With one full week of college football in the books, 16 out of 18 Big Ten Conference teams have taken care of business and maintained undefeated records. Several teams underwhelmed, some dominated lesser competition, and a select few impressed in their first games of the 2026 season. Here’s where each team stands following week one, from worst to first:
18. Rutgers
Rutgers lost to a UMass team that went winless a year ago and finished last in the Mid-American Conference. The Scarlet Knights had the worst week of any Power Four team. They got dominated in the trenches, they couldn’t cover the Minutemen and they lost 4 turnovers. Starting quarterback Dylan Lonergan left the game with an injury in the fourth quarter, per Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. The only positive sign for the Scarlet Knights was the play of All-American wide receiver KJ Duff, who accounted for nearly 200 receiving yards and all 3 Rutgers touchdowns.
17. Michigan State
Michigan State has to finish drives and prevent big plays. A 71-yard run and a 60-yard pass made up nearly half of Toledo’s yardage and two of the Rockets’ three touchdowns on Saturday. The Spartans settled for field goals five times and failed a fourth down conversion at the Toledo 29. Prevent those gash plays, score touchdowns on 2 of the 6 drives that they settled on, all of a sudden the score is 38-7 and nobody would have blinked at this game. The Spartans aren’t as bad as many are acting following the Toledo game, but until those two massive holes are patched, they can’t be any higher.
15. Purdue
Is it time for Purdue to finally make its way back off the bottom rung of the Big Ten ladder? It certainly looked like it on Saturday. Ryan Browne looked great to start his second year as the Boilermakers’ quarterback, the offensive line stopped Indiana State’s pass rush in its tracks and Purdue didn’t surrender a single turnover. If they clean up the penalties, the Boilermakers will be a team that catches somebody sleeping. They still have one of the three least-talented rosters, arguably the least talented roster, in the league, but Saturday was the best execution we’ve seen in West Lafayette in a long time.
15. Maryland
Say what you want about the level of competition, 62-0 is 62-0. The offensive line did exactly what you want your line to do against inferior competition and opened gaping holes in the defense to help generate a 365-yard day on the ground for the Terrapin offense. The defense generated 5 sacks, 8 tackles for loss and 3 picks. The passing offense was certainly an area for improvement, but it didn’t really need to do anything on Saturday. That recipe simply won’t work the same way against Big Ten competition that can match the Terp’s physicality, but it does suggest that Maryland will keep leads well if it can generate them, which is a skill that often separates 4-8 teams from 7-5 teams.
14. Northwestern
On the one hand, Northwestern easily could have lost to South Dakota State. Critical drops on a two-point conversion and what should have been an easy touchdown completion made all the difference between the Wildcats and the Jackrabbits. On the other hand, a win is a win. The Wildcats allowed 432 yards of total offense, however, they were lethal in the red zone on both sides of the ball and generated 497 yards of offense. Saturday was the definition of a mixed back for Northwestern fans, but last year this team was immensely scrappy, and that stayed true in week one this year.
13. Wisconsin
The Badgers played one half of excellent football, particularly defensively, against a top five team in the country. That’s something to build off of, however, their offense couldn’t sustain a drive. The longest Wisconsin drive of the night was the two-play, 48-yard touchdown drive in the second half that was aided by a Notre Dame personal foul call. The defense ran out of steam in the second half, but it showed in the first half that, at its best, it can hang with the best teams in the country. Even that stellar first-half defensive performance won’t be enough, though, if the offense can’t score unless it starts the drive in opposing territory.
12. Nebraska
The positive spin on Nebraska’s win over Ohio: After finally seeming to turn the corner in terms of finishing close games last year, Nebraska’s fourth quarter against Ohio went about as well as Husker fans could have hoped for. The negative spin: The fourth quarter explosion was necessary because the Huskers’ first three quarters were incredibly sloppy. Nebraska was clearly the better team throughout the game. The Huskers had the better athletes and the better football players, but they couldn’t get out of their own way. Penalties, inconsistent pass protection and blown coverage allowed Ohio to lead for large portions of the first half and keep Nebraska on its heels until the fourth. All that said: Nebraska is the team most likely to skyrocket in these rankings once conference play begins. This team doesn’t have a talent deficiency, it had an execution deficiency on Saturday.
11. Illinois
Quick note: bring some kind of rush on a Hail Mary attempt. It doesn’t need to be a blitz, but a one man rush that isn’t even rushing is asking for disaster. See: the Illini’s touchdown to end the first half. That play seemed to unlock something senior quarterback Katin Houser, who pushed the ball downfield and moved well in space to fuel a furious 28-3 run that put the game away for the Fighting Illini. The Illinois defense played well, with 10 of the 13 points the defense surrendered coming on drives that began on or past midfield. Notably, the special teams unit must play better to prevent the poor field position the defense saw, however, the defense played well under those circumstances.
10. Minnesota
Welcome back Darius Taylor. The senior scored 3 touchdowns on Saturday, providing a drive-finishing force in the red zone that perfectly complemented a 264-yard day for sophomore quarterback Drake Lindsey. Return man Javon Tracy returned 2 punts to the house on Saturday. It was about as good of an all-around performance as you can have, the quality of competition was just not high enough for the Gophers to rise. Fans will get more answers next week when Minnesota hosts Mississippi State.
9. UCLA
Nico Iamaleava didn’t have his best game on Saturday against Cal. Thankfully for the Bruins, he didn’t need to, thanks to a 118-yard day on the ground for Anthony Woods and 277 total rushing yards for UCLA as a team. The offensive line looked nothing short of dominant on Saturday, and a pair of interceptions for Ta’Shawn James kept the Bears in check as UCLA pulled away in the fourth quarter. Iamaleava has to play better once the Bruins reach Big Ten play, but if Saturday was UCLA’s floor, the Bruins at their ceiling could be a tough out for even the Big Ten’s best.
8. Michigan
To acknowledge the elephant in the room: Michigan probably shouldn’t have gotten a chance to attempt a second Hail Mary. That said: They did get that opportunity, they did convert it, and they only got to that final possession because Michigan’s defense played an incredible game against a Western Michigan team that has a real opportunity to be in playoff conversations at the end of the year. Holding the defending MAC champion to 12 points was arguably the best defensive performance any team in the league had this week. The offense looked abysmal. Bryce Underwood was neither efficient nor explosive, the offensive line underwhelmed and the run game never really established itself. In a quote after the game, Kyle Whittingham did confirm that their patience with Underwood is “not infinite” and that things need to come together. This defense is legit, though, and it will win games for the Wolverines.
7. Penn State
The Matt Campbell era is off to a hot start in Happy Valley. The offense was clean and efficient. The defense was flying around the field and generated 9 TFLs en route to a shutout. Rocco Becht looked like the fundamental pocket passer he’s always been with better weapons to boot. There’s not a lot to analyze, the Nittany Lions were one of the most dominant teams in the country on Saturday and there weren’t many surprises, but when ”no surprises” means clean execution, a stable starting QB and a shutout win, that’s just fine.
6. Iowa
Hank Brown made a statement for the Hawkeyes on Saturday, and he looked like the QB1 that Iowa needed to have a genuine chance at making the playoffs. What he did wasn’t flashy, it won’t make highlight reels, and it won’t scare defenses into playing deep quarters coverage, but it will keep opponents honest. Brown took what was available to him in structure, he let his receivers work in the short to intermediate game, he didn’t get sacked, and he didn’t turn it over. When Kamari Moulton is running the way he was on Saturday, Tony Diaz is running routes as well as any tight end in the country and the defense is pitching shutouts, what Brown did Saturday is plenty.
5. Washington
Quarterback Demond Williams, Jr. looked excellent for Washington in the Huskies’ Apple Bowl win over Washington State. 329 yards of total offense and two total touchdowns fueled the Husky offense to victory on Saturday. The defense looked dominant against a rebuilding Washington State team. The Huskies will need to establish the run and play better on special teams when they play against the top dogs of the Big Ten.Williams is the X-factor in and out of the pocket, and he will win the Huskies a lot of games this fall.
4. Indiana
Can Josh Hoover pilot the Hoosier offense to victory in a shootout with USC, Oregon or Ohio State? That was the question entering week one, it’s still the question after week one and it’s a question that won’t be answered until at least week four and likely won’t be until week seven. The Hoosiers did almost everything right against North Texas on Saturday besides arguably allowing a little too much efficiency for the Mean Green run game. Hoover struggled against BYU, the only elite defense he saw last year with the TCU Horned Frogs, and until he shows that he can dismantle the defenses currently above Indiana in these rankings (or those teams show they don’t belong at the top), Indiana will remain below that top three but firmly in the playoff picture.
3. USC
USC has the advantage of an extra game in the books and looking much better in the second than the first. Do the Trojans move from this spot without the Fresno State game? Probably not, the overall evaluation on USC didn’t change much, but seeing the execution certainly didn’t hurt. Jayden Maiava went 23/25 on pass attempts against the Bulldogs, building on a dominant performance from week zero. Freshman wide receiver Trent Mosley looks like a budding star early in his college career. It’d be nice to see a little more explosiveness in the run game and the Trojans need to protect the rock, but it’s close enough that the development path is clear. The defensive concerns that arose in week zero were answered in week one. Five sacks, 7 TFLs and an interception is the kind of production that can vault the Trojans past the top tier of this conference, and the shutout celebration speaks volumes about the culture of this defense and this program.
2. Oregon
Photo courtesy of Oregon Athletics
Your evaluation of the Ducks’ week one win over Boise State comes down to one question: Are the Broncos a playoff team? If yes, then this is where Oregon sits. Dante Moore didn’t miss a beat on Saturday, and while there are some questions to answer for the Ducks’ secondary, the offense will be good enough to beat 95% of opponents. If you don’t think Boise State is a playoff team, the defensive performance was concerning. At points, the Broncos moved the football at will. Obviously this is a week one ranking, a lot of this is “wait and see” by its very nature, but that stands more for Oregon than anyone.
1. Ohio State
They took care of business and the offense looked unstoppable. What more is there to say? Julian Sayin is, at absolute worst, a top 15 quarterback in the country, probably closer to top five, and he’s throwing to the best player in the country in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. That alone is a recipe for an elite offense. Add in Devin McCuin, who would be the best wide receiver on the vast majority of teams across the country, a dominant offensive line and a deep, dynamic running back room and the Buckeyes are in contention for the best offense in the country. If there was a criticism to be had of Ohio State in week one, it was the pass rush. A 1-sack week against a bottom-three team in the MAC preseason coaches’ poll leaves plenty to be desired for a traditionally dominant group, but the defense has plenty of time to figure things out if the offense plays up to its standards.