Week 10 shook up the Big Ten in a hurry, and the top of the league looks a lot different after Ohio State’s loss to Oregon. Some of the conference’s biggest names took a hit, while a few teams near the middle kept building real momentum. USC, meanwhile, is sitting in a spot where the Big Ten title game is very much in play if it can keep winning.
At the very top, UCLA keeps looking like the league’s most complete team. The Bruins are 9-0, and they are not just winning - they are getting better on offense as the season goes along.
Indiana follows right behind at 8-1 after a bye week that could not have come at a better time. If Grant Wilson remains the starter, the Hoosiers can get back to looking like a real Big Ten threat instead of a team just waiting for a bad loss to wreck the season.
USC checks in at No. 3 at 7-2, and the Trojans feel dangerous when healthy. The idea here is simple: they can beat anyone ranked ahead of them, and they may now have a path to control their own destiny over the next few weeks. Their win over Ohio State looms large, and there’s a real sense that it might have changed the trajectory of their season.
Oregon lands at No. 4 after the win over Ohio State, and the Ducks are starting to resemble the team people expected. They have the talent to match almost anybody, and even with Dante Moore not starting at quarterback, things are beginning to come together. With three losses, the College Football Playoff still isn’t out of reach, especially with the quality wins they already have.
Iowa sits fifth after leaning on its run game and defense to handle a banged-up Northwestern team. The Hawkeyes, like USC, can still control their own fate, and a 10-2 finish feels likely.
Ohio State drops to No. 6, and the fall is steep. Without Luke Fahey, the Buckeyes look like a different team entirely, and Jeremiah Smith’s Heisman push has come to a stop because he can’t carry this offense by himself.
The bigger problem may be on defense anyway, and right now Ohio State looks more like a middle-of-the-pack team than a true contender.
Northwestern comes in at No. 7, and the offense just does not have the same juice without Aidan Chiles. If he gets back, there is still a path for the Wildcats to keep this season on track.
Wisconsin is next at No. 8 after a strong bounce-back performance against Rutgers. The Badgers were sharp in a complete win, and even after the Iowa loss, they still profile as a quality Big Ten team.
Penn State moves up to No. 9 after beating a hot Washington team. Rocco Becht kept things clean, and the run game took over - exactly the formula that works best for the Nittany Lions. Illinois is right behind at No. 10, where Colin Dixon’s strong season continued in a win that showed the Fighting Illini can still look like a tough out in this league.
Minnesota lands at No. 11 after hanging around with UCLA for much of the game. The Gophers are not a team to dismiss, and they still have one more chance to make the year count.
Washington falls to No. 12 after a slow start against Penn State buried the Huskies before they could really get going at home. The momentum they had built over the last few weeks has stalled, and the season has fallen well short of expectations.
Nebraska is down at No. 13 after four straight losses, turning what once looked like a promising year into a rough slide. Anthony Colandrea gives them a solid quarterback option for another season, but the bigger question is how much he can actually raise the ceiling.
Michigan is even lower at No. 14 after a brutal loss to Michigan State and a six-point outing that says plenty about where things stand. For the Wolverines, it sounds like the hard part is still ahead.
Michigan State checks in at No. 15 after getting an upset win over its rival with Alessio Milivojevic back in the lineup. That kind of result can matter going forward, especially with next season in mind.
Maryland sits at No. 16, and Malik Washington remains the biggest reason to feel good about the future. He was excellent in the win over Purdue, and that performance should only strengthen Maryland’s motivation to keep him from slipping away in the offseason.
Purdue is No. 17, and the Boilermakers remain a tricky team to figure out. They can surprise you, but they also lack the talent to consistently win games they should.
Every week feels like a toss-up, and the offseason questions are not going away anytime soon. Rutgers rounds out the rankings at No. 18 after getting overwhelmed again.
The Scarlet Knights may have some NFL-level talent, but it has not stopped them from getting dominated, and they look headed for the bottom of the Big Ten.
In Other News...
USC Just Got Pulled Into A Fascinating Arch Manning Debate
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That backdrop is part of why NFL Network draft scout Daniel Jeremiahs recent Arch Manning speculation landed with so much attention. Jeremiah floated USC as a possible landing spot if Manning ever entered the transfer portal, pointing to the Trojans offensive talent and Rileys history of developing quarterbacks. Nothing is official, and there is no indication Manning is on the move, but the mere idea of USC being mentioned in that kind of debate says plenty about the programs pull. [Read more 🡒]
USCs Lone 2028 QB Commit Is Giving Lincoln Riley More Momentum
Lincoln Riley has spent the fall building around one quarterback target in the 2028 class, and Trey Wright has only strengthened that push. The Texas native has climbed to four-star status after a junior season that included 58 total touchdowns and a perfect 10-0 record for his high school team, and he has already made multiple trips to campus this fall.
For USC, the appeal goes beyond the rankings bump. Wright remains the lone quarterback commit in the 2028 class, which gives his recruitment an outsized importance as Riley continues to shape the future of the room. The visits, the production and the early commitment all point in the same direction, even if there is still plenty of time left for the story to evolve. [Read more 🡒]
USC Volleyball Finally Got The Reset Trojans Fans Needed
USC womens volleyball finally got the kind of clean reset it had been looking for, rolling past Rutgers in straight sets to snap a four-match losing streak. The Trojans looked sharper in all the areas that had been nagging them during the skid, hitting .351 as a team with 42 kills and 12 blocks while keeping Rutgers to a .133 hitting mark.
Mia Tvrdy, London Wijay and Adonia Faumuina were central to the response, giving USC the steadier, more complete performance it needed after a rough stretch. It was the sort of win that does more than just change the record for a night - it gives a team a chance to breathe, regroup and start building again with a little more confidence. [Read more 🡒]