An upset in the Coliseum, a dramatic finish in Ann Arbor, a shocker in Seattle and a scare for the defending national champions highlighted week four of Big Ten football. With all 18 teams having at least one conference game under their belts, here’s where each team in the league stands:
18. Michigan State
The Spartans took a step back this week against Nebraska after the defense showed signs of improvement the week prior against Notre Dame. The Huskers went for long drive after long drive while the Spartans struggled to get anything going offensively. This was particularly evident on the ground, as Michigan State averaged just 1.2 yards per carry. The Spartans’ special teams were good against the Huskers, forcing those long fields, but that was just about the only positive for Michigan State in the team’s Big Ten opener.
17. Maryland
Maryland had no answer for the UCLA run game on Saturday. Terrapin quarterback Malik Washington threw two pick sixes. The offense surrendered five total turnovers. Nothing went right for Maryland on Saturday, to the point that there’s very little to analyze. This is the kind of week the Terrapins just need to wipe from their memories and move forward.
16. Purdue
The Boilermakers were on bye this week.
15. Rutgers
A 181-yard, 3-touchdown day on the ground for running back Antwan Raymond continued to showcase the emerging balance of the Scarlet Knight offense this week as Rutgers took down Howard 58-7. After being almost entirely reliant on wide receiver KJ Duff in the first two weeks, the Rutgers offense has found more ways to create offense around Duff each week. While the Bison aren’t a particularly meaningful win, the Scarlet Knights are moving in the right direction.
14. Illinois
Running back Aidan Laughery ran for 113 yards on 11 touches on Saturday against Ohio State, the offense protected the ball, and quarterback Katin Houser had a relatively efficient week. to their struggles in their loss to Duke, the Fighting Illini offense struggled to finish drives in the second half, settling for a field goal in the third quarter and getting stopped on downs twice in the fourth quarter. Add that on to a defense that had no answer for Jeremiah Smith and Ohio State had no trouble with the Illini on Saturday. Illinois will need to find answers for elite receivers and plays that they trust in the biggest moments to climb back toward the top of the Big Ten.
13. Washington
Despite a couple of lackluster performances, Demond Williams is still a great player. He’s not so great that the Huskies can rely on him for over 90% of their offensive production and call his number on over 75% of their offensive snaps. The Washington quarterback either threw or ran the ball on 43 of the Huskies’ 55 plays from scrimmage, allowing Minnesota to key in on Williams and shut him down. The Huskies need to take a deep look at their offense and find a way to integrate the run game, or Saturday’s upset in Seattle will be far from a one-off.
12. Penn State
Penn State failed its first test against a real opponent. It’s really that simple. The Nittany Lions held a 10-point lead at home against Wisconsin with 4 minutes to go and completely collapsed. After not facing a single challenge in nonconference play, Penn State proved itself to be unprepared for crunch time when facing a team that could compete on their level. Rocco Becht had one of the worst games of his college career, while the Nittany Lion run game struggled to get going. The defense played 55 minutes of great football before giving up back-to-back touchdowns at the death. It was the kind of performance that simply can’t happen at home, much less against a Wisconsin team with plenty of questions of its own.
11. Minnesota
3 first-half touchdowns for Drake Lindsey proved to be enough on Saturday for the Golden Gophers to escape Seattle with a win thanks to a dominant day from their defense. The offense needs more consistency, though, starting on the ground, as Minnesota averaged just 3.8 yards per carry against the Huskies. Defensively, the Gophers did more than enough against a telegraphed Washington offense, but the unit will need to demonstrate an ability to get stops against more dynamic offenses moving forward.
10. Wisconsin
Those final five minutes were electric for the Badgers. Quarterback Colton Joseph found his footing when he needed it the most and led a pair of surgical touchdown drives to win the game. Those first three quarters were ugly. Prior to those final two drives, Joseph had thrown for just 94 yards on 27 attempts and had given away three interceptions. Kudos to the Badger defense for keeping the game in range, but that’s a performance that should have put Wisconsin firmly out of position for the late game heroics to matter. Congrats to the Badgers on a great win, congrats to Luke Fickell for keeping his job, but they can’t let the rose-colored glasses of Saturday’s outcomes cause them to overlook the major flaws that led to the initial deficit.
9. Northwestern
Aidan Chiles was the better quarterback on Saturday. The Wildcat quarterback threw for over 10 yards per attempt, totaling 293 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Hoosiers. Northwestern rallied in the second half and took the defending national champions to the brink. The Wildcat run defense had few answers for Indiana’s Lee Beebe Jr., but the pass defense showed upside that will fuel Northwestern to another scrappy year where they’ll have a shot no matter who they play a given week.
8. Nebraska
The Huskers played yet another complete game on Saturday, showing a level of consistency that Nebraska hasn’t seen since the Pelini era. Quarterback Anthony Colandrea had his worst game to date in a Husker uniform with 212 passing yards and two touchdowns, but three turnovers for the Blackshirts and a 151-yard day on the ground for the Cornhusker offense allowed them to steamroll the Spartans on Saturday. With a game against Maryland set for Saturday ahead of Nebraska’s toughest stretch of the season, Nebraska will need to be careful not to overlook the Terrapins.
7. USC
Jaden Maiava had his worst performance of the season and USC lost. Maiava’s 326, 2-touchdown, 1-interception day is a game that most teams in the country would be perfectly satisfied with, but the Trojan defense showed it needs Maiava to be Heisman-caliber week-in and week-out to beat the nation’s best. Dylan Raiola diced USC’s defense after Dante Moore’s injury, punishing the defense that ended his year for Nebraska in 2025 with 289 passing yards on 25 attempts. The Trojan defense has to do more. While Raiola is almost certainly the best backup quarterback in the country, he’s still a backup quarterback. Giving up 41 points under those circumstances is unacceptable for the Trojan defense.
6. Oregon
After receiving plenty of criticism for his decision in the portal this offseason, it looks like quarterback Dylan Raiola is right where he belongs. The junior quarterback had the best game of his career in relief of Dante Moore, averaging 11.6 yards per completion on 25 attempts. The Duck defense did what it needed to down the stretch, forcing a USC turnover on downs and an interception in the fourth quarter. Oregon’s backs were efficient on the day, averaging over 4 yards per carry while netting 3 touchdowns on the ground. With Oklahoma State appearing to have turned a corner, the Ducks’ loss in Stillwater looks less and less damning, and the way they played on Saturday, they’re a threat to every team in the country.
5. Michigan
A handful of crucial mistakes held Michigan back on Saturday, but despite the loss, that was the best the Wolverines have looked all season. A 276-yard, 2-touchdown passing day for Bryce Underwood and a dominant day from the Michigan run defense had the Wolverines ahead of one of the conference’s top teams until the clock expired. If Underwood plays the way he did on Saturday, Michigan is still well within the College Football Playoff race, but they’ve lost any room for error. With a trip to Minneapolis to take on a scrappy Minnesota team this week, Michigan will need to be focused on playing its best football ahead of a bye week to keep itself in the CFP race.
4. UCLA
Just like nothing went right for Maryland, everything went right for UCLA. Five forced turnovers, 266 rushing yards, and over 7.5 offensive yards per play spelled an outright boat race for the Bruins over a Big Ten opponent. Nico Iamaleava will need to be more efficient when the Bruins face teams like Oregon and USC, but with a bye this week, fans in Westwood have plenty to celebrate after a 4-0 start.
3. Indiana
Three wins over lesser competition and a near-collapse against a good, but not elite, Northwestern team don’t inspire confidence in the Hoosiers. Running back Lee Beebe Jr. took over the game for Indiana, propelling them to victory, but with potent run defenses like Michigan and Ohio State still on the schedule, Josh Hoover will need to do more for the Hoosiers, and history isn’t on Indiana’s side relative to Hoover’s performance in big games.
2. Iowa
The Hawkeyes have found their guy with Hank Brown. In spite of two three-and-outs where the Hawkeyes ran the ball three straight times into the teeth of a potent Wolverine defense, Brown settled in to lead two fourth-quarter touchdown drives and find the game winner to Reece Vander Zee as time expired. Despite Michigan finding its footing offensively, the Hawkeye defense and special teams stepped up to keep the Hawkeyes in the game through the first three quarters, offering Brown the opportunity for his late-game heroics. With arguably the best defense in the country and an offense that has now twice shown an ability to make the biggest plays in the biggest moments with comeback wins over both Iowa State and Michigan, the Hawkeyes have set themselves up to make their first CFP appearance and have an opportunity to all but secure that spot on Saturday against Ohio State.
1. Ohio State
Jeremiah Smith is the best player in college football. His 4 touchdown performance against Illinois tied Ohio State’s program record for single-game touchdown receptions. A gameplan for Smith is the price of admission for anyone hoping to beat the Buckeyes. The question is what the Buckeyes will do when teams do manage to slow Smith down. It was an issue in Ohio State’s loss to Texas, and the Buckeyes went right back to relying on Smith in their conference opener. Iowa has a talented enough secondary to prevent Smith from singlehandedly winning the game, this week will be a critical test for the rest of the Buckeye offense to prove they can move the ball against elite defenses.