improvement season over season is a good thing, I think. Luke Fickell and the Badgers have already matched their win total from the 2025 season, so that's something to celebrate. What's not ideal is losing a low-scoring slugfest against UCLA by 10 points. The Badgers will get a chance to get back in the win column when they face USC in a game that will provide both Wisconsin and the Trojans with a chance to prove just how good they are.
Hey look, another one-loss team hanging out in the upper middle class of the Big Ten. There's some very real potential present with the Iowa Hawkeyes and they're gearing up to face Minnesota following a bye week.
After escaping a close matchup with Penn State, Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans got a well-earned bye week. The Trojans are 6-1, which feels weird. They're not a bad team, though I have a hard time gauging just how good they are. That said, Riley and the Trojans will get the distinct opportunity to play the Wisconsin Badgers and the Ohio State Buckeyes the next few weeks. That'll be a good way to evaluate just how good they are.
I mean, this is Dan Lanning’s worst team since he was hired to be the head coach in Eugene, right? The Ducks are 4-2 and just managed to survive a home matchup with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, but they can't figure out what to do at quarterback following Dante Moore's injury. Still, they had a late game comeback to beat Nebraska by three points (and the Huskers are a decent but cursed team, for what that's worth).
OK, I mean, Northwestern hasn't exactly been the most amazing team ever, but the Wildcats just keep winning, and Michigan State got to figure that out over the weekend. Getting Chip Kelly as the architect for the Wildcats offense has been fun and he's clearly enjoying innovating with one of the Big Ten’s most overlooked and under-appreciated programs.
In a close one, Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers weren't able to get past the Buckeyes defense. This team shouldn't be overlooked by any stretch of the imagination, but they're just not as good as a season ago, and that's showing more and more in recent weeks.
What Bob Chesney is accomplishing with the UCLA Bruins this season is something that should be studied for years to come. It's absurd just how much this team has accomplished in the first year of his tenure there. Even with Nico Iamaleava out with an injury, the Bruins took care of what has turned out to be a surprisingly solid Wisconsin team by double digits.
It's going to be interesting to see just how Ohio State’s offense is impacted in the coming weeks as the Buckeyes try to keep moving without Julian Sayin able to play. Jeremiah Smith will obviously help anyone in charge of that offense, but losing that experience at quarterback isn't ideal. Still, this team just beat Indiana and is heading into a bye week. There's a lot to be proud of for Buckeye fans.
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