Week 6 was a week of massive upsets on the college football slate. While the biggest upset was No. 1 Alabama losing to Vanderbilt, don’t forget that both No. 4 Tennessee and No. 9 Mizzou loss to SEC opponents this week too. On top of that, two ranked Big Ten teams lost to unranked conference opponents. No. 10 Michigan lost to Washington, while No. 11 USC lost to Minnesota. Because of these upsets and and all the other close games, the Big Ten football power rankings have moved around quite a bit since last week. First, let’s look at where we had these teams last week.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Oregon Ducks
Penn State Nittany Lions
USC Trojans
Indiana Hoosiers
Illinois Fighting Illini
Michigan Wolverines
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Iowa Hawkeyes
Washington Huskies
Michigan State Spartans
Maryland Terrapins
Wisconsin Badgers
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Purdue Boilermakers
Northwestern Wildcats
UCLA Bruins
Before this week’s Big Ten football power rankings, remember our rules for ranking these teams. These rankings are not based off of who beat whom, or their conference records. They are based off of how the teams have played, who they have played, and how likely they are to win a matchup at a neutral site compared to them teams above and below them.
Big Ten Football Power Rankings
1. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0; 2-0) [–]
Ohio State did to Iowa what they have done to every other team they’ve played this year. The Buckeyes won in a dominating fashion. The only score by the Hawkeyes was a 28-yard rushing touchdown by running back Kaleb Johnson. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes had four passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown by quarterback Will Howard.
The Buckeyes turn their eyes west as they travel to play the Oregon Ducks in a matchup between two ranked teams. This game will be the marquee event of Week 7.
2. Oregon Ducks (5-0; 2-0) [–]
The Ducks played well against a feisty Michigan State team. Winning 31-10, the Ducks kept the Spartans scoreless until the final 10 minutes of the game. This was one of the best performances of RB Jordan James, as he had season highs in both rushing attempts (24 attempts) and rushing yards (166 rushing yards).
Due to that, it makes sense that this was also Dillon Gabriel‘s worst game of season. Completing less than two-thirds of his passes and throwing two interceptions was not great to see from the Senior quarterback. Gabriel will look to bounce back this week as they host the Buckeyes.
3. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-0; 2-0) [–]
Happy Valley is not a happy place if you’re a visiting team playing against a Penn State team with a defense that’s heating up. While the box score made their game against UCLA look close, it was nothing of the sorts.
The Nittany Lions looked like they were a cat toying around with a mouse this past weekend. UCLA’s only touchdown came near the end of the game when it was already out of hand. Keep in mind that Penn State did all of that without starting RB Nicholas Singleton.
This week, they travel to USC. This may be an upset waiting to happen. Big Ten teams traveling through 2+ time zones are 1-8 this season.
4. Indiana Hoosiers (6-0; 3-0) [+1]
Never accuse these Big Ten football power rankings of being biased in favor of IU. These articles are almost too critical of IU and their success. With that being said, props to Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers for being the first team to hit the six-win mark this season.
It could be argued they have the easiest schedule in the Big Ten. Or, that their toughest opponents this year are all teams in the bottom four of these power rankings. However, that does not matter when you are averaging 47.5 points per game and allowing an average of 14.8 points per game!
This is the moment when the rubber needs to meet the road. The next five games are a monster for IU. Between now and the Oaken Bucket game against Purdue to end the year, IU will have to play Nebraska, Washington, Michigan State, Michigan, and Ohio State. Indiana is currently 6-0 and could very well be 6-5 before playing Purdue to end the year. That’s just how good the Big Ten is this season. Most likely though, IU will be 9-2 before hosting Purdue.
5. Illinois Fighting Illini (4-1; 1-1) [+1]
The Fighting Illini move up to fifth solely because of the collapse of USC and the cluster of the next four teams on this list. Illinois, coming off of a close loss at Penn State before the bye, now host Purdue.
Purdue has struggled all season long. The most interesting storyline (and possibly the only reason Purdue could win) is that Purdue’s head coach Ryan Walters is the former defensive coordinator at Illinois.
6. Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-1; 2-1) [+3]
The Cornhuskers are an interesting team to look at closely. They were so dominate on both sides of the ball through the first three weeks of the season. Wins over UTEP, Colorado, and Northern Iowa to start the season was a great way to begin. Since they started Big Ten play though, the struggles have shown themselves.
Losing at home against Illinois in overtime was a rough look for this Nebraska team. Yet the biggest problems started at Purdue. Purdue is on track to go 1-11 this season. The same struggling Purdue team was better than Nebraska for most of the game they played this season. While Purdue’s offense could not capitalize on the opportunities given to them, Purdue’s defense was stopping Nebraska at every turn for 42 minutes.
Nebraska’s offensive struggles continued against Rutgers. Freshman QB Dylan Raiola completed under 50 percent of his passes against Rutgers. He had no TD passes, threw an interception, and average of five yards per target.
The main reason Nebraska is so high despite their offensive struggles is because of their defense. The Huskers defense is top-10 in the nation. They are the only team in FBS to have not allowed a rushing touchdown yet this season. Illinois is the only team to score more than 10 points against them so far. This Huskers have one of, if not the best defense in the Big Ten.
7. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-1; 1-1) [+1]
Rutgers is a good football team. After all, they were undefeated going into Nebraska. As a team, they are averaging over 200 rushing yards per game and 2.2 rushing touchdowns per game. The Scarlet Knights have one of the best rushing attacks in all of the conference. That’s part of why they gave Nebraska so much trouble. It’s like the adage of the immovable object (Nebraska’s run stopping defense) versus the unstoppable force (Rutgers’ rushing attack).
Going forward, Rutgers has Wisconsin, UCLA, and USC to finish out October. Rutgers running back Kyle Monangai is sure to have a great time against all three teams.
8. Michigan Wolverines (4-2; 2-1) [-1]
Michigan falls here to No. 8 because of all their offensive issues – primarily at quarterback. Through six games, the Wolverines have now turned the reigns over to their third QB. Hopefully, sixth year senior Jack Tuttle is the answer for the rest of the season.
Last week was the first game this season the Donovan Edwards showed off why he is so valued by this Michigan program. If Edwards continues to play like he did this week, he will make a powerful duo with Kalel Mullings.
9. Washington Huskies (4-2; 2-1) [+2]
The Huskies are coming off of an impressive win against Michigan. The problem lies in the rest of their schedule so far. This season, the Huskies are only 2-2 against P5 opponents with wins over Northwestern and Michigan, but losses to Washington State and Rutgers. This Huskies squad is pretty hot and cold up to this point.
When Washington plays at the top of their game, they exceed expectations. However, whenever they have to play teams with strong offenses, they fall behind and struggle to catch up. Washington needs to figure this out before they get to thrown into the ring with Indiana, Penn State, and Oregon all comping up.
10. USC Trojans (3-2; 1-2) [-6]
The Trojans were probably too high in these Big Ten football power rankings last week, as stated by a couple of people on Reddit. This may be an overcorrection, but they fall to 10th here after a loss to Minnesota.
In Week 1, the talk around USC was that Miller Moss was elite and going to be the next great Lincoln Riley quarterback. Now, it seems more likely that Lincoln Riley will bench Moss. This week, USC hosts No. 4 Penn State.
If the Nittany Lions start to put the game away quicker than expected, USC may be forced to switch to Jayden Maiava. Maiava played well in his limited roll against Utah State in Week 2 and may be the next QB for USC if Moss gets benched.
On top of that, the Trojans defense has been struggling, and their receiving core has been middling at best. Their top three receivers are all averaging under 50 yards per game. The offense is not what it was with Caleb Williams.
11. Iowa Hawkeyes (3-2; 1-1) [-1]
The Hawkeyes fall one spot after a 35-7 loss to Ohio State. As stated above, the only score by the Hawkeyes was a 28-yard rush by RB Kaleb Johnson. He should be considered a top five RB in the Big Ten, alongside the likes of Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson, Nicholas Singleton, and Kyle Monangai.
While quarterback Cade McNamara is still playing like he always has, the Iowa offense is playing well through the run game. Johnson has more rushing yards than the team has passing yards. The team has 1,117 total rushing yards, 771 of those from Johnson.
This week, the Hawkeyes will host Washington before traveling to Michigan State the next week. Over the second half of their schedule, the Hawkeyes look to be on track to finish the year with seven to nine wins this year.
12. Michigan State Spartans (3-3; 1-2) [–]
The Spartans performed better than expected against the Oregon Ducks last week. While they lost 31-10, the team played well.
Quarterback Aidan Chiles had his worst game since Week 1, but that’s to be expected against a power house like Oregon. Even if the Spartans don’t win six games this year, fans should be excited about the future.
Over the second half of the season, the Spartans will have to face off against three teams currently ranked, and two more who received votes. They also have Purdue on the schedule – so they’ll at least finish with four wins.
13. Wisconsin Badgers (3-2; 1-1) [+1]
The Badgers were dynamite this week. Granted, it was against Purdue, but still impressive to put up a 52-6 win in conference play. After disappointing losses to Alabama and USC, Wisconsin looks to continue the bounce back as they travel to Rutgers in Week 7.
It seemed like it was going to be a rough year after Tyler Van Dyke went down with an injury. However since then, Braedyn Locke has played well enough to get them above .500, with over 660 passing yards in three games.
14. Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-3; 1-2) [+1]
Minnesota just pulled off a huge upset against then-ranked No. 11 USC. The Gophers were strong on both sides of the ball, but the real star was RB Darius Taylor.
Taylor not only had 25 rushing attempts for 144 yards, but also caught all five of his targets for 56 yards in the air. Taylor led the team in both receptions and yards. Interestingly, all three of the Gophers’ touchdowns came on the ground from QB Max Brosmer.
Nearly every week, these articles call out Brosmer for not being a player who can win the big games, but he did this past week. Minnesota has two nice matchups coming up with UCLA and Maryland. After that, they will face a trio of greats with Illinois, Rutgers, and Penn State. The Gophers will be lucky if they finish the year 6-6.
15. Maryland Terrapins (3-2; 0-2) [-2]
Maryland looked great in their three non-conference games. However, the Big Ten has beat them down in their two losses. Losses to both Michigan State and Indiana by a combined 69-52 is heartbreaking for Terrapin fans.
Looking ahead, Maryland doesn’t really have any easy matchups besides this week’s game against Northwestern. They do have at least two losses lined up, as they will play at both Oregon and Penn State this season.
16. Northwestern Wildcats (2-3; 0-2) [+1]
Northwestern has not really done much to impress this season. This past game against Indiana was their highest scoring contest and they only put up 24 points. The Wildcats best chance at a win going forward will be their game at Purdue in the beginning of November.
17. Purdue Boilermakers (1-4; 0-2) [-1]
The Boilermakers have been one of the worst teams to watch this season. It seems as if every game outside of Notre Dame has been close for the first half before Purdue falls apart. They are the only team in the Big Ten to not have a win against an FBS opponent. The only reason they aren’t last in these Big Ten football power rankings is because UCLA has somehow looked worse.
18. UCLA Bruins (1-4; 0-3) [–]
There’s not much to say about the Bruins, and there’s a reason they’re last in these Big Ten football power rankings.
“The future is bright” is a common phrase, but for these teams at the bottom of the Big Ten, it does not feel that way. UCLA lost their five-star QB in the transfer portal this past season, just for him to go be the backup in Oregon. Good luck Bruins and welcome to the Big Ten – there’s always next year!
Hunter Greene
Hunter started writing for The League Winners in the summer of 2021. Hunter has been playing fantasy football for about a decade, starting in middle school. Now he’s a professional landscaper and avid Colts and Purdue fan.