This is a column to check in on the rest of the football world, but since it’s 2025 in America I will beat you over the head with The Agenda, which in case you’ve forgotten is “Big Ten Superiority Unless It’s Funny.”
THE AGENDA MVP: Northwestern Wildcats
I struggled with this because there were several other candidates, but I think Northwestern did quite a lot to demonstrate not only the on-field strength of the whole Big Ten but the win-at-all-costs culture that you’ll only find in this conference. There’s no such thing as a non-competitive
Big Ten team, which is why Northwestern was able to battle and overcome a Penn State team that won games in last year’s College Football Playoff. Penn State was ranked #4 in the country just three weeks ago, but you can never take your eye off the ball for a second in the Big Ten. This isn’t the SEC where you can just coast against the bottom of the league. Everyone’s constantly striving for excellence, and when they can’t achieve it they move on.
Look no further than James Franklin. After leading Penn State to the Playoff last year, he lost yet another Top 10 matchup at home and followed it up with two losses to unranked teams. That was enough to get him fired. We’ve fired two coaches already in the B1G and we’ve only played seven weeks of football. That just shows you the high standard we have in this conference. Two coaches are fired and sixteen coaches are on the hot seat just three losses from oblivion.* You can’t relax in this league. Your competition never spends one second doing anything other than finding ways to be better than you.
*May not apply to those much closer to oblivion, like Luke Fickell
THE COSMOPOLITAIN CONFERENCE
Two battles between ranked teams featured cross-country conference rivalries that saw USC host Michigan and Oregon host Indiana. This conference brings together people from all of the civilized parts of the country and promotes a robust cultural exchange, and you can see this exemplified in USC’s commitment to pounding the rock against Michigan. A few weeks ago, they declined to play our conference’s physical brand of smashmouth football and suffered a loss to Illinois because of it. This week, they demonstrated the might of a Big Ten running game with a 158 yard performance from King Miller and a defensive stifling of the nation’s premier freshman quarterback. The Trojans earned their way back into the Top 25 by defeating #15 Michigan soundly.
Similarly, Indiana forged its rivalry with Oregon as the top-10 undefeated teams clashed, and though the West Coast newcomers have built a formidable team, the Midwestern work ethic prevailed. With two wins over then-Top-10 teams, you’d figure Indiana has the claim to a poll spot no lower than #2, but alas…there you find Miami and their signature wins over two-loss Notre Dame (who I do not respect), American title contender South Florida and Florida State with their 0-3 conference record.
A LEGENDARY RIVALRY
#17 Illinois hosted #1 Ohio State for the Illibuck as Fox Sports sent their pregame show to Champaign-Urbana for the second time this year. Yards gained were roughly even between the two titans, but fortune smiled on the mighty Buckeyes as they benefitted from three turnovers (and a fourth play that functioned as a turnover). The Buckeyes made off with the revered Illibuck trophy as the AP poll voters dropped a team whose only losses are to the two best teams in the country right out of the top 25. If this were the SEC, Illinois would have moved up three spots to #14 for proving they can play with the top team in all the land from a yards-gained standpoint. Unfortunately, we have to live in a country where the most radical cultural viewpoints of the Deep South dominate our media landscape undeservedly.
People are waking up.
QUARTERBACK PLAY ON ANOTHER LEVEL
The epic Rutgers at Washington duel between Demond Williams (402 passing yards, 136 rushing) and Athan Kaliakmanis (386 passing, 11 rushing) kicked off the weekend but was far from the only thrilling exhibition of superstar quarterback talent that permeates the Big Ten. After defeating the very inventors of college football, Washington sits at a horrendously underappreciated 5-1 with only a home loss to Ohio State.
If losing to Ohio State makes you un-rankable, get 4-2 Texas out of this top 25!
Nebraska finds itself back in the top 25 thanks to a heroic drive by sophomore stud Dylan Raiola, who went 20/29 with 4 touchdowns and no other notable passing stats. His go-ahead touchdown pass with a minute to go earned him the victory over Maryland and quarterback Malik Washington, who has looked very good as a true freshman. He completed 27 of 37 without turning the ball over once.
Resurgent star quarterback Nico Iamaleavea (3 TD’s with no turnovers on 16/24 passing) led UCLA to a road win over Michigan State and quarterback Aidan Chiles, who himself was definitely one of the quarterbacks in the 2023 recruiting class. Meanwhile, Iowa’s Mark Gronowski put up one of the most impressive stat lines you’ll ever see an Iowa quarterback post. In Minneapolis, Ryan Browne and Drake Lindsey overcame what clearly must have been gale-force winds to stage a classic battle with 85 total passing attempts. Though the physical run game is the signature of a great Big Ten team, there’s no telling what form any given Big Ten game will take because teams in this conference have the talent for just about any kind of contest.
FORTUITOUS FRAUD EXPOSURE EVASIONS IN THE SOUTH…
Georgia got some help avoiding exposure for fraud when Kirby Smart somehow convinced an official he had not in fact called a timeout in what was to that point a very even game against a deeply flawed Auburn team. LSU could only manage 20 against South Carolina, while Tennessee narrowly held off 2-win Arkansas. Ole Miss narrowly fended off a challenge from Washington State by a 3-point margin. Washington beat them by 5 touchdowns.
…BUT NOT ALL WERE SO LUCKY
Supposed Top 5 team Oklahoma was held to two field goals by a Texas team that had no answers for DJ Lagway. While Bryce Underwood has only improved since their matchup, John Mateer seems to have gotten worse. Play that game again and you’ll see a different result. Meanwhile, Alabama tainted previously-unbeaten Missouri with the stench of their loss to FSU. Arizona State was hanged, drawn and quartered by Utah and Iowa State somehow lost to Colorado despite Abu Sama’s 177 yards on 24 carries. The massive power vacuum in the Big 12 is seeing Texas Tech raise their expectations to a dangerous level.
NEXT WEEK
Miami welcomes Louisville, honed by Jeff Brohm’s experience in the school of hard knocks and honest labor that was the Big Ten West. You’re supposed to care that LSU plays Vanderbilt. Ole Miss plays Georgia with no poll implications for either team.
Our own USC Trojans have the chance to silence Notre Dame’s backers once and for all. Neither Tennessee nor Alabama deserves to be ranked anywhere near what they are.
Ohio State will do its best to try to rid the conference of another weak link at head coach. That’s the culture here in the Big Ten.
