The Big Ten has produced the last three national champions. But it’s pretty hard to prop up the Big Ten as the best conference in college football right now. Nearly all of the league’s fringe contenders have been in free fall since the start of the season, and even one of its seemingly bona fide title threats, Oregon, already has two losses and dropped out of the AP Top 25 on Sunday.
Now, it’s seemingly up to UCLA, Nebraska, and Northwestern to give the league a shot at putting three or more teams into the College Football Playoff. Because right now, it appears that Indiana and Ohio State its only elite teams. Maybe Iowa is the next best chance, but it’s pretty clear that this Iowa team isn’t anything special.
After Week 6, let’s sort through the mess of the Big Ten.
Tier 5
18. Rutgers 1-4 (0-2) BYE
Rutgers was on a bye, which was the best possible news for Greg Schiano’s team. It’s hard to imagine that this team has another win on its schedule.
Tier 4
17. Michigan State 2-4 (0-3) vs. Illinois 38-37 L
16. Illinois 3-3 (1-2) at Michigan State 38-37 W
15. Maryland 2-4 (0-3) at Ohio State 45-16 L
Just a bit of reshuffling in this group after Illinois’s 38-37 win over Michigan State on the road. However, with quarterback Katin Houser’s injury, the Illini may quickly sink down to Tier 5 with Rutgers. Maybe Michigan State even deserves to be in Tier 5 with the Scarlet Knights. But for now, Rutgers remains in its own tier, and Tier 4 remains just as hopeless.
Tier 3
14. Washington 3-3 (0-3) vs. Iowa 41-24 L
13. Penn State 3-3 (0-3) vs. USC 31-23 L
12. Minnesota 4-2 (2-1) at Purdue 41-13 L
11. Purdue 3-3 (2-1) vs. Minnesota 41-13 W
10. Wisconsin 4-1 (2-0) BYE
9. Iowa 5-1 (2-1) vs. Ohio State 41-24 W
8. Michigan 3-2 (0-2) BYE
7. USC 5-1 (2-0) at Penn State 31-23 W
6. Northwestern 4-1 (1-1) vs. Ball State 45-14 W
The middle class of the Big Ten is an absolute mess. Penn State and Washington hardly belong, but are comfortably better than the four teams below them and both hung around within one score of USC, which deserves to be near the top of this tier because of its offensive firepower.
Michigan is yet to win a Big Ten game, but clearly outplayed Iowa even in a loss, so it’s hard to drop the Wolverines below Minnesota despite the Golden Gophers beating them in Week 5. Purdue pounded Minnesota in West Lafayette on Saturday and maybe the Boilermakers actually just good and deserve to be higher than 11th, but it’s tough to pick Barry Odom’s squad over Wisconsin, Michigan, USC, or Northwestern on a neutral field.
Northwestern is the top candidate to elevate itself out of this group, but the Wildcats have yet to beat a good team. Dominating bad teams is what good teams do, but there still needs to be a bit more proof. That chance won’t be coming for a while with Michigan State and Rutgers on deck next.
Tier 2
5. Nebraska 5-1 (2-1) vs. Indiana 20-17 L
4. Oregon 3-2 (1-1) vs. UCLA 17-15 L
3. UCLA 5-0 (3-0) at Oregon 17-15 W
It was prove it week for Nebraska and UCLA. The Cornhuskers came close to pulling it off at home, but UCLA, as ugly as it was in Eugene, did overcome the Ducks to stamp their place as a Big Ten contender, and probably the league’s best chance of getting a third team into the College Football Playoff.
Quarterback Nico Iamaleava left the game, and Oregon’s QB Dylan Raiola was benched after a horrid performance, but Bob Chesney’s Bruins were able to win the battle in the trenches enough to escape with a win. UCLA will probably be favored in every game the rest of the way and has the look of 2024 Indiana.
Tier 1
2. Ohio State 5-1 (3-0) vs. Maryland 45-16 W
1. Indiana 6-0 (3-0) at Nebraska 20-17 W
Ohio State cruised to a win over Maryland a week before heading to Bloomington to take on the defending champs. The Buckeyes have some underlying concerns with the run game and run defense, but haven’t been pushed since their loss to Texas in Week 2. Indiana, on the other side of the Big Ten’s game of the year in Week 7, got all it could handle from Nebraska.
The Hoosiers struggled to find consistent offensive answers at a windy Memorial Stadium, but star wide receiver Nick Marsh made enough plays down the stretch, and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines devised an excellent plan to slow Nebraska QB Anthony Colandrea. Indiana isn’t as talented as last year, or at least doesn’t have the same level of quarterback play, but its coaching staff, beyond even Curt Cignetti, continues to be elite as the Hoosiers have won 22 games straight.
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