Penn State came into the season as the No. 2 team in the country with a former five-star quarterback returning for his third year as the starter, two of the most prolific running backs in program history, four returning offensive line starters, a revamped wide receiver room, multiple veteran defensive linemen, and the national championship-winning defensive coordinator from Ohio State, and six weeks into the season, James Franklin’s team still doesn’t have a win over a Power 4 opponent.
On Saturday, the Nittany Lions became the first AP Top 10 team to lose to a team 0-4 or worse since 1985, falling to UCLA 42-37. It wasn’t just a winless Bruins team; it was a winless Bruins team that had not led a game all season, had already fired its head coach and offensive coordinator, had hired a defensive coordinator from another program midseason, and had a first-time play-caller in Jerry Neuheisel. You could make a compelling argument that it’s the worst loss in college football history.
So, Penn State has to fall out of the top two tiers in the Big Ten, but if I’m being honest in my assessment of the teams in the Big Ten, there are still only three that I would favor over the Nittany Lions on a neutral field: Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana. Even some sportsbooks may not agree about the Hoosiers.
The Nittany Lions had to take a tumble, and if this was about resume, then Penn State should probably be outside the top 10 in the conference because they have no impressive wins, and a double-overtime loss to Oregon at home can only go so far. But, considering this is about what teams I think are the best in the conference, I don’t see many others being able to hang with the Ducks at all.
Ohio State keeps getting better
Oh, in case you were questioning my decision or the AP polls, to have Ohio State at No. 1 last week after Oregon’s win, the Buckeyes proved why they’re the absolute best team in the country and are only getting better. Julian Sayin played like a budding superstar in the win over Minnesota, aggressively hunting big plays downfield and exploiting the mismatch nightmare that Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate are to any secondary. If you bring pressure and give Ohio State a one-on-one, the Buckeyes’ redshirt freshman quarterback will eat you alive.
And on the other side of the ball. There are 39 teams giving up 28 or more points a game this season. Ohio State has allowed 28 points all season.
Bryce Underwood and Malik Washington need some receivers
The Big Ten has two of the best true freshman quarterbacks in the country, Bryce Underwood and Malik Washington. The only problem is that those young quarterbacks have two of the worst receiving corps you could find in the Power 4. Underwood and Washington rank 7th and 8th in the country in drop rate, and Washington’s receivers had five drops in Maryland’s 24-20 loss to the Washington Huskies on Saturday.
The Huskies’ 2024 season fell apart when they traveled cross-country to Rutgers on a Friday night and lost 21-18. They lost five of their last eight games after that point. On Saturday, it looked like it was happening again as Washington trailed 20-3 in College Park. Then, Demond Williams led his team to 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. That win, over a good Maryland team, nonetheless, is worthy of jumping Nebraska in Tier 3.
UCLA was the biggest mover of the week, climbing to the top of Tier 5. All the coaching changes seem to have given Nico Iamaleava some life.