The 2026 Big Ten College Football Playoff Picture: Week 3

The Big Ten had a handful of actually decent matchups in Week 2. While the conference did a good job of beating up Group of 6 opponents in Week 1, there were a few matchups against the Power 4. Most of them did not go the way of the Big Ten, ranging from narrow losses after implosions to just complete annihilation.

Week 3 provides plenty of opportunities for redemption before Big Ten play kicks off for most of the conference.

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Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates a catch during the NCAA football game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas on Sept. 12, 2026.

Only two official weeks have passed. Pump the brakes on crowning a champion.

The defending national champs are now the highest-ranked Big Ten team thanks to the events in Austin. Sure, the Hoosiers completely demolished Howard (FCS), 55-0. Charlie Becker only hauled in three passes…for 81 yards and three touchdowns. Impressive. On the ground, the Hoosiers had two 100-yard rushers, and the defense as a whole held the Bison to 57 yards.

FCS or no, that was as impressive a win as any.

Up 23-3 heading into the fourth quarter, the Buckeyes suffered their worst blown lead since the debacle at Nebraska in 2011 (though most Buckeye fans have forgotten that season completely). Jeremiah Smith was incredible. The first half was nearly perfect. But you gotta play four quarters.

A one-point loss at the new number-one team in the nation isn’t the end of the world. However, Ohio State’s loss will be hanging over its head until it rights the ship against a good team.

Who is Ohio State? Are the Buckeyes the team that built that big lead, or are they the team that couldn’t force a punt when needed? Time will tell.

Still one of two 3-0 teams in the country, USC looks solid. On offense, Jayden Maiava has been fantastic, passing for 896 yards and 10 touchdowns already. Given, USC has only faced three G6 teams in San Jose State, Fresno State, and Louisiana, all of which were at home. If there is a question mark, it’s on defense (surprise, surprise). Allowing the Ragin’ Cajuns to score 30 is not ideal.

After a tougher fight than it expected from Temple, Penn State is back in the top 15 at 2-0. Rocco Becht has been quite good, but the Nittany Lions aren’t running the ball as we are all used to. However, Penn State owns the top scoring defense by allowing just 4.5 points per game. Sure, it was Marshall and Temple, but you have to start somewhere.

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Oregon quarterback Dante Moore is sacked as the Oregon Ducks face the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Sept. 12, 2026, at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Another 2-0 team, and rightful owner of the Cy-Hawk trophy, Iowa won yet another uber-competitive matchup against Iowa State. The last three matchups between those two were decided by a grand total of seven points. Hank Brown had a solid game, and Tony Diaz out wide was the star of the offense. We will keep an eye on the Hawkeyes.

Perhaps the largest upset of the weekend, Oregon did not survive a trip to Stillwater. Oklahoma State went winless last year and opened the 2026 season by getting smacked around by Tulsa. That didn’t matter as the Cowboys upset Oregon, 39-31.

Dante Moore had fans questioning if he made the wrong decision to return to school. The Oregon defense was torched for 554 yards and 39 points.

Maybe losing both coordinators and hiring from within two positional coaches with no playcalling experience has consequences.

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Sep 12, 2026; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines linebacker Troy Bowles (18) tackles Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer (10) during the fourth quarter at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Getting off to a strong start is nothing new for Mike Locksley and his Terrapins. Since his first season in 2015, the Terps have started at least 2-0 in every season but three (2015, 2020, 2025). It’s nothing new this year, as Maryland has looked good against lesser competition yet again.

Of course, Locksley hasn’t finished a non-COVID season with fewer than five losses, so it’s time to keep the winning going, or else that seat is going to get warmer and warmer each week.

Of the 2-0 teams, Washington may not be the most impressive on paper. After winning an ugly Apple Cup, the Huskies struggled with Utah State, eventually winning 16-14. Demond Williams Jr. threw the ball 41 times and amassed 249 yards, but didn’t score in any phase of the game. The defense looked good for the most part, forcing four three-and-outs, three interceptions, and a turnover on downs.

If there is one way to make folks forget about losing nearly losing to Western Michigan, suffocating Oklahoma would be it.

The offense is still a massive question mark. Maybe the Wolverines would do well if they were a triple-option team? The defense, however, was impressive. Oklahoma was never able to get anything going and was the difference in the game thanks to a near-pick-six.

Taking down Cal in Week 1 was pretty impressive. Beating San Diego State had to have been the expectation. It was just 28-10, but the Bruins are starting to hit their stride under Bob Chesney. Keep an eye on Wayne Knight at running back. Through two weeks, he leads the nation with six rushing touchdowns. Last year, he scored nine to go with his 1,373 rushing yards.

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Michigan State’s Cam Edwards, right, shakes hands with defensive coordinator Joe Rossi after defeating Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.

A couple of Big Ten teams just racked up a couple of MACrifice wins to move to 2-0. Let’s start with Michigan State. The Spartans had their hands full with Toledo, but beating Eastern Michigan was a tad easier. Behind 152 rushing yards and touchdowns from Cam Edwards, Michigan State easily took care of business.

The Cornhuskers played with their food a bit with Ohio, but taking down Bowling Green was about as easy as can be. Anthony Colandrea had a fantastic game with 222 yards and four touchdowns, as did freshman phenom Jamal Rule. The Huskers should have one more winnable game before embarking on their Big Ten schedule.

The Wildcats were inexplicably idle in Week 1. What did they do to the Big Ten to warrant 11 straight games without a break?

The Fighting Illini were able to take care of business in Week 1, but fell to the reigning ACC champion Duke, 31-27, last weekend. Katin Houser went 24/35 passing for 271 yards and three scores, but it wasn’t enough. Collin Dixon broke out with his first triple-digit performance, hauling in 11 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

Losing to Duke isn’t the end of the world, but it could be indicative of where the Illini will finish this season in the grand scheme of things.

Mississippi State traveled the furthest north it ever has in program history and pushed the Gophers around. Minnesota got beat by a true freshman quarterback and a running back named “Fluff.”

Drake Lindsey is supposed to be an NFL quarterback. He finished the day 31 of 48 for 279 yards, but no touchdowns. In fact, the offense was held out of the end zone, and the only Minnesota touchdown was scored by the defense.

Mississippi State may be the surprise of the SEC this year…or Minnesota could be struggling to hit bowl eligibility again this year. Which is it?

The only reason Wisconsin has not joined the other two bottom-of-the-Big-Ten teams after a loss was the fact that it lost to Notre Dame, so that’s not saying much. Last week, the Badgers took care of business against Western Illinois out of the FCS. They’ll likely get a win this weekend, but they aren’t going to move into a higher tier until they beat a good team.

The new addition to the Eliminated tier is Purdue. Losing to a Power 4 team isn’t bad, but losing to Wake Forest isn’t likely to foreshadow success this season for the Boilermakers.

0-2. Losses to UMass and Boston College. It’s going to be a long season in Piscataway.

• #21 Oregon (1-1, 0-0 ): vs Portland State (FCS) (Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

• #6 Ohio State (1-1, 0-0): vs Kent State (12:00 p.m. ET, Fox)

• #14 Penn State (2-0, 0-0 ): vs Buffalo (12:00 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

• Minnesota (1-1, 0-0): vs Akron (12:00 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

• Wisconsin (1-1, 0-0): vs Eastern Michigan (12:30 p.m. ET, Peacock)

• Illinois (1-1, 0-0): vs Southern Illinois (FCS) (2:00 p.m. ET, Peacock)

• #12 USC (3-0, 0-0) at Rutgers (0-2, 0-0) (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)

• #19 Michigan (2-0, 0-0): vs UTEP (3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

• #4 Indiana (2-0, 0-0): vs Western Kentucky (4:00 p.m. ET, Peacock)

• #18 Iowa (2-0, 0-0): vs Northern Iowa (FCS) (4:00 p.m. ET, FS1)

• Nebraska (2-0, 0-0): vs North Dakota (FCS) (7:15 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

• Washington (2-0, 0-0): vs Eastern Washington (FCS) (7:15 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

• Michigan State (2-0, 0-0): at Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)

• Northwestern (2-0, 0-0): vs Colorado (7:30 p.m. ET, Fox)

• Maryland (2-0, 0-0): vs Virginia Tech (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

• Purdue (1-1, 0-0) at UCLA (2-0, 0-0) ( 11:00 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

#21 Oregon (1-1, 0-0 ): vs Portland State (FCS) (Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

#6 Ohio State (1-1, 0-0): vs Kent State (12:00 p.m. ET, Fox)

#14 Penn State (2-0, 0-0 ): vs Buffalo (12:00 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

Minnesota (1-1, 0-0): vs Akron (12:00 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

Wisconsin (1-1, 0-0): vs Eastern Michigan (12:30 p.m. ET, Peacock)

Illinois (1-1, 0-0): vs Southern Illinois (FCS) (2:00 p.m. ET, Peacock)

#12 USC (3-0, 0-0) at Rutgers (0-2, 0-0) (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)

#19 Michigan (2-0, 0-0): vs UTEP (3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

#4 Indiana (2-0, 0-0): vs Western Kentucky (4:00 p.m. ET, Peacock)

#18 Iowa (2-0, 0-0): vs Northern Iowa (FCS) (4:00 p.m. ET, FS1)

Nebraska (2-0, 0-0): vs North Dakota (FCS) (7:15 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

Washington (2-0, 0-0): vs Eastern Washington (FCS) (7:15 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

Michigan State (2-0, 0-0): at Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)

Northwestern (2-0, 0-0): vs Colorado (7:30 p.m. ET, Fox)

Maryland (2-0, 0-0): vs Virginia Tech (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

Purdue (1-1, 0-0) at UCLA (2-0, 0-0) ( 11:00 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

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