A pair of West Coast programs sit on top of the Big Ten standings after the conference’s first weekend of league play, and both got there by winning in very different styles.
USC went on the road and survived Rutgers, while UCLA closed out the weekend with a late shootout win over Purdue. That leaves the two California schools alone in first place for now, with the rest of the Big Ten set to ramp up conference play next week.
Here’s where things stand after Week 3.
USC and UCLA are the early pace-setters, each at 1-0 in Big Ten play. USC is 4-0 overall, and UCLA is 3-0.
Behind them, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State and Washington are all still unbeaten overall at 3-0, though none of those teams has played a conference game yet. Northwestern sits at 2-0 overall, while Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Oregon and Wisconsin are all 2-1.
Purdue is 1-2 and already 0-1 in league play, and Rutgers is 0-3 overall with an 0-1 conference mark.
Big Ten postseason hopes are still waiting for a first clinch. No team has locked up bowl eligibility yet, and with six wins needed to get there, several schools are only halfway home.
USC is listed on deck at 4 wins, while Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, UCLA and Washington are all halfway there at 3-0. Rutgers is the only team currently in danger.
Week 4 brings a fuller conference slate, including Penn State’s home game against Wisconsin and a top-25 matchup on the West Coast. Most of the action is set for Saturday, Sept. 26, with all times listed in Eastern time.
In Other News...
Penn State Suddenly Has A Koby Howard Concern Heading Into Next Week
Penn States injury watch after the Buffalo game centered on a few familiar names, but Koby Howard is the one carrying the biggest question into next week. Matt Campbell said Howard was hurt on a long touchdown run, and with the Lions moving on to the next opponent, his availability is now uncertain. For a team trying to keep early-season momentum rolling, even a single injury note can matter when it involves a player who was in the middle of a scoring play.
Brock Riker appears on sturdier ground and is expected to be available for the next game, while Andrew Rappleyea and Tyler Armstead are still listed as questionable after leaving the Buffalo contest banged up. For Penn State, the focus now shifts from the box score to the training room, where the answers on a few key depth pieces could shape how the rotation looks when the Lions line up again. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Fans Face One Annoying Hurdle For Wisconsin Opener
Penn States Big Ten opener against Wisconsin at Beaver Stadium arrives with the usual conference-stage stakes, but there is one wrinkle for fans planning their Saturday around it. The 5 p.m. ET kickoff makes for a prime-time atmosphere in State College, yet the game will not be on traditional television. Instead, it will be available exclusively on Peacock, NBC Universals streaming platform, which means anyone wanting to watch will need a subscription.
Peacocks role as a Big Ten Saturday Night home will extend beyond this matchup, with the service carrying other conference games throughout the 2026 season while also offering football and entertainment programming. For Penn State supporters, though, the immediate issue is simpler and more annoying: if they want to see the opener against Wisconsin, they will have to navigate another streaming paywall first. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Just Got An Early Recruiting Sign Matt Campbell Needed
Penn States 2028 recruiting class got a noticeable boost this week when quarterback commit James Armstrong climbed 40 spots in Rivals latest rankings, landing at No. 61 overall and No. 7 among quarterbacks. Even in a staff that is known to trust its own evaluations more than outside lists, movement like that matters, especially when it comes from a quarterback and especially when it helps validate the early work being done in Pennsylvania.
There is still a long way to go with this cycle, and rankings will keep shifting as more evaluations come in, but Armstrongs rise is the kind of public sign a program can point to while building momentum. Another in-state commit, cornerback Deonte Flemings Jr., went the other direction with a 50-spot drop, a reminder that the early stages of recruiting rarely tell the full story even when they offer a glimpse of where the class might be headed. [Read more 🡒]