With six of seven of the Big Ten’s ranked teams in action this past week, it was bound to be an exciting weekend.
In Big Ten Power Rankings, we take a close look at each team’s body of work up to this point in the season. When comparing teams head-to-head, I will first answer the question: “Who would be favored if these teams were to play head-to-head?” From there, if no obvious favorite exists, I will be specifically focused on comparing relative strength of victories and strength of losses to determine
appropriate rank.
Note: All CFP Top 25 rankings listed represent the current rank of the team, not the rank at the time of the game.
Bold Wins/Losses: Represent the outcome of the game that team played in Week 10
1. No. 1 Ohio State (+1)
Wins (9): N0. 10 Texas, Grambling, Ohio, Washington, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue
Losses (0): N/A
Scoring Margin: +24.0 (3rd in FBS)
The talent of the Buckeyes becomes more undeniable week after week. In his last three games, quarterback Julian Sayin has completed 84.7% of his passes, throwing for an average of 337 yards per game. Against Purdue, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was unguardable, snagging 10 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown to guide Ohio State to a 34-10 victory.
Ultimately, the difference between the Buckeyes’ recent 38-14 win against Penn State and Indiana’s last-second 27-24 victory against those same Nittany Lions cements Ohio State’s reign atop the Big Ten. Sorry Hoosier fans, it’s Brutus’ time.
2. No. 2 Indiana (-1)
Wins (10): Old Dominion, Kennesaw State, Indiana State, Illinois, No. 21 Iowa, No. 8 Oregon, Michigan State, UCLA, Maryland, Penn State
Losses (0): N/A
Scoring Margin: +27.9 (1st in FBS)
The Hoosiers escaped with an electric 27-24 victory over Penn State, finished off by Omar Cooper Jr.’s incredible back-of-the-end-zone touchdown grab.
After IU gave up 17 unanswered points to the Nittany Lions, Fernando Heis-Mendoza had his moment, leading the Hoosier offense down the field on a spectacular 10-play, 80-yard drive with under two minutes remaining. A win is a win, but after nearly suffering their first defeat of 2025, Curt Cignetti and his staff are well aware that this game is cause for concern.
3. N0. 8 Oregon (-)
Wins (7): Montana State, Oklahoma State, Northwestern, Oregon State, Penn State, Rutgers, Wisconsin, No. 21 Iowa
Losses (1): No. 2 Indiana
Scoring Margin: +22.3 (4th in FBS)
Dan Lanning’s squad got the job done against Iowa, once again finding a way to pull out a crucial win in a hostile Big Ten environment. Linebackers Jerry Mixon and Teitum Tuioti seized their moment, racking up 22 combined tackles and holding Iowa to just 101 yards on the ground. In fact, Noah Whittington himself outgained Iowa on the ground, as the senior ran 17 times for 118 yards.
Still, this game came down to the final seconds. Down 16-15 with 1:48 to go, Ducks’ quarterback Dante Moore led his squad into field goal range. Kicker Atticus Sappington made his field goal attempt as time expired, giving Oregon its first ranked win of the season in walk-off fashion.
4. No. 17 USC (-)
Wins (7): Missouri State, Georgia Southern, Purdue, Michigan State, N0. 18 Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern
Losses (2): Illinois, No. 9 Notre Dame
Scoring Margin: +17.8 (7th in FBS)
Racking up 38 points last Friday night against a good Northwestern defense, USC continued to support its claim to being the best offense in the nation. On the other side of the ball, the Trojan defense has held Nebraska and Northwestern to under 300 yards in back-to-back games. With the offense playing how it has, USC still has a very feasible chance to win out and make the College Football Playoff. To do so, it will have to win this week against N0. 21 Iowa, and then again on the road against N0. 8 Oregon.
5. N0. 18 Michigan (-)
Wins (7): New Mexico, Central Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Washington, Michigan State, Purdue
Losses (2): No. 11 Oklahoma, N0. 17 USC
Scoring Margin: +10.9 (24th in FBS)
Coming off a bye last week, Michigan is in the same boat as USC, likely needing to win out against Northwestern, Maryland and N0. 1 Ohio State to make the playoff.
6. N0. 21 Iowa (-)
Wins (6): Albany, UMass, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Penn State, Minnesota
Losses (3): Iowa State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 8 Oregon
Scoring Margin: +14.5 (13th in FBS)
What a heartbreaking loss for Iowa fans. After being disrespected by the Associated Press for so long, the Hawkeyes proved themselves in the rain on Saturday, giving another top-10 team a run for its money. After its 18-16 loss to No. 8 Oregon, Iowa has lost three games by a total of just eight points.
The Hawkeyes controlled much of last weekend’s matchup against the Ducks, but a late third-quarter red zone fumble and lapses in the secondary on Oregon’s game-winning drive proved detrimental. In the end, a season-changing victory fell just out of reach.
7. Washington (-)
Wins (6): Colorado State, UC Davis, Washington State, Maryland, Rutgers, Illinois
Losses (3): No. 1 Ohio State, No. 18 Michigan, Wisconsin
Scoring Margin: +6.8 (39th in FBS)
Like Oregon, Washington got its first taste of pure November Big Ten football, playing Saturday afternoon in the same Midwest rainstorm. Unlike the Ducks, the Huskies were not up to the task, falling 13-10 to a now 3-6 Wisconsin team. Demond Williams Jr. was especially out of sorts, throwing for just 134 yards, his lowest total of the season.
8. Illinois (-)
Wins (6): Western Illinois, Duke, Western Michigan, No. 17 USC, Purdue, Rutgers
Losses (3): No. 2 Indiana, No. 1 Ohio State, Washington
Scoring Margin: +2.0 (55th in FBS)
On its bye week, Illinois’ ranking stayed static at N0. 8. Though Washington dropped a tough loss to Wisconsin on the road, the Huskies’ commanding 42-25 head-to-head victory over Illinois keeps them ahead of the Fighting Illini in these power rankings.
9. Nebraska (-)
Wins (6): Cincinnati, Akron, Houston Christian, Michigan State, Maryland, Northwestern, UCLA
Losses (3): N0. 18 Michigan, Minnesota, N0. 17 USC
Scoring Margin: +8.2 (33rd in FBS)
After losing star quarterback Dylan Raiola to a season-ending injury the week prior, there was lots of uncertainty surrounding Nebraska’s offense heading into a road game against UCLA. Though second-string quarterback TJ Lateef was asked to throw the ball just 15 times in his first career start, he was extremely efficient, completing 13 of 15 of his passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns. Sure, Nebraska’s offensive identity will look different moving forward without Raiola at the helm, but Matt Rhule and Nebraska proved this weekend that they can still compete at a high level.
10. Northwestern (-)
Wins (5): Western Illinois, UCLA, Louisiana Monroe, Penn State, Purdue
Losses (4): Tulane, No. 8 Oregon, Nebraska, N0. 17 USC
Scoring Margin: -1.3 (74th in FBS)
The biggest story of USC’s 38-17 win over Northwestern last Friday night turned out to be Lincoln Riley’s successful, yet illegal, fake punt in the second quarter. Najee Story’s fumble through the back of the end zone after taking his interception to the goal line is another play that will haunt the ‘Cats in the film room throughout the week.
However, though USC’s 482 yards on offense demonstrated a major talent gap between these two teams, not much has changed in my perception of the Wildcats following this loss. Sitting at 5-4, the goal for head coach David Braun remains clear: win one more contest and make a bowl game.
11. Minnesota (-)
Wins (6): Buffalo, Northwestern State, Rutgers, Purdue, Nebraska, Michigan State
Losses (3): California, No. 1 Ohio State, N0. 21 Iowa
Scoring Margin: -5.8 (91st in FBS)
On bye in Week 11, the Golden Gophers have already clinched a bowl at 6-3 and will play N0. 8 Oregon, Northwestern and Wisconsin in the coming weeks.
12. Penn State (+2)
Wins (3): Nevada, Florida International, Villanova
Losses (6): N0. 8 Oregon, UCLA, Northwestern, N0. 21 Iowa, N0. 1 Ohio State, N0. 2 Indiana
Scoring Margin: +3.6 (48th in FBS)
Down 20-7 to No. 2 Indiana in the middle of the third quarter, a broken Penn State team battled all the way back, scoring 17 unanswered points on three straight scoring drives to take a 24-20 lead with 6:27 left in the game. However, Cooper Jr.’s late-game heroics snatched the victory from the Nittany Lions’ hands, as they fell 27-24.
Penn State’s close loss to the Hoosiers actually boosts them two spots in these rankings given the difficulty of the contest. If the Nittany Lions can beat Michigan State and Nebraska, they will find themselves at 5-6 against a 5-6 Rutgers team in a battle for a bowl appearance.
13. Rutgers (+2)
Wins (5): Ohio, Miami OH, Norfolk State, Purdue, Maryland
Losses (5): N0. 21 Iowa, Minnesota, Washington, No. 8 Oregon, Illinois
Scoring Margin: -5.7 (94th in FBS)
The Scarlet Knights advanced to 5-5 on the season with a dominant 35-20 home victory over Maryland. Head coach Greg Schiano fed Antwan Raymond the ball 41 times and had no regrets, as the sophomore back ran for a whopping 240 yards. Coming off its big win, Rutgers has a bye week before closing out the season against No. 1 Ohio State and Penn State, hoping to pick up one more victory and punch its ticket to a bowl game.
14. UCLA (-2)
Wins (3): Penn State, Michigan State, Maryland
Losses (6): N0. 13 Utah, UNLV, New Mexico, Northwestern, N0. 2 Indiana, Nebraska
Scoring Margin: -10.2 (115th in FBS)
Overall, UCLA played well against Nebraska last week, but two major defensive lapses resulting in Emmett Johnson receiving touchdowns proved costly in the Bruins’ 28-21 loss. After winning three straight to start Big Ten play, UCLA has lost its last two games, falling to 3-6 due to some major defensive breakdowns.
15. Maryland (-2)
Wins (4): Florida Atlantic, Northern Illinois, Towson, Wisconsin
Losses (5): Washington, Nebraska, UCLA, N0. 2 Indiana, Rutgers
Scoring Margin: -1.3 (74th in FBS)
Falling 35-20 to Rutgers last Saturday, Maryland extended its losing streak to five straight Big Ten games. Malik Washington ran for a stunning 164 yards on the ground, but on defense, the Terrapins surrendered almost 500 yards, letting Raymond run wild. Though Maryland has done little right in Big Ten play, its lone conference win against Wisconsin is a key head-to-head victory which keeps the Terps ahead of the surging Badgers, for now, in these power rankings.
16. Wisconsin (-)
Wins (3): Miami OH, Middle Tennessee, Washington
Losses (6): N0. 4 Alabama, Maryland, No. 18 Michigan, N0. 21 Iowa, No. 1 Ohio State, N0. 8 Oregon
Scoring Margin: -9.8 (111th in FBS)
Wisconsin managed to squeak past Washington 13-10 in the rain, but nothing about this game was pretty. The Badgers used four different pass throwers on Saturday, but a physical defense — led by freshmen linebackers Cooper Catalano (19 tackles) and Mason Posa (11 tackles, 2.5 sacks) — held the Huskies to just 10 points, giving the Badger offense just enough room to get the job done.
Badger head coach Luke Fickell had been saying all year that this group wasn’t broken, and his team proved him right, finally finding a conference win after playing a gantlet of a schedule.
17. Michigan State (-)
Wins (3): Western Michigan, Boston College, Youngstown State
Losses (6): N0. 17 USC, Nebraska, UCLA, N0. 2 Indiana, N0. 18 Michigan, Minnesota
Scoring Margin: -8.8 (107th in FBS)
After a bye, the 3-6 Spartans will close out their season against Penn State, N0. 21 Iowa and Maryland.
18. Purdue (-)
Wins (2): Ball State, Southern Illinois
Losses (8): No. 17 USC, No. 9 Notre Dame, Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern, Rutgers, No. 18 Michigan, N0. 1 Ohio State
Scoring Margin: -9.4 (110th in FBS)
The Boilermakers were completely uncompetitive against Ohio State. With two tough opponents in Washington and No. 2 Indiana left on the schedule, Purdue is likely to finish the season 0-9 against the Big Ten.
