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Believe it or not, we are about midway through the 2026 college football regular season, and we are starting to see clear separation among teams in the Big Ten. Some teams we thought would be there, like Oregon and, ahem, Michigan, have stumbled, while surprises abound with teams like UCLA and Northwestern -- at least so far.
At this point, Ohio State and UCLA are the lone undefeated teams in the conference, but we can't count out teams like defending College Football Playoff champion Indiana and a resurgent Wisconsin, along with Minnesota and Northwestern, who all only have one loss.
It's our weekly Big Ten football power rankings, and what we think we know now will likely change drastically as teams figure out their identities and improve, or give up on the season (yes, it does happen, right, Maryland?).
Here's a look at our Week 8 Big Ten football power rankings. We start from No. 18 and make our way down to No. 1.
The Terps had an off week, and as it turns out, it was the perfect time to fire head coach Mike Locksley, or so it appears. It looks like Maryland has given up on the season, waving the white flag, and now we'll have to see if the coaching change provides at least some momentum and a boost to finish out the season.
Just one week after looking like the Scarlet Knights wanted to play real, live American football, they instead looked pretty hapless, especially on the defensive side of the ball in Evanston. I mean, yeah, Northwestern has been quite the surprise this year, but not to the point where the game should have gotten that far away.
The Spartans are still looking for their first Big Ten win of the season despite playing halfway decent at times. We don't give brownie points for coming close and the program sorely needs a win to get some momentum for the Pat Fitzgerald era because so far, not so great.
Purdue enjoyed an off week, and that means the coaching staff was probably working on defense because that's the side of the ball that's been the biggest problem. Sadly, you can't rework things with new personnel on the week off, so look for more of the same going forward. But hey, two Big Ten wins. We see you, Purdue.
The Nittany Lions were also enjoying some rest this past week and are still looking for that first Big Ten win. This team isn't that far off from winning some games, but the suits that hired Matt Campbell sure would like to see a conference W sooner rather than later. Purdue comes to town this week, so opportunity knocks.
Another team idle? Yes, the Washington players were likely hunting Bigfoot, dodging rain, and fishing for rainbow trout, but now it's time to build off of that last win that might just turn the season around. What happens in Lincoln against Nebraska could be a pivotal game for where the season goes for the Huskies.
Where did that come from? After struggling over the last few weeks, the Illini won easily against a talented Oregon squad that is clearly still looking for an identity. All of a sudden, what looked like a team in danger of not making a bowl game might just be on the right path to going somewhere for the holidays. Lose at Maryland next week, though, and that will cancel out the goodwill of winning this past weekend unexpectedly.
Ho-hum. Another display of offensive futility for the Wolverines after the program thought it might have found its quarterback in C.J. Carr. Six points later and no touchdowns, and that looks like a chance to go back to the drawing board. The College Football Playoff is gone, and now it's whether the Wolverines can compile enough wins to go somewhere sunny for the holidays.
What in the world is going on at Oregon? The roster might be the most talented in the country, but the Ducks flew off the pond before things really got going this year. Yeah, there's a quarterback injury situation, but this team should be good enough to still win games even with a backup, especially against a team like Illinois. The CFP is likely off the table now, so we'll see how this team responds starting Saturday at home against a talented Northwestern team.
Iowa lost a game it absolutely needed against Minnesota on the road. It was the typical Iowa type of game you thought the Hawkeyes would find a way to pull out, but the Gophers found a way to get it done and critically injured Iowa's chances of winning the Big Ten and sneaking into the College Football Playoff. An underrated matchup against Wisconsin is in the wings.
Minnesota has had a couple of really good wins (Michigan and Iowa), and that's to be commended. However, the Gophers have also had two really bad losses (vs. Mississippi State and at Purdue). If the right Minnesota team shows up, this could be a team that makes life interesting in the Big Ten, but something tells me we'll see the Gophers do a no-show again on the road, potentially this coming week in Bloomington.
We know defense is usually optional under Lincoln Riley, but the offense is generally going to do its thing. Not this past week. The Trojan offense was throttled by the Badgers in Madison, and now there are all kinds of questions about where USC goes from here. Things can turn around in a hurry if USC finds a way to knock off O
After dominating USC, it's now clear that this Wisconsin team is much better than the last two seasons. There's still that ugly duckling loss against Notre Dame, but teams are allowed to get better, right? There's still plenty of hurdles to clear, but don't count out Luke Fickell just yet.
Nebraska was another one of those teams enjoying a week off, but now it's time to get back to business after losing two straight headed into the break. This still feels like a pretty good team, but one more loss would be disheartening for a team seemingly always searching to get over the hump.
If it weren't for what UCLA is doing, Northwestern would easily be considered the surprise team of the Big Ten. The Wildcats thoroughly dominated Rutgers, and now it has to match up athletically with an Oregon team that will be motivated to make a statement this weekend. There are plenty of folks that still don't believe in this Northwestern team, but if it goes to Eugene and notches another victory, it might be time to take notice.
UCLA just keeps on winning, and the schedule from here on out isn't as tough as some of the other contenders still looking to make it to Indy. Nevada isn't going to provide much resistance, and the Bruins will likely be favored in the remainder of their regular season games. We might be looking at the team in the Big Ten that has the best chance of making the College Football Playoff at this point.
The Hoosiers are doing things a little differently than last season, but they are still finding ways to win, aside from the heartbreaker against Ohio State. The offense is still a work in progress, but the defense is one of the best in the country and will keep Indiana in any game against any team. You also can't count out this team improving through the rest of the year and still being there at the end.
Yes, there are concerns at quarterback, and we all need to see how that will play out, but Ohio State has more than enough talent to compensate for a young signal caller. We've seen teams like Michigan, Penn State, and Oregon fail to meet expectations over the last few years, but the Buckeyes seem to be recession-proof and have a chance at the Big Ten title and another spot in the CFP again. However, the running game has to get going, and the defense has to continue to develop and play as well as we've seen the last couple of weeks.
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