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There were some big games in the Big Ten in Week 7, and they (well, most of them) did not disappoint. In fact, even some that weren’t seen as big games had huge ramifications.
The obvious big one was Penn State vs. Northwestern, as the Nittany Lions lost for the third week in a row, and the second in a row where they were considered heavy, heavy favorites. Indiana got a program-defining victory over a top-ranked Oregon team in Eugene — not exactly an easy feat. UCLA continued its momentum after last week’s game against Penn State by going on the road and dominating MSU. Ohio State handled Illinois in Champaign. And, though it was said that Michigan arrived in Los Angeles a day early, it’s unclear whether or not it actually showed up for the USC game.
Here are our Big Ten power rankings after Week 7.
18. MSU Spartans (3-3, 0-3)
This week: L, vs. UCLA, 13-38
Previous ranking: 15
Hi/Lo: 12/18
For the second straight week, the Spartans gave up 38 points. At least last week, it made sense given that it was against a high-powered Nebraska offense. However, UCLA dominated the Spartans on their home turf — that’s a Bruins team that has an interim head coach and once was at the very bottom of our power rankings. Nothing worked for MSU, whereas the Bruins rode former Spartan running back Jalen Berger — salt in the wound — often with great success. Aidan Chiles had another terrible outing, and, at least for this week, Michigan State looks like the worst team in the conference.
17. Wisconsin Badgers (2-4, 0-3)
This week: L, vs. Iowa, 0-37
Previous ranking: 17
Hi/Lo: 16/17
It’s hard to envision Luke Fickell lasting much longer in Madison at this rate. It’s not like Iowa is usually a team that goes and wins big over other in-conference teams like this, and yet, the Badgers got nothing going — including points. Still on the third-string quarterback situation, Hunter Simmons threw for just 82 yards with two picks. Meanwhile, Wisconsin gave up over 200 rushing yards. It’s not going great and there are no signs of improvement at the moment.
16. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-3, 0-3)
This week: L, vs. Northwestern, 21-22
Previous ranking: 9
Hi/Lo: 3/16
What we said about Luke Fickell? Ditto for James Franklin. Everything feels untenable in Happy Valley, and it’s made all the worse with quarterback Drew Allar lost for the season, his college career now over. It’s not like Northwestern did anything special, but the same can be said of a Penn State team that has looked like a shell of itself after losing in overtime to Oregon. They say don’t let one loss beat you twice, but it appears that the primetime loss to the Ducks has beaten the Nittany Lions three times. This was supposed to be the year for PSU, and yet, it’s going to end up worse than usual — and that was before even losing Allar.
This week: L, at Minnesota, 20-27
Previous ranking: 16
Hi/Lo: 15/16
Purdue is moving up after putting up a fight in Minneapolis. If it wasn’t for the three interceptions thrown by Ryan Brown and running back Devin Mockobee, this statistically could have been a road win and the first in the Big Ten by Barry Odom. The Boilermakers had their chances, and the defense had its best outing yet. And while there aren’t awards given for losing close, Purdue appears to be moving in the right direction.
This week: L, at Washington 19-38
Previous ranking: 14
Hi/Lo: 14/14
Rutgers looked solid for a half in Seattle, but then Washington came on strong in the second. Offensively, the Scarlet Knights moved the ball well, with quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis passing for nearly 400 yards. The problem? Washington quarterback threw for 402 yards and added another 136 yards on the ground. Rutgers tends to have a solid defense, but this was a debacle on that side of the ball. Even still, the Scarlet Knights didn’t move in our power rankings.
13. Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-2, 2-1)
This week: W, vs. Purdue, 27-20
Previous ranking: 13
Hi/Lo: 13/14
After losing to Ohio State last week, Minnesota had to hold on for dear life against a resurgent Purdue team. A game-changing pick-six by star safety Koi Perich helped cement the win for the Gophers — especially needed considering that the run game for the offense was nonexistent, with 30 yards. Drake Lindsey passed OK, with 232 yards, but only while averaging 5.2 yards per attempt. A come-from-behind victory shouldn’t have been necessary, but Minnesota, most importantly, found a way.
12. Northwestern Wildcats (4-2, 2-1)
This week: W, at Penn State, 22-21
Previous ranking: 18
Hi/Lo: 12/18
Easily the upset of the week, the big underdog went into a Happy Valley stripe-out and got just enough of everything to take down Penn State. Holding the Nittany Lions to 137 yards rushing and passing each, the defense led the way, and the offense did just enough. Don’t look now, but the Wildcats are 4-2 on the season with a winning record in the Big Ten.
11. Iowa Hawkeyes (4-2, 2-1)
This week: W, at Wisconsin, 37-0
Previous ranking: 11
Hi/Lo: 11/11
Iowa went to Madison and annihilated the hapless Badgers. And it did so with just 319 total yards of offense. With 210 yards rushing and four touchdowns on the ground, the Hawkeyes looked more like we’re accustomed to seeing Iowa. Most importantly, the defense was stellar — as it usually is — holding Wisconsin to just 209 yards total. Solid win.
10. Maryland Terrapins (4-2, 1-2)
This week: L, vs. Nebraska, 31-34
Previous ranking: 10
Hi/Lo: 10/10
Poor Maryland, losing again by one score at home. The Terps had the lead in the fourth quarter, but gave up 10 points to Nebraska to lose the game with just 2:34 left in the game. Freshman quarterback Malik Washington was very good again, but the defense let Maryland down in this one. The Terrapins are moving in the right direction, but there may still be growing pains in the Washington era.
9. UCLA Bruins (2-4, 2-1)
This week: W, vs. Michigan State, 38-13
Previous ranking: 12
Hi/Lo: 9/18
Tim Skipper wins his second game as the interim coach, and what’s happening with the Bruins under his leadership is clearly no fluke. Jerry Neuheisel called yet another excellent game as the offensive coordinator, and the run game was masterful — with the Spartans hapless to stop it. UCLA looks like a completely different team, and if this continues, the interim tag must be removed for Skipper.
8. Michigan Wolverines (4-2, 2-1)
This week: L, at USC, 13-31
Previous ranking: 4
Hi/Lo: 4/8
What can we say about Michigan’s performance against USC? Everything was bad, to be honest. The tackling was particularly atrocious. Even when the defense had the Trojan offense seemingly stopped, no one could bring them down, and they’d rumble on for a big gain. USC punted just twice, and though the Michigan defense forced two turnovers, the game felt like it got away from the Wolverines quite early in this one. The offense, when looking interesting in calling high-percentage plays, had its moments, but it also had just as many head-scratching moments. It was a burn-the-tape type of game and yet another loss on the West Coast.
7. Illinois Fighting Illini (5-2, 2-2)
This week: L, vs. Ohio State, 16-34
Previous ranking: 6
Hi/Lo: 6/9
Unlike last week against Purdue, the Illini defense gave the offense a fighting chance. But small mistakes added up, and an opportunistic Ohio State always took advantage. With that, the game was over in the first half. Illinois, like every other team, struggled mightily against the stellar OSU defense, and with three turnovers, the Illini had to work harder to overcome than they perhaps had to. The Buckeyes only had 272 yards of offense, but it really didn’t need to do much given the constant short fields in the early going.
6. Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-1, 2-1)
This week: W, at Maryland, 34-31
Previous ranking: 5
Hi/Lo: 5/7
With two long fourth-quarter drives, Nebraska overcame its typical woes. After being known for half a decade (or more) for losing one-possession games, this time, it was the Cornhuskers playing the role of punisher. Running back Emmett Johnson’s 50-yard run set up the field goal while quarterback Dylan Raiola was clutch on the go-ahead touchdown drive. Matt Rhule was celebrating the changing of the guard — and perhaps he’s right? We haven’t seen this in a long while.
5. Washington Huskies (5-1, 2-1)
This week: W, vs. Rutgers, 38-19
Previous ranking: 8
Hi/Lo: 5/9
After going down 10-0 on Friday night in Seattle, Washington’s offense finally came alive, absolutely shredding the Rutgers defense with a one-man wrecking ball in Demond Williams Jr. Williams passed for 402 yards and ran for 136 more, accounting for four touchdowns. The defense took a little while to get going, but once it did, the whole game became complementary. But the Huskies do have another cross-country trip ahead this week with Michigan on deck for a 9 a.m. PDT kick time.
4. USC Trojans (5-1, 3-1)
This week: W, vs. Michigan, 31-13
Previous ranking: 7
Hi/Lo: 4/8
USC had been looking for that signature Big Ten win, and as of Saturday night, it’s looking no longer. The Trojans put the pedal to the metal in the Coliseum right out of the gates and proved it could play a physical game against a team in Michigan that has long prided itself on being physical. USC ran for 224 yards and passed for 265 more. The two turnovers were problematic, but the Trojans controlled the game from start to finish.
3. Oregon Ducks (5-1, 2-1)
This week: L, vs. Indiana, 20-30
Previous ranking: 1
Hi/Lo: 1/3
Oregon generally doesn’t lose at home, and yet, the last time it had lost to a Big Ten team in Eugene, it was to Indiana. History repeated itself, but this time, with much higher stakes. Quarterback Dante Moore threw two costly interceptions in the fourth quarter, and the run game just didn’t work. IU was more physical and looked the part of a top-tier team, so there’s no shame in the loss. But this is what Oregon was supposed to be, and yet, now they’re looking up at the resurgent Hoosiers.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0, 3-0)
This week: W, at Illinois, 34-16
Previous ranking: 1
Hi/Lo: 1/2
Ohio State has the best red zone defense in the country, sometimes bending, but rarely breaking. In a game where the offense came back down to earth, the defense carried the day. The Buckeyes had something of an uninspiring outing by their own standards, and only drop in our rankings due to what the new No. 1 was able to do — something Ohio State has not done.
This week: W, at Oregon, 30-20
Previous ranking: 3
Hi/Lo: 1/4
Beating Oregon on the road is next to impossible, and yet, Indiana went and did it. And while it wasn’t overwhelming, it was convincing. At no point did Curt Cignetti’s team appear to be overmatched — in fact, it was the team setting the tone. If it weren’t for a few mistakes, the score could have been more lopsided, but the better team still won in the end. Is IU the best team in the Big Ten? It might be a toss-up with Ohio State, but at the moment, it appears like it is.
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