College Football Big Ten power rankings entering Week 8

Saturday of Week 7 in college football may have been the epitome of Big Ten football. On Saturday, only two Big Ten teams scored 25 or more points: Rutgers and Maryland, who went head-to-head against the other’s terrible defense in a 37-30 slopfest.

Saturday brought a lot of close games and lower-scoring contests than anticipated. That’s Big Ten football in a nutshell.

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Oct 16, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers quarterback Ryan Browne (15) motions to his team during the second half against the Washington Huskies at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)

Maybe Purdue isn’t there just yet. At home, on national TV, on Friday night, the Boilermakers were not at their best in a 38-26 loss to Washington. Ryan Browne was inefficient through the air, and Fame Ijeboi was bottled up all night long. They’re better than the Purdue of old, but the rebuild is not finished.

Should Washington have let Demond Williams Jr. walk in the offseason? After a rocky start to the season and numerous injuries, the Huskies offense finally got going in a 38-26 win over Purdue… with Stanford transfer Elijah Brown at QB. We now have a QB controversy on our hands.

Good thing style points don’t matter. It wasn’t pretty, but the Wildcats came from behind to defeat Michigan State 24-21. It would have been an incredibly embarrassing loss for Northwestern, as new Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald was formerly Northwestern’s coach before a controversial exit.

In what may have been the ugliest game of the weekend, the Badgers came up short in a 17-7 loss to UCLA. The defense kept getting stops, but the offense just couldn’t get more points on the scoreboard. Colton Joseph is electric as a runner, but needs better mechanics and better weapons for this offense to be a serious passing threat.

There were 0 points scored on the Iowa defense in Week 7. Well, it was their Bye week, but still! In Week 8, the Hawkeyes travel to Minnesota for an old Big Ten West rivalry. I would expect Jeremy Hecklinski to start for Iowa after his great performance against Washington.

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Oregon quarterback Dylan Raiola throws a pass during warmups as the Oregon Ducks host the UCLA Bruins on Oct. 10, 2026, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.

Week 7 against Nebraska followed a script that would have been too ridiculous to be a Hollywood movie. After getting benched in the loss to UCLA, Dylan Raiola then came off the bench to throw the game-winner over Nebraska. This was only possible because the original QB3, Brock Thomas, was horrifically bad. This team needs Dante Moore back badly.

The Trojans could not have asked for a better time to have a Bye. Their next two games: at Wisconsin, and hosting Ohio State. If they go 2-0 in this stretch, they’ll be in the driver’s seat for their first CFP berth. 0-2, and Lincoln Riley’s seat gets real hot.

It certainly wasn’t pretty, but the Bruins won their first game without Nico Iamaleava, beating Wisconsin 17-7. The passing game wasn’t great. But the good news for the Bruins is that the schedule is fairly easy the rest of the way, with their next 3 opponents being Michigan State, Nevada, and Illinois (after a Bye). There is time for them to get this passing game figured out.

It was a close, close call for Indiana against Ohio State. Watching live, thanks to Fox’s gigantic, opaque scorebug in the middle of the screen, it appeared that Nick Marsh had scored a game-winning touchdown for the Hoosiers. But he was out of bounds. They don’t call it a “game of inches” for nothing. With this result, we learned that the 2026 Hoosiers aren’t quite the juggernaut that 2025 was, but they are still truly a National Championship contender.

The Buckeyes came away with a 19-15 victory over Indiana, but at what cost? Julian Sayin injured his throwing shoulder and will be sidelined for “multiple weeks,” according to Ryan Day. Some advice to the new QB1: throw to . You’re welcome.