Week 5 did a little bit of sorting in the Big Ten, even if the rankings didn’t get completely blown up. Northwestern announced itself with a loud opening at Ryan Field, Ohio State handled Iowa in a ranked matchup, and Michigan’s slide got even uglier. By the time the dust settled, the conference picture looked clearer: some teams are building real cases, and Michigan is not one of them.
At the top, Indiana still clings to No. 1 after rolling past Rutgers 47-15, but the margin for error feels razor-thin. The Hoosiers are 5-0, yet the complaint remains the same - they still haven’t played anybody, and beating Rutgers didn’t change that.
Ohio State sits right behind them at No. 2 after a 31-14 win over Iowa. That result was hardly a shock, but it was the Buckeyes’ best win so far. Their loss to Texas is starting to fade into the background, though tougher tests are still coming.
Oregon moved up a spot to No. 3 without even taking the field. The Ducks were on bye, but their win over USC gained value after the Trojans beat Washington. There’s even a chance Oklahoma State ends up looking like a decent loss by the end of the season.
Wisconsin takes the No. 4 spot after pounding Michigan State 31-3. The Badgers were supposed to win, but they made it look easy.
Luke Fickell’s group has quietly assembled a strong resume, and the only blemish is a neutral-site loss to Notre Dame. They may not stay this high forever, but they’ve earned it through five weeks.
Iowa falls to No. 5 after the 31-14 loss to Ohio State. A week ago, the Hawkeyes were undefeated and coming off that stunning win in The Big House.
Now the shine is off a bit, and that Michigan victory looks a lot less impressive. Kirk Ferentz’s team is still good, but Saturday made it clear they are not in the true contender tier.
UCLA checks in at No. 6 even though the Bruins were idle. They’re still sitting at 4-0 and continue to look like one of the feel-good stories of the 2026 season.
Nebraska lands at No. 7 after a 48-23 win over Maryland. The Cornhuskers’ offense keeps looking explosive, which is a real surprise.
The concern is on the other side of the ball: Nebraska gave up 395 yards and 23 points to a bad Maryland team. With Indiana and Oregon up next in the next two weeks, the unbeaten start is about to be tested.
USC is No. 8 after surviving Washington 25-21 in a late-night thriller. The Trojans’ defense was hanging on by a thread, but they got it done. The schedule also gives them a chance to keep climbing over the next few weeks.
Minnesota moves up to No. 9 after knocking off Michigan 20-14. P.J.
Fleck said Saturday was one of the best days of his life, and the Gophers did something they hadn’t done in Minneapolis since 1977: they ended a Michigan winning streak there. Whether they can keep this rolling is another question, but for now they’ve got momentum.
Northwestern rounds out the top 10 after blasting Penn State 34-13. The Wildcats now have Power 4 wins over Colorado and Penn State, plus a respectable loss to Indiana. The new Ryan Field looked impressive on TV, and Northwestern suddenly has all the momentum in the world, which is a strange sentence to write.
Outside the top 10, Michigan is the biggest faller at No. 11 after the loss to Minnesota. Washington follows at No. 12, then Penn State at No.
13, Purdue at No. 14, Illinois at No.
15, Michigan State at No. 16, Maryland at No. 17, and Rutgers at No.
In Other News...
Michigan Offense Is Taking Heat From One Of Their Own
After Michigans loss to Minnesota, one of the programs own took aim at what he saw from the offense. Jake Butt, the former Wolverines tight end who now works as a Big Ten analyst, described the performance as poor and said the unit lacked effort, a blunt assessment that landed hard for a team already searching for answers.
The criticism comes with Michigan still sitting near the bottom of the national rankings in total offense and rushing yards through five games, a jarring place for a program built on physical play and run-game identity. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham also weighed in, saying Michigan has to make tough decisions and real adjustments to get moving, including the possibility of a quarterback change, as the pressure to fix the offense keeps building. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan May Have Just Shown The Only Way To Stop The Slide
The red zone trip that led to Jordan Marshalls touchdown was one of the few clean moments Michigan had in a 20-14 loss to Minnesota, and it stood out because it looked like the kind of sequence the offense has been searching for all season. After a series of successful plays, the Wolverines finished the possession with the kind of execution that has too often been missing when drives get tight and the field shrinks.
For a team still trying to stop the slide, that single trip offered a small but useful reminder of what works. Michigan did not get many chances near the goal line, but when it finally did, the drive suggested there is at least a blueprint there, even if the larger picture around it remains discouraging. [Read more 🡒]
Michigans Offense Has Become A Bigger Problem Than Fans Feared
Michigans latest setback in Minneapolis was about more than just another loss. The 20-14 defeat to Minnesota dropped the Wolverines to 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten, and it came with the kind of offensive frustration that can linger long after the final whistle. The ground game never really got going, the quarterback play was uneven, and the tight end production never gave the offense the dependable middle of the field presence it needed.
Pro Football Focus grades backed up what the eye test suggested, with wide receiver JJ Buchanan, center Jake Guarnera and right tackle Blake Frazier emerging as the top offensive performers. Beyond them, though, the chart was thin, and Zack Marshalls low grade at tight end reflected how few answers Michigan had in the passing game and around the line of scrimmage. For a team already staring at an 0-2 Big Ten start, the bigger concern now is whether theres a fix here or just a longer search for one. [Read more 🡒]