For at least one week, the UCLA Bruins are the kings of the Big Ten.
After some impressive early performances, everyone was waiting to see how UCLA handled a road test against Oregon before fully buying in on what Bob Chesney is building in Year 1 in Westwood. A 17-15 win -- that felt more convincing than the final score indicated -- was the point of affirmation the Bruins needed to truly be taken seriously as a Big Ten contender in 2026.
Five of UCLA's last seven games are at home and they miss both Indiana and Ohio State on their remaining schedule, setting up a real possibility that the Bruins play their way into the Big Ten title game and the College Football Playoff.
To do so, UCLA will have to lean on backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach who will be the starter going forward after Nico Iamaleava suffered what is likely a season-ending knee injury late against Oregon. If there's an offense built to mitigate the damage of losing a starting quarterback, it's UCLA's run-heavy attack led by star back Wayne Knight, but Iamaleava's injury does present a significant hurdle for the Bruins.
As of this moment, UCLA's win in Eugene is the most impressive result any Big Ten team has on their résumé, but that will change on Saturday when either Ohio State or Indiana emerge victorious in a titanic showdown in Bloomington.
For the Buckeyes, they're trying to get their first signature win after letting one slip away in Austin earlier this season, needing to answer some questions about their ability to close out a big game. The Hoosiers, meanwhile, have been doing just enough to escape with wins over Northwestern and Nebraska, but have yet to show that top gear that made them the national champions a year ago.
As a spoiler for next week's Big Ten Power Rankings, the winner in Bloomington will grab the No. 1 spot, but for now that position belongs to the Bruins. Let's dive into where all 18 teams in the conference stand heading into Week 7.
1. UCLA
Last week: 4
It felt like UCLA dominated against Oregon in a supremely weird contest that featured a ton of turnovers on both sides. The two concerns I had about the Bruins heading into the game were whether they had a defense that could hold up and whether their offensive line was good enough to lean on against good teams.
Those questions were answered pretty emphatically, and while the defense certainly got some gifts from Dylan Raiola, they were also sensational at preventing explosive plays.
That's the name of the game against Oregon (and a lot of other top offenses), and that, coupled with a relatively positive afternoon from Knight and the run game, makes me think this UCLA team can indeed hang around the top of the conference all season. They have to show they can refocus off a huge win and handle business against a quality Wisconsin team, but for now, the Bruins deserve this spot.
2. Ohio State
Last week: 2
The Buckeyes have really only played one bad quarter of football this season. Unfortunately for them, that came at the worst time against Texas and cost them the No. 1 ranking in the country (and these power rankings). The good news is they get another shot at that caliber of win this week when they travel to Bloomington as road favorites. The defense has continued to play at an elite level, and while much of the offense is built around Jeremiah Smith being a freak... he is, in fact, a freak, and to this point no one has been able to force the Buckeyes to go to plan B.
The Buckeyes move ahead of Indiana briefly in the power rankings because they have been more consistently excellent than the Hoosiers, but they have to prove that for four quarters on Saturday -- knowing firsthand what can happen if they don't stay focused for all 60 minutes on the road.
3. Indiana
Last week: 1
I'd been keeping the Hoosiers at the top spot out of deference to what they'd done last year, but on the merits of this season, this Indiana team just hasn't been the best in the Big Ten. That can change in a hurry on Saturday with a win over Ohio State, but they'll need to find another gear that, to this point, we haven't seen out of Curt Cignetti's bunch on either side of the ball.
Last year's team won with precision on offense, a suffocating defense and a tremendous attention to detail in all phases of the game. This year's Hoosiers have lacked that same kind of sharpness, and it's shown in the last two dogfights with Northwestern and Nebraska. Now, those have proven to be two solid football teams, but the Hoosiers are still supposed to be a class or two above the Wildcats and Huskers, but they struggled to show that.
Josh Hoover has received significant attention for his inconsistent play, which stands out when compared to last year's Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza. The inability to stay ahead of the chains and keep drives moving has been jarring after what we saw from the Hoosiers last year, and it's having an impact on the defense that suddenly finds itself on the field far more often (and in more disadvantageous situations).
The goal is to win, no matter the scoreline and, to Indiana's credit, they still know how to get the job done in the fourth quarter. Hoover has delivered in key moments late, and the defense has found its best when it's been needed, but against Ohio State, they will need to be sharp from the get-go and maintain that sharpness for 60 minutes -- something we've yet to see this season.
4. Northwestern
Last week: 5
A 45-14 win over Ball State may not look like much, but taking care of business without any drama against a worse team is another sign of the growth of this Northwestern squad. We're not that far removed from there, with no games on the Wildcats' schedule they weren't capable of losing. For them to go out and do their job against the Cardinals is notable, because they could've let all those pats on the back from beating Penn State soften them up and come into Saturday's game unfocused.
Instead, they handled business quickly and can shift attention to trying to knock off their old coach, Pat Fitzgerald, next week in East Lansing. We'll see what Chip Kelly cooks up for that game, but so far he's got the Wildcats operating as one of the 10 best offenses in the country by EPA/play, which I don't think has ever been true about Northwestern, even when they were good under Fitzgerald.
5. Iowa
Last week: 8
There were a lot of folks doing double takes at their scores app on Friday night when they saw that Iowa was rolling up 41 points on Washington on the road. The Hawkeyes are never known for being a high-octane offense, and that's been the case again in 2026, but for at least one night they showed they can open up a can if you let them. Kamari Moulton rushed for 208 and two touchdowns, while Jeremy Hecklinski was hyper efficient, throwing it for 202 yards and three scores.
While that game is perhaps the most telling of how far Washington has fallen, it was a nice change of pace for Iowa fans used to grinding out stressful wins. They now get to bask in that for a week on a bye before what figures to be a return to a classic Big Ten West rock fight with Minnesota in two weeks.
6. Wisconsin
Last week: 7
The Badgers move up a spot on a bye week thanks to a couple of losses ahead of them, and now they get the honor of flying out to Los Angeles to take on a Bruins team that's feeling itself.
If there's one thing we know, it's that Wisconsin's defense is going to make life tough on the Bruins' run game, and Luke Fickell is going to ask Dieffenbach to prove he can consistently move the ball through the air before taking focus away from the line of scrimmage.
The question is whether the Badgers can do enough offensively, and most importantly whether Colton Joseph can avoid mistakes against a Bruins team that has proven it will take the ball away.
7. Nebraska
Last week: 6
The Huskers came so close to pulling off their biggest win in more than a decade, but instead they find themselves trying to pick up the pieces after yet another missed opportunity against a ranked opponent.
Anthony Colandrea's fourth-quarter touchdown run almost became an iconic moment in Nebraska football history, but instead of living on highlight reels for decades, it's now the high point just before all the air got sucked out of that stadium.
Matt Rhule now has to refocus his squad for a road trip to Eugene to face an Oregon team that's backed into a corner. On the plus side, the Ducks dropped out of the AP poll this week, so Nebraska doesn't have to worry about questions regarding their losing streak to ranked opponents. Colandrea and the offense need to be a bit sharper in big moments, but the defense impressed against the Hoosiers, and even if Oregon isn't ranked, the Huskers have a huge opportunity this week to get a statement win.
8. Oregon
Last week: 3
Two weeks ago it felt like the Ducks had righted the ship and were headed back in the right direction, but they looked completely out of sorts against UCLA and now find themselves in a position where they have to run the table to make the Playoff.
Dylan Raiola's disastrous afternoon against UCLA likely means another quarterback change for Oregon if Dante Moore can't play, after Brock Thomas nearly led a comeback.
However, Dan Lanning noted on Monday that everything is up for evaluation off the UCLA loss, and we could see a number of changes, both in terms of personnel and who is calling the plays on offense.
While everyone has the game at Ohio State circled, if Oregon doesn't get their ducks in a row quickly, Nebraska could very well hand them that third loss that would be the death knell for their Playoff dreams.
9. USC
Last week: 9
The Trojans were able to grind out another win, this time on the road at Happy Valley. While it's not often pretty with this USC team, it does feel like perhaps they have an edge that past Trojans squads lacked under Lincoln Riley. You could see how big that win was by the way Riley let out emotion on the sideline after USC locked things up, and he knows that was the game that kept their hopes alive for a Playoff berth.
Now, the defense still presents some concerns, but perhaps they can figure a few things out on the bye week before a huge stretch of their schedule. They'll come out of the bye with a trip to Madison and then have Ohio State and Indiana back-to-back, where we'll find out exactly how good they can be.
10. Purdue
Last week: 11
The Boilermakers keep winning and are now .500 at the midway point of the season for the first time since Jeff Brohm's last year in 2022. Their win over Minnesota wasn't just a good win; it was a dominant one, and it certainly seems like Barry Odom's bunch are going to present a lot of headaches to opponents this season.
The Purdue offense is awesome, and against Minnesota they went against type and ran the ball all over the Gophers. The Boilermakers had been doing much of their damage through the air this year with quarterback Ryan Browne, but he took a back seat on Saturday to running back Fame Ijeboi, who toted it 31 times for 195 yards and three touchdowns.
The Boilermakers will welcome a struggling Washington team to West Lafayette on Friday night, and if the Huskies don't get themselves right, they could be on the wrong end of a lopsided defeat as well.
11. Minnesota
Last week: 10
Saturday's loss at Purdue was a reality check for the Gophers, but this is still a solid football team, and there is a pretty sizable gulf between the top 11 and the bottom seven in the Big Ten right now.
This is a team that's long been more dangerous at home than on the road, and while they did pick up a big win in Seattle, that seems likely to be the case again in 2026.
Minnesota gets a bye week to figure out what went wrong against the Boilermakers and how best to attack Iowa in what will be a very important game for both teams in Week 8. After that, the schedule stays challenging for the Gophers, who go to Indiana and then host UCLA immediately after facing the Hawkeyes.
12. Michigan
Last week: 13
A bye week was perhaps the best thing to happen to Michigan this year, and we'll find out on Saturday when they host Penn State if they were able to sharpen what's been a rough operation this season.
Kyle Whittingham was, at the very least, supposed to make the Wolverines a solid football team that limited mistakes, but through five games they've been jarringly sloppy.
The Nittany Lions limp into Ann Arbor off three straight losses, and the loser of this game will be going into crisis mode with a first-year head coach. The winner can breathe a sigh of relief for at least a few days, but it's all hands on deck right now to figure out how to get the Wolverines back on track.
13. Illinois
Last week: 16
The Illini didn't make it easy on themselves, but they did pick up a needed win on the road in overtime against Michigan State. That the game went to OT is further indictment of this defense, and with Katin Houser's broken hand, there's not a lot of positive vibes even coming out of their victory on Saturday.
Now Illinois gets a welcome week off for both sides of the ball before hosting Oregon in two weeks. On offense, they'll get extra time to get Michael Clayton ready to be the starter going forward. On defense, they now have two weeks to try to figure out a scheme that works better for their personnel after parting ways with defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck after just four games.
14. Washington
Last week: 12
It's really an indictment of the rest of the teams on this list that Washington didn't fall further after getting smoked at home by Iowa. There's no shame in merely losing to the Hawkeyes, but to give up 41 points to Iowa is a really tough look.
The defense was what was holding things together early in the season, but they've now seemingly let go of the rope, and it looks like things might spiral in Seattle.
If they don't get their heads on right this week, they could be the latest victims of a red-hot Purdue squad and Jedd Fisch's seat will get plenty warm.
15. Penn State
Last week: 14
Perhaps the low point of the Nittany Lions came on Saturday night when Matt Campbell took his final timeout with over four minutes left in the fourth quarter after USC lined up to go for it on their own 13, and the camera panned to Lincoln Riley, who mouthed "baited them into a timeout" as he clapped at his team.
In a vacuum, losing to USC by eight points isn't great but wouldn't be a disaster. Unfortunately for Campbell, that loss came after blowing a lead to Wisconsin at home and getting dismantled on the road by Northwestern. The Penn State faithful were already concerned that Campbell might be in over his head in the Big Ten after those two results, and then he let Lincoln Riley outfox him on national television in a critical spot.
Now Campbell has to take his Nittany Lions into the Big House to play Michigan, which has had a bye week to prepare, and if they lose there against this Wolverines squad, they will return home to a very Unhappy Valley.
16. Michigan State
Last week: 15
Good news: showed some real fight and forced overtime after trailing big to the Illini early. Bad news: still lost the game, and the main point of conversation afterward was Pat Fitzgerald flipping the bird in the fourth quarter after the Spartans got called for being offside on an onside kick.
Fitzgerald is trying to focus on the positives of the second-half performance and the Spartans' improvement, but that won't mean much if they don't start winning games. Up next is Fitzgerald's alma mater, Northwestern, which has it rolling and will give Michigan State plenty to deal with on defense.
17. Maryland
Last week: 17
It's always weird watching a program run out the clock on a coaching contract, but it's so clear that's what is happening with this Maryland team. The Terps did cover against Ohio State on the road, so that's something, but it was still a 29-point loss, and it's incredibly hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel in College Park.
This week presents an opportunity, as the Terps host Rutgers in the most winnable game of the Big Ten season for both teams. This might be a kitchen sink effort from Maryland and Rutgers, as both will know a loss here could doom them to an 0-9 campaign in conference play.
18. Rutgers
Last week: 18
Rutgers got a bye week to prepare for Maryland and you better believe the Scarlet Knights will come out swinging. Will they punch themselves instead of the Terps? That's absolutely in play, but someone is getting hit here.
One team's 0 has got to go, and that makes this game, which will be played in front of dozens in College Park, fascinating in an almost perverse manner.
