The contenders and pretenders in the College Football Playoff race separated themselves from each other around the midway point of the season, and the same unfolded on the Big Ten scale, where clear tiers emerged after Week 8 action. USC tumbled towards the bottom of the conference with another stunning loss, while Wisconsin moved in the complete opposite direction with its midseason surge, and those are only two of the major shakeups following a consequential weekend.
The Indiana breakout continued in a major way with the Hoosiers steamrolling Nebraska, and Michigan State earned an impressive win of its own as Jonathan Smith and his program outplayed Iowa in a statement game of their own.
Each of those results and multiple others played key roles in reshaping the Big Ten title race and power rankings entering late October. The same three teams as usual — Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State — have a stronghold on the elite tier, but dark-horse contenders abound as the regular season approaches the home stretch.
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Here are the Big Ten power rankings ahead of Week 9:
18. PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (1-6, 0-4)
Week 8 Result: L 35-0 vs. Oregon
Purdue moved the ball decently well on Oregon but could not finish drives. Its 301 yards resulted in zero points. Even though the game got out of hand, it remained clear that Ryan Browne gives the offense quite a bit of life as a dual-threat quarterback, and his ability to keep plays alive and pick up chunk yardage on the ground might be enough to keep the job long-term even though his arm is less reliable than that of Hudson Card. The Boilermakers will struggle to finish above last place in the Big Ten, but Browne and the running back tandem of Reggie Love III and Devin Mockobee are at least fun to watch.
17. NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS (3-4, 1-3)
Week 8 Result: L 23-3 vs. Wisconsin
The Northwestern offense that looked better over the last two games reverted to its old self in Saturday’s loss to Wisconsin. Jack Lausch regressed with a 9-for-24 passing performance and took a sack in the end zone for a safety, and he received no help from his supporting cast as the Wildcats lost their third game in four tries. David Braun’s defense is still one of the more underrated units in the conference, but the group on the other side of the ball is entirely untrustworthy.
16. RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (4-3, 1-3)
Week 8 Result: L 35-32 vs. UCLA
So much for a breakout season at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights defense, which had been one of the Big Ten’s stingiest groups until last week’s collapse against Wisconsin, reached a new low in the loss to UCLA as it surrendered 35 points to one of the nation’s weakest offenses. This is a beleaguered roster with a number of key injuries, and it shows. The first four or five games of the campaign painted a bright picture for Greg Schiano, but this is a different team with so many key players on the shelf.
15. UCLA BRUINS (2-5, 1-4)
Week 8 Result: W 35-32 at Rutgers
UCLA got up off the mat in a tough spot, traveling from coast to coast for a noon kickoff (9:00 a.m. for the Bruins’ body clocks) and defeating Rutgers for the first Big Ten win in program history. Most impressive was quarterback Ethan Garbers, who looked like the version of himself many expected prior to the season with a career day. He threw four touchdowns on 32-of-38 passing to spark a UCLA offense that more than doubled its previous season-high in scoring (17 points). Is it sustainable, or was the outburst a product of Rutgers’ injuries? The Bruins will find out on the other side of their bye week.
14. USC TROJANS (3-4, 1-4)
Week 8 Result: L 29-28 at Maryland
USC is down multiple important pieces on the defensive side, and it was glaringly obvious in Saturday’s loss at Maryland. That unit surrendered a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to erase a two-touchdown lead and send the Trojans back to the Pacific Time Zone with another close-game loss. This season is in a tailspin and looks more and more like the 2023 disappointment with each passing week, and Lincoln Riley does not have answers. The Week 1 win over LSU feels like a long time ago.
13. MARYLAND TERRAPINS (4-3, 1-3)
Week 8 Result: W 29-28 vs. USC
On the other side of the Maryland-USC matchup, the home side logged a much-needed win in what could serve as a turning point for a disappointing campaign. Billy Edwards Jr. cemented himself among the top quarterbacks in the Big Ten with another tremendous performance, completing 39 passes for 373 yards and two touchdowns against the reeling Trojans defense and sparking a fourth-quarter comeback. The Terrapins have momentum for the first time since September, and they have a fighter’s chance of cracking bowl eligibility with three winnable games ahead.
12. MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS (4-3, 2-2)
Week 8 Result: Idle
The last time Minnesota took the field, it completed a two-game sweep of the Los Angeles schools with a last-minute touchdown in a win at UCLA. If P.J. Fleck hammered home everything that worked in that mini-winning streak during the bye week, then the Golden Gophers could be off to the races with a relatively manageable second-half schedule. This is pivotal season for Fleck’s tenure, and he is on pace to at least match last year’s win total and get back to the postseason for a fourth-straight time.
11. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (4-3, 2-2)
Week 8 Result: L 21-7 at Illinois
Donovan Edwards said that the Wolverines have full confidence in their first-year coaching staff, but the results do not tell a favorable story for Sherrone Moore and his crew. Michigan trailed wire-to-wire over the weekend at Illinois and, in turn, slipped out of the AP Top 25 Poll for the first time since 2021. It carries consecutive losses into its in-state rivalry matchup with Michigan State and could struggle to reach a bowl game given its upcoming battles against three ranked opponents, let alone compete in the upper half of the Big Ten.
10. NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (5-2, 2-2)
Week 8 Result: L 56-7 at Indiana
That one got out of hand in a hurry. Nebraska’s lone points in the obliteration it suffered at Indiana came on a seven-yard touchdown run from Jacory Barney Jr. midway through the second quarter, and that was the only bright spot on the day for the Huskers. Freshman struggles from Dylan Raiola — who threw three interceptions against the Hoosiers — continue to remove some of the shine from his early-career breakout. Things will not get any easier this week when he travels to the Horseshoe.
9. WASHINGTON HUSKIES (4-3, 2-2)
Week 8 Result: Idle
Washington had an additional week to debrief from the trouncing it suffered at Iowa and to prepare for Saturday’s trip to Indiana. Which version of the Huskies shows up in Bloomington will determine whether or not they can pull off the upset and hand the Hoosiers their first loss of the year. If the same defense that surrendered 40 points to that Iowa offense rears its head again this week, it will be a long day for the Dawgs. Play like they did against Michigan, though, and Jedd Fisch’s team could be in for a fun afternoon.
8. IOWA HAWKEYES (4-3, 2-2)
Week 8 Result: L 32-20 at Michigan State
The 2024 Iowa defense has been more susceptible to allowing chunk yardage than past versions of that stingy group, and those issues popped up against Michigan State when the Spartans found success both through the air and on the ground. Two receivers crossed the 100-yard mark. The Hawkeyes kept themselves alive by forcing field goals rather than allowing touchdowns, but the passing game’s massive struggles once again cost this one-dimensional team a chance to win. The margins remain extremely slim for an Iowa team that can hang with anyone but also lose some head-scratching games.
7. MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (4-3, 2-2)
Week 8 Result: W 32-20 vs. Iowa
Michigan State flat-out looked like the better team in its win over Iowa. It was the best performance of the young Jonathan Smith era for a group that has been competitive or beat each of its unranked opponents. It would be hard to ask for much more in the first year of a rebuild. Given the difficulty of the Spartans’ schedule, they have to be thrilled to have a path to bowl eligibility entering the final month and change of the regular season. If Aidan Chiles and his receivers replicate their most recent performance, two more wins and a .500 record is the floor.
6. WISCONSIN BADGERS (5-2, 3-1)
Week 8 Result: W 23-3 at Northwestern
Wisconsin is 5-0 against unranked opponents and 0-2 against top-25 teams. Fortunately for the Badgers, the majority of their remaining foes stand outside the top 25, giving them a clear path to a step-forward second year under Luke Fickell. The last three weeks have been nothing short of a breakthrough for the Badgers, who rolled past three of the conference’s worst teams by a stellar 117-16 margin and allowed just one touchdown in that stretch. Braedyn Locke also settled into the starting quarterback job and Tawee Walker emerged as a standout ballcarrier. Things are clicking at the right time in Madison.
5. ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI (6-1, 3-1)
Week 8 Result: W 21-7 vs. Michigan
Michigan outgained Illinois by a significant margin at 322 yards to 267, but timely plays from the Illini defense and just enough production from Luke Altmyer and others on the other side of the ball guided Bret Bielema’s team to its best win of the year. The Illini forced two fumbles, secured an interception and stopped the Wolverines on downs in a smash-mouth Big Ten football game to cement their spot in the league’s upper echelon. Even greater heights may still lie ahead as the schedule lightens up in a big way after this week’s trip to Oregon.
4. INDIANA HOOSIERS (7-0, 4-0)
Week 8 Result: W 56-7 vs. Nebraska
Indiana is a College Football Playoff contender, and the Big Ten Championship Game is legitimately within reach for a program that rarely even came close to this level of success before Curt Cignetti took the reins. The 49-point win over Nebraska last weekend was a statement to the rest of the league, and to the nation for that matter, that the Hoosiers are for real. Even with Kurtis Rourke sidelined indefinitely due to a thumb injury, this team could set a program record for wins given that Tayven Jackson was fantastic in relief duties at quarterback.
3. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (6-0, 3-0)
Week 8 Result: Idle
Penn State’s second bye week could not be more perfectly timed. The upcoming matchup with Wisconsin is a bona fide trap game given that the Nittany Lions’ biggest game of the year — a prove-it opportunity against Ohio State — lies on the other side of this sneaky road trip. To get two weeks of preparation for a Badgers squad playing with all the confidence and momentum in the world is a major win and will, in theory, ensure that James Franklin and his group do not overlook the task at hand. Take care of business on Saturday, and then they can look ahead to the colossal showdown.
2. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (5-1, 2-1)
Week 8 Result: Idle
Ryan Day and his staff had plenty of film to sort through over Ohio State’s bye week. The additional time to unpack the loss at Oregon could prove highly impactful when the Buckeyes return to big-time action against Penn State and, potentially, in the Big Ten Championship Game and beyond. Up first, though, is a home date with Nebraska in which the Buckeyes could make life difficult on a true freshman quarterback and get right after their disappointing trip to Eugene.
1. OREGON DUCKS (7-0, 4-0)
Week 8 Result: W 35-0
All of the intangible factors suggested Oregon could be in for somewhat of a letdown in their Friday night trip to Purdue, but to the Ducks’ credit, they did not let up and squeezed the life out of an inferior opponent. To do so on the heels of a program-defining win is the kind of thing of which championship teams are made. This weekend’s home matchup against Illinois is the toughest game left for the Ducks in the regular season, so if they come out on the right side Saturday, there is a good chance they enter the Big Ten title game as the nation’s top-ranked team.
