Week 6 in the Big Ten brought a little bit of everything: Indiana surviving another scare, UCLA cashing in one of the most notable wins on the board, Purdue delivering a beatdown nobody saw coming, and Nebraska finding a fresh new way to feel sick about a ranked opponent.
At the top, Indiana isn’t giving anyone room to breathe. The Hoosiers are 6-0, 3-0, riding a 22-game winning streak after Nebraska had them “dead to rights” and still couldn’t finish the job.
Indiana needed just 44 plays, pulled out the same late-game play they used against Iowa a year ago, and walked away with what sure looks like another culture win. Somehow, this is a team that keeps finding ways to survive games it probably should have lost.
Ohio State remains right there behind them at 5-1, 3-0, after what amounted to a sleepy showing against Maryland. The Buckeyes can turn the page quickly, because the next stop is Bloomington for the week’s biggest showdown: #4 Ohio State at #5 Indiana.
UCLA made the biggest leap near the top. The Bruins are up to No. 3 after winning in Eugene for the first time in 22 years.
Dan Lanning’s decision to go for 2 and keep chasing points drew heat, and the bigger bruins of the day got worse news afterward: Nico Iamaleava is out for the season. UCLA gets Wisconsin next.
Iowa slides in at No. 4 after ending the West Coast “curse” and taking down Washington. The Hawkeyes looked comfortable all game, and the picture the source paints is a rough one for the Huskies: a wide-open receiver pointing to an even more open teammate deeper downfield.
Washington kept biting on Iowa’s motion and looked soft doing it. Iowa gets a bye before sorting through its quarterback situation.
USC checks in at No. 5 after an impressive win at Penn State. The Trojans have had their issues going east - Rutgers was a reminder of that earlier this year - but they handled a White Out environment and left with an 8-point win. They’re off in Week 7.
Northwestern finally shows up in the rankings at No. 6, and yes, it came against Ball State. Still, that’s where the Wildcats are after a game that had clear “playing with their food” energy.
Northwestern football now gets a ranking boost, and there’s no jNW in sight. Michigan State is next.
Wisconsin moves to No. 7 and heads to the Rose Bowl to face the hottest team in the league. That trip will tell us a lot about whether the bump under Luke Fickell from the end of 2025 to now is actually real.
Nebraska falls to No. 8 after another brutal fourth-quarter collapse. The Huskers had the defending champs lined up for a knockout and still let it slip away, extending a maddening run against ranked opponents.
Nebraska has not beaten one since Oregon in 2016, going 0-31 since, with Matthew Rhule 0-10 in those games. Now comes another tough road test at Oregon.
Purdue claims No. 9 after the weekend’s other standout result. While UCLA got the headlines, the Boilermakers were a close runner-up after completely dismantling Minnesota.
Purdue ran for 305 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per carry. Washington comes to West Lafayette on Friday.
Illinois lands at No. 10 after beating Michigan State by one in a messy game that apparently included Pat Fitzgerald flipping off the refs. The Illini are off in Week 7.
Michigan sits at No. 11 by default. The Wolverines didn’t lose this week, which counts for something. Penn State comes next.
Oregon drops to No. 12 and looks close to out of the playoff picture, if not fully there already. The Ducks still have Nebraska at home, former coach Chip Kelly returning with Northwestern on Halloween, and then a November 7 trip to Ohio State. That’s not a path that screams perfection.
Penn State is down at No. 13 at 3-3, 0-3, and the source doesn’t exactly hide the frustration. “Things continue to get hot for Matthew Campbell.” The amount of money Penn State has burned to get the same results it had a year ago is the point being made here, and the Nittany Lions go to Michigan next.
Minnesota is No. 14 after one of the most Minnesota Saturdays imaginable. Philip John Fleck called the Michigan win in Week 5 one of the best days of his life, and then the Gophers turned around and got dominated by Purdue. The next stop is a bye before Iowa arrives, which the source expects to feel very familiar.
Washington falls to No. 15 after getting ripped apart by Iowa. The assessment is blunt: soft.
SOFT. The Huskies look broken, and the reminder here is that the program even threatened litigation against its starting quarterback when he flirted with the portal.
Purdue gets them Friday.
Michigan State checks in at No. 16 after the weirdness against Illinois. The source only needs one image to explain the afternoon: Fitz saluting the refs for doing “some weird ref stuff.” The Spartans are fortunate Rutgers and Maryland exist, and now Northwestern comes to town with the Hate Game shifted away from Iowa and onto Fitz.
Rutgers is No. 17 simply because it didn’t lose. Same goes for Maryland at No. 18, except the Terps did lose, which keeps them stuck in the basement. Next week’s Rutgers-Maryland matchup could decide who stays there the rest of the season.
In Other News...
Iowa May Have Found A New Special Teams Weapon At Last
Iowa may have found some stability, and maybe even a little juice, in a spot that has mattered for years. Wide receiver Evan James has taken over as the Hawkeyes primary punt returner in 2026, and through six games he has already handled 12 returns for 176 yards and a touchdown. That kind of production naturally catches the eye in Iowa City, where field position and hidden yards can swing a season just as much as a drive down the field.
Special teams coordinator Chris Polizzi has been quick to point out James work ethic and improvement, and the recognition has started to follow. James was named to the Jet Award Midseason List, a nod that former Hawkeye Kaden Wetjen also earned before him. For a program that has long valued special teams as an edge, the next question is whether James can keep turning routine punts into something the Hawkeyes can count on when games tighten up later in the fall. [Read more 🡒]
Abraham Lincoln Golf's Shocking Collapse Has Fans Arguing Over One Thing
Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln put together a dazzling district showing to punch its ticket to the Iowa Class 4A state boys golf championships, winning the Class 4A district tournament with a team score of 293. Senior Brody Sneed led the way with a 7-under-par 64, the kind of round that usually signals a program arriving with real momentum and a chance to make some noise on the biggest stage.
Instead, the state tournament told a very different story, with Abraham Lincoln finishing last over two days with a total of 704. The sharp drop has fueled plenty of online chatter about the district result, but no evidence of cheating or misconduct has been established, leaving the discussion centered on just how wide the gap can be between one weekend and the next. [Read more 🡒]
Iowas Quarterback Battle Suddenly Feels Much Bigger Than Just This Season
Iowas quarterback picture is starting to look less like a short-term fix and more like something the program can actually build on. Under Tim Lester, the Hawkeyes have been working to develop real depth at the position, and Jimmy Sullivan has been getting first-string reps while showing improvement in practice. Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski still sit at the center of the competition, but the wider group is beginning to feel more connected to the offense.
Tradon Bessinger and Ryan Fitzgerald are also gaining confidence, which matters in a room that has spent plenty of time searching for stability. Lester has talked through the progress and the growing pains that come with quarterback development, both in practice and in games, and the bigger takeaway is hard to miss: this is no longer just about sorting out who takes snaps now, but about whether Iowa is finally building a deeper future at the most important spot on the field. [Read more 🡒]