One of the biggest games of the college football season is on the horizon as Ohio State and Oregon meet in Week 7 as two of the nation’s 12 remaining undefeated teams. Those national championship hopefuls stand in the top tier of the Big Ten power rankings entering their titanic battle in Eugene after they survived a weekend full of upsets.
Michigan and USC, however, were not so fortunate in Week 6. Both teams came out on the wrong side of games against unranked opponents and added to the lengthy list of upsets that defined a landscape-altering weekend of college football. They slid down the Big Ten ladder and have loads of questions to answer as the season’s midpoint nears.
Like the conference standings, the Big Ten power rankings are very fluid in the front half of the campaign and continue to take shape with each passing week. The upcoming slate figures to bring more clarity to a conference that just saw a significant shift in the upper half of the pecking order.
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Here are the Week 7 Big Ten Power Rankings:
18. PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (1-4, 0-2)
Previous Rank: 18
Week 6 Result: L 52-6 at Wisconsin
If this is not rock bottom for Purdue in the Ryan Walters era, then it must be close. Purdue was hapless on offense in its first week after firing former coordinator Graham Harrell, and its defense was arguably even worse as it allowed 52 points to a mediocre Wisconsin unit. The Boilermakers are in real danger of going winless against FBS opponents this year, as they have only two more games against unranked teams.
17. UCLA BRUINS (1-4, 0-3)
Previous Rank: 17
Week 6 Result: L 27-11 at Penn State
Might UCLA have something in young quarterback Justyn Martin? He completed 22-of-30 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Penn State, which is nothing spectacular but decently impressive for a signal-caller making his first start against an elite defense, and in hostile territory no less. The Bruins offense is still one of the nation’s worst, though, and the Bruins’ only win on the year is a three-point comeback victory over a bad Hawai’i team.
16. NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS (2-3, 0-2)
Previous Rank: 16
Week 6 Result: L 41-24 vs. Indiana
Northwestern’s penultimate game at its lakefront stadium was an uncharacteristic one, both for better and worse. The defense surrendered a season-high 41 points as the potent Indiana offense tore it to shreds, but quarterback Jack Lausch also had his best game to date with a 23-of-38 performance for 243 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. This could be a blip on the radar for both sides of the ball, but if one thing sticks, the Wildcats obviously hope it is the improved play in the passing game.
15. MARYLAND TERRAPINS (3-2, 0-2)
Previous Rank: 14
Week 6 Result: Idle
Maryland was inactive during Week 6 and slipped one spot in the power rankings due to Minnesota’s rise. In their last time out, the Terps forced four turnovers but still surrendered 42 points in a two-score loss at Indiana. It was an indictment against a defense that could hold Mike Locksley’s team back from a strong first year in the post-Big Ten East era. Billy Edwards Jr. still looks like a surprise star atop the offense, though, and so long as his connection with Tai Felton remains fruitful, Maryland should have a path to bowl eligibility.
14. MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (3-3, 1-2)
Previous Rank: 12
Week 6 Result: L 31-10 at Oregon
Aidan Chiles is still the long-term answer for Michigan State on offense, but the gigantic gap between his floor and ceiling continues to spell trouble for the Spartans in his first year with the program. For every eye-catching throw, there is a turnover like the fumble he lost at the goal line in the 31-10 loss at Oregon. The Spartans’ rushing attack also struggled to the tune of just 59 yards. The score would have been much more lopsided if not for a pair of bad decisions from the Ducks’ passing game.
13. WISCONSIN BADGERS (3-2, 1-1)
Previous Rank: 13
Week 6 Result: W 52-6 vs. Purdue
There is only so much to take away from a win over the worst team in the Power Four, but perhaps the rout of Purdue is just what Wisconsin needed to spark some life into a struggling offense. Braedyn Locke enjoyed the best game of his starting career with 359 yards and three touchdowns, albeit to go with a pair of interceptions, and the Badgers got plenty of production on the ground without running back Chez Mellusi. Tawee Walker rushed for three scores as the leader of a 228-yard attack.
12. MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS (3-3, 1-2)
Previous Rank: 15
Week 6 Result: W 24-17 vs. USC
Minnesota is one of the Big Ten’s biggest risers after a second-straight notable performance. One week after it nearly pulled off a late comeback win over Michigan, it delivered in the clutch and put the finishing touches on an upset of USC. The Golden Gophers’ stingy defense (Hello, 247Sports True Freshman of the Week Koi Perich!) is a solid equalizer against better teams, and when quarterback Max Brosmer and running back Darius Taylor are as efficient as they were against the Trojans, things like this can happen. It may not be ultra-sustainable, but the win is enough to move Minnesota up a few spots.
11. IOWA HAWKEYES (3-2, 1-1)
Previous Rank: 10
Week 6 Result: L 35-7 at Ohio State
A 21-point third quarter from the Ohio State offense opened the floodgates in a game that Iowa made close through 30 minutes. The Hawkeyes simply did not have the talent necessary to hang with the Buckeyes for four quarters. Their passing game remains one of the nation’s worst, but running back Kaleb Johnson did have another solid day with 86 yards and a touchdown across 15 carries. He and the defense are enough to beat a lot of teams in the Big Ten but not the elites like Ohio State.
10. RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (4-1, 1-1)
Previous Rank: 9
Week 6 Result: L 14-7 at Nebraska
Rutgers had the leading passer (Athan Kaliakmanis, 186 yards), leading rusher (Kyle Monangai, 78 yards) and leading receiver (Ben Black, 54 yards) in this defensive battle but still came up short. The game saw as many interceptions as touchdowns. The Scarlet Knights’ defense is clearly one of the best in the conference, and up to this point, the offense did enough to take advantage. It is a good thing for Greg Schiano that his team plays a laughably favorable schedule, because the offense has not done much against Power Four opponents.
9. USC TROJANS (3-2, 1-2)
Previous Rank: 5
Week 6 Result: L 24-17 at Minnesota
A controversial touchdown late in the loss to Minnesota left a sour taste in USC’s collective mouth, but that the Trojans put themselves in a position to trail the Golden Gophers deep into the fourth quarter was the more damning part of that defeat. For the second time in three Big Ten games, Lincoln Riley’s team was out-physicaled at the point of attack, and the Trojans have a losing record in conference play as a result. They continue to lose the goodwill they built early in the season.
8. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (4-2, 2-1)
Previous Rank: 4
Week 6 Result: L 27-17 at Washington
If Michigan had a good quarterback, it would be a national force. But the Wolverines have no answers at the most important position, where they made another change in the loss to Washington and handed the keys to the offense to Jack Tuttle. He failed to hit 100 yards through the air and tossed one touchdown to one interception as the Wolverines fell on their faces in the national championship rematch. The defense and running game can only take this one-dimensional team so far.
7. WASHINGTON HUSKIES (4-2, 2-1)
Previous Rank: 11
Week 6 Result: W 27-17 vs. Michigan
The incongruence of head-to-head results against Rutgers and Michigan make Washington a difficult team to rank, but the fact that the Huskies largely outplayed the Scarlet Knights in the loss two weeks ago justifies placing them ahead of both teams. This squad is a bad play call and a couple of missed field goals away from a perfect record, and while it is a far from perfect unit, Jedd Fisch has a lot of pieces to work with and does a good job of putting them in positions to be successful. It is likely that the Huskies have many more close games ahead of them, so they are a high-variance team moving forward.
6. NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (5-1, 2-1)
Previous Rank: 8
Week 6 Result: W 14-7 vs. Rutgers
At face value, an ugly win over a middle-of-the-road Big Ten opponent is nothing too inspirational. But what it represents — that Nebraska can win one-score games against teams that, in the past, would have defeated the Huskers — could give this program a boost as it enters the second half of its regular season. Dylan Raiola had some freshman struggles, the heat in Lincoln played a role and the ground game ran into trouble against a stiff Rutgers defense, but the Huskers won the kind of game that far too often went the other way in recent years.
5. ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI (4-1, 1-1)
Previous Rank: 7
Week 6 Result: Idle
Illinois had a week to recover from its first loss of the year — a game in which Penn State beat the Illini in the trenches and exhausted them with its physicality. This is still one of the better teams in the Big Ten, though, and it remains a spot above Nebraska towards the top of the conference ladder given its head-to-head win earlier in the year. Even the loss to the Nittany Lions was never too far out of reach, so the Illini can clearly stay competitive with other teams in this tier of the conference.
4. INDIANA HOOSIERS (6-0, 3-0)
Previous Rank: 6
Week 6 Result: W 41-24 at Northwestern
Northwestern had not allowed more than 26 points in a game this year before Indiana torched it through the air and on the ground. This Hoosiers offense just continues to impose its will amid what looks to be one of the best seasons in school history. Kurtis Rourke threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns and moved to the edge of the Heisman Trophy discussion, while star pass-catcher Elijah Sarratt was on the receiving end of nearly half that yardage. Those transfer portal additions continue to look like home runs for an excellent hire in Curt Cignetti.
3. OREGON DUCKS (5-0, 2-0)
Previous Rank: 3
Week 6 Result: W 31-10 vs. Michigan State
That Oregon beat a conference opponent by three scores even with Dillon Gabriel throwing a pair of red-zone interceptions proved that the Ducks are in a different class from much of the Big Ten. Their defense held Michigan State to just 59 rushing yards and squeezed the life out of the Spartans in a game that was really not as close as the 31-10 final score suggests. Gabriel cannot afford to make those mistakes this week when the Ducks host Ohio State in one of the biggest games in program history, and if he has a cleaner performance, Oregon has enough pieces around him to beat the Buckeyes.
2. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (5-0, 2-0)
Previous Rank: 2
Week 6 Result: W 27-11 vs. UCLA
Penn State never separated itself from UCLA by the four-touchdown betting spread, but this game was never in question. The Nittany Lions clearly missed Nick Singleton — who is expected to return this week against USC — as they ran for just 85 yards against the Bruins. Drew Allar did more than enough, though, with his 237 passing yards and two total touchdowns to ensure that Penn State did not fall victim to one of the countless upsets that defined the Week 6 college football slate.
1. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (5-0, 2-0)
Previous Rank: 1
Week 6 Result: W 35-7 vs. Iowa
It took 30 minutes for Ohio State to figure out the vaunted Iowa defense, but it was a different Buckeyes team that emerged from the halftime locker room as it racked up 21 third-quarter points to put any upset concerns to rest. Emeka Egbuka caught three touchdown passes, Jeremiah Smith hauled in another one-handed scoring grab and the defense put together its most impressive showing of the year as the Buckeyes stayed perfect entering their marquee matchup with Oregon.
