Week 5 brought a real shake-up to the Big Ten, and the rankings reflect it. Iowa and Wisconsin both cashed in on stunning road wins, Oregon handled USC away from home, and Indiana kept rolling with a 29-23 grind over Northwestern to stay unbeaten. By the time every league team had logged a conference game, the picture around the Big Ten was already looking plenty messy.
At the top, Indiana remains the team everyone is chasing. The Hoosiers were pushed for the first time this season, but they found enough to survive Northwestern and extend their winning streak to 20 games. Ohio State sits right behind after flattening Illinois 42-19 at The Horseshoe, giving the Buckeyes back-to-back wins by a combined score of 101-22 since the loss to Texas.
Oregon checked in at No. 3 after a 41-27 road win at USC, and the Ducks may have to keep moving without Dante Moore. Even so, Dylan Raiola delivered a sharp outing, finishing 19 of 25 for 289 yards and two touchdowns.
Iowa’s rise is impossible to ignore. The Hawkeyes are 4-0 after their miracle win at The Big House, and Kirk Ferentz keeps proving why he belongs in the elite tier of coaches. That sets up a must-watch showdown with Ohio State this week.
Wisconsin made the loudest statement of the weekend. The Badgers were down 20-10 with less than five minutes left at Penn State, then ripped off two touchdowns in the closing stretch to stun the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium.
That result bumped Wisconsin up from No. 14 to No. 12 and sent Penn State tumbling from No. 6 to No. 13.
USC is still waiting for that signature Lincoln Riley win after falling 41-27 to Oregon. A rivalry game with Washington comes next, and another loss there would only turn up the pressure.
Nebraska kept its unbeaten start intact with an 18-point win over Michigan State, and at 4-0, the Cornhuskers are quietly in a strong spot heading into a home date with Maryland before Indiana visits on October 10. Minnesota also made noise, going into Husky Stadium and beating Washington 27-24. PJ Fleck’s team now gets Michigan at home in Week 5.
UCLA continues to climb after a 54-3 blowout of Maryland, while Washington’s start has been rough, with narrow wins over Washington State and Utah State followed by a loss to Minnesota as a 10-point favorite at home.
Michigan’s season has already turned into a roller coaster, and the Wolverines added another twist with a last-second loss to No. 17.
Illinois was never really in its game against Ohio State and even fired defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck shortly after leaving Columbus. Penn State, meanwhile, is reeling after Wisconsin’s late comeback and now has a short week before a Friday night trip to Northwestern.
At the bottom, Rutgers stays in the cellar despite a 58-7 win over Howard, largely because of that Week 1 loss to UMass. Purdue dropped 49-10 to No.
3 Notre Dame, and Maryland took a 54-3 beating from UCLA, which only adds to the heat around Mike Locksley. Michigan State, now 2-2 in Pat Fitzgerald’s first season in East Lansing, followed up a competitive showing against Notre Dame with a 31-13 home loss to Nebraska.
The full Week 5 Big Ten picture is already taking shape, and the road wins are doing plenty of the talking.
In Other News...
Indiana May Have Avoided A Bigger Problem Before Rutgers
Indiana got a little breathing room on the injury front as it turns its attention to Rutgers on Saturday night. Curt Cignetti said running back Turbo Richard and linebacker Rolijah Hardy, both hurt in the win over Northwestern, are expected to be available, easing some concern after both players left the game with injuries and were labeled day-to-day.
Richards lower leg and ankle issue had the potential to become a real complication for an offense that needs its depth intact, while Hardys exit after a tackle attempt briefly raised alarms on the defensive side. For a Hoosiers team heading into a primetime matchup, getting both back in the mix would help keep the rotation steady and prevent one game from turning into a bigger problem. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Defense Has A New Standout And A Secondary Twist
Indianas win over Northwestern came with the kind of defensive backbone the Hoosiers have been looking for, and Stephen Daley was right in the middle of it. In limited snaps, he kept showing up around the ball with multiple pressures, tackles and a forced fumble, giving Indiana a disruptive edge that helped shape the 29-23 result. The broader snap counts and grades painted a fuller picture of a defense that had some strong individual work to lean on even while the unit sorted through a few uneven stretches.
The secondary was the other part worth watching, because the review of the game suggested more than one player made a case for a bigger role moving forward. Indiana got useful contributions across the back end, but the grades also pointed to a few spots where the coverage still has room to tighten up. For a team trying to build on a hard-fought conference win, that mix of emergence and uncertainty is exactly the kind of thing that can define what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Keeps Winning But AP Voters Still Arent Buying In
Indianas latest result looked like the kind of win that usually steadies a poll position, if not lifts it. The Hoosiers survived Northwestern 29-23 to stretch their winning streak to 20 games, stay unbeaten at 4-0 and keep adding to a run that has made Memorial Stadium feel like a weekly obstacle course for visiting Big Ten teams.
Still, the AP voters were not moved much. Indiana dropped one spot to No. 6 in the latest poll despite earning a first-place vote, the second straight week the Hoosiers have slid after a close conference opener. Under Curt Cignetti, the program has banked 19 straight home wins and taken 18 of its last 19 Big Ten games, but the rankings stubbornly remain one of the few places where the respect has not quite caught up. [Read more 🡒]