The first weekend of a pretty full slate of Big Ten football was not short on the drama. Northwestern gave Indiana a real scare on Friday night and a number of teams won on the road, including Iowa at Michigan and Oregon and USC in a pair of top-25 matchups in the conference. Cross-country trips proved to be no issue either. It was a pretty eventful weekend of Big Ten football in Week 4 as more conference play opened up at the end of September.
Here is a quick rundown of everything that happened in the Big Ten in Week 4.
No. 5 Indiana 29, Northwestern 23
Northwestern put up a terrific fight on the road against Indiana and made the defending national champs sweat one out. But Lee Beebe Jr.'s 203 rushing yards helped keep the Hoosiers on top in this battle. That is the value of
quality depth on the Indiana roster as the Hoosiers were without leading rusher Turbo Richard due to injury. Indiana's winning streak has reached 20 games overall and 19 straight at home, both currently the longest-running streaks in the FBS.
No. 7 Ohio State 42, Illinois 19
Another week, another Ohio State record for wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Smith tied the program record with four touchdowns in a gamehe caught 12 passes for 217 yards as the Buckeyes routed the Illini in the battle for the Illibuck. Julian Sayin ended his game with 367 passing yards as Ohio State cruised to a Big Ten win at home.
No. 20 Oregon 41, No. 12 USC
After a nasty hit on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore left the Ducks quarterback being taken out of the game on a stretcher, backup quarterback and former Nebraska starter Dylan Raiola helped lead Oregon to a big road win on Saturday night at USC. Raiola passed for 289 yards and 2 touchdowns in relief who was hit late on a slide by USC linebacker Desman Stephens. Oregon coach Dan Lanning lambasted the play as a disgusting play after the game. Oregon has now won five straight meetings with the Trojans.
Wisconsin 24, No. 13 Penn State 20
Penn State had a 17-0 lead in the second quarter and led by 10 points going into the fourth quarter, but it was Wisconsin that came up with the big plays in the fourth quarter. A 72-yard touchdown pass from Colton Joseph to Jacob Harris stunned the Beaver Stadium crowd with a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and Penn State was unable to come up with an answer in the final minute. Joseph was picked off three times in the game, including one returned for a touchdown, but he gutted one out to lead the Badgers to a stunning victory in Happy Valley. The 17-point comeback was the largest comeback for the Badgers since 2006.
No. 17 Iowa 20, No. 18 Michigan
To some, this may have been some form of justice in the college football universe as Iowa handed Michigan its first loss of the season on the final play of the game. Hank Brown's 16-yard touchdown pass to Reece Vander Zee capped a wild 91-yard drive to stun the Wolverines. A 29-yard pass to Addison Ostrenga set the Hawkeyes up for the final play, and an unnecessary roughness penalty earlier in the drive helped keep Iowa alive. Iowa had just 58 yards of rushing offense in the game.
In scores of other games...
- Rutgers 58, Howard 7 - Rutgers picks up its first win of the season after beating up on an FCS opponent.
- No. 3 Notre Dame 49, Purdue 10 - Purdue's offense had a rough nigth against the Fighting Irish, who took things over in the second quarter for a 35-0 lead at halftime.
- UCLA 54, Maryland 3 - This may be one of the most eye-opening results of the week. UCLA obliterated Maryland on the road and didn't even score in the first quarter.
- Nebraska 31, Michigan State 13 - Nebraska QB Anthony Colandrea had a big game with 212 passing yards, 66 rushing yards, and 3 combined touchdowns.
- Minnesota 27, Washington 24 - Drake Lindsey had 3 touchdown passes in the first half to help the Gophers build a lead they would protect in the second half for a big road win for the Gophers.
Updated Big Ten football standings
Updated Big Ten bowl eligibility tracker
As we get to the end of September, here is a quick look at which teams are heading in the right direction for bowl eligibility going into October.
On deck (4+ wins) - UCLA, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, USC
On track - Minnesota, Ohio State, Oregon, Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State, Washington, Northwestern, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State
In danger (3+ losses) - Purdue, Rutgers
Looking ahead to Week 5
Here is the schedule for Week 5 around the Big Ten. The week gets started with Penn State's road game at Northwestern on Friday nigth as the Wildcats open their brand new stadium on national TV. All games are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026 except where noted. All times are Eastern.
- Northwestern vs. Penn State - 8:00 p.m., FOX (Friday, Oct. 2)
- Minnesota vs. Michigan - 12:00 p.m., FOX
- Wisconsin vs. Michigan State - 12:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
- Iowa vs. Ohio State - 3:30 p.m., CBS
- Nebraska vs. Maryland - 4:00 p.m., FS1
- Illinois vs. Purdue - 4:15 p.m., Big Ten Network
- USC vs. Washington - 7:30 p.m., NBC
- Rutgers vs. Indiana - 8:00 p.m., Big Ten Network
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Big Ten Week 4 recap: Final scores, updated standings, bowl tracker
