Week 3 didn’t exactly rattle the Big Ten. Most of the league did what it was supposed to do, and that left the rankings looking pretty steady at the top with a few notable movers in the middle.
Indiana stays No. 1, UCLA keeps flashing real progress, and the biggest games this week are the ones that should tell us a lot more than last weekend did.
Indiana still sits alone at the top at 3-0, and Friday’s matchup with Northwestern is the one that could actually ask the Hoosiers a real question. Curt Cignetti’s own comments point in that direction, and the rankings are not alone in thinking this one may be more than a routine checkpoint. Northwestern, meanwhile, has quietly made things interesting enough to earn a trip to Bloomington that feels worth watching.
Ohio State holds No. 2 after a game where three Buckeyes caught touchdown passes and Jeremiah Smith wasn’t one of them. That’s the kind of detail that suggests the passing game may be spreading out a bit.
Iowa stays right behind the Buckeyes at No. 3, and the Hawkeyes’ three 100-yard rushers last week only added to the sense that this team has some real backbone. Now comes a trip to Michigan that will say plenty about both Iowa’s playoff hopes and whether the Wolverines are physically ready for that kind of fight.
USC is up to No. 4 at 4-0, but the defense gave up plenty to Rutgers - 460 yards, to be exact - and that makes Friday night’s home game with Oregon feel bigger than it already did. Penn State rounds out the top five after another routine win, and the Nittany Lions are also getting a boost from Rocco Becht, who is second only to Indiana’s Josh Hoover in passer rating among Big Ten quarterbacks.
Washington lands at No. 6, but the schedule is about to get a lot less forgiving. Minnesota comes first, and then it’s USC and Iowa, both ranked opponents.
That makes this weekend a must-win kind of spot for Jedd Fisch’s group. Oregon checks in at No. 7, and even after taking care of an FCS opponent, the Ducks badly need a result against USC with October and November looming.
Michigan is No. 8 after surviving a scare from UTEP before pulling away in the third quarter, and a win over Iowa would wipe away a lot of the early doubt around the Wolverines.
UCLA keeps climbing at No. 9 and has earned the distinction of being the only Big Ten team with multiple wins against Power Four opponents so far. Nebraska comes in at No. 10 after slipping because of what happened behind it rather than anything it did wrong. Freshman running back Jamal Rule is worth knowing: he’s second in the Big Ten in rushing yards.
Northwestern is up to No. 11, and Aidan Chiles is making noise in Chip Kelly’s offense with 534 total yards and seven combined touchdowns, with no interceptions, through two games. Illinois is No. 12, and the rankings are clearly paying attention to Collin Dixon, who has 25 catches, 367 yards and seven touchdowns.
Maryland sits at No. 13 after a loss that was less close than the final score suggested, since it was 35-14 at the start of the fourth quarter. Malik Washington has 359 yards and three touchdowns, but he can’t carry everything by himself.
Minnesota is No. 14 after a 41-7 win over Akron, though the 11 p.m. ET start at Washington isn’t exactly ideal.
Still, the Gophers could use a win in one of their next two, with Michigan waiting after that. Wisconsin is No. 15 after putting up 31 first-half points, including 28 in the second quarter, which at least looked more like the Badgers’ offense.
Michigan State stays at No. 16 despite the loss at Notre Dame, where the defense gave off encouraging signs in a Pat Fitzgerald-like effort. That sets up a chance for the Spartans to disrupt Nebraska’s momentum this weekend.
Purdue remains at No. 17 after the loss at UCLA, and the concern is obvious: if that defense shows up in Big Ten play, the Boilermakers are going to stay at the bottom of the league where they’ve been for the last two years. Rutgers is last again at No. 18, but there was something to build on in the 42-35 loss to USC. The only question now is whether the Scarlet Knights can actually turn that into something real.
In Other News...
Ohio State Fans Will Notice A Big Schottenstein Change This Season
Ohio State fans heading back to the Schottenstein Center this season will find a noticeably different building. The university completed a $5.2 million renovation that brought in a new scoreboard, larger ribbon boards and an upgraded audio system, giving one of the Buckeyes busiest venues a cleaner, more modern game-day feel.
Mens hockey will get the first look at the new setup on Oct. 23, with basketball right behind it as the mens and womens teams host games in late October and early November. For a building that already serves as a hub for so much Ohio State action, the changes should be hard to miss once the season gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State's Next Road Test Just Got A Lot More Real
Ohio State rolled past Kent State 59-3 to move to 2-1, and now the schedule is starting to bring a little more clarity to what comes next. The Big Ten announced that the Buckeyes will host Illinois before heading to Iowa on Oct. 3, a matchup now locked in for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on CBS.
For a team still settling into the season, the timing matters because Iowa has long been one of the conferences more familiar measuring sticks for Ohio State. The series history includes its share of notable games and streaks, which is part of what gives this road trip extra weight even before the Buckeyes get there. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Is Closing In On A Priority RB Battle
Ohio States win over Kent State pushed the Buckeyes to 2-1, but the weekend also carried added recruiting weight as the program welcomed a wave of official visitors to Columbus. Among the most important names on campus was a 2027 running back who has quickly moved to the top of Ohio States board, giving the staff another chance to make its case in person.
The recruitment remains open-ended, with no commitment date set, but the Buckeyes are clearly in the thick of it and are widely viewed as a leading contender. For Ohio State, landing a back of that caliber would reinforce both the long-term roster plan and the programs ability to keep winning the kind of battles that matter most on the trail. [Read more 🡒]