Isaiah Hole
September 28, 2024 11:15 pm ET
Big Ten football is now, officially, in full swing with every team in action (16 this week) all playing conference games. With one ranked-on-ranked matchup between Penn State and Illinois, there weren’t a ton of huge games. But Wisconsin at USC was intriguing, as was Friday night’s Washington at Rutgers game.
Michigan won in a very similar fashion against Minnesota as to how it did against USC the week before (and that’s not a good thing). Ohio State rolled Michigan State, Penn State survived Illinois, USC came back to beat Wisconsin, Rutgers upended Washington, Indiana dominated Maryland, Nebraska downed Purdue, and Oregon had a late-night trip to the Rose Bowl to face UCLA. Iowa and Northwestern were on bye.
Here is how we’re ranking all 18 teams now that Week 15 is in the books.
18
Purdue BoilermakersPhoto: Isaiah Hole
Record:1-2
Hi/Lo:16/18
Change:–
Last game:Loss vs. Nebraska, 10-28
Biggest win:vs. Indiana State, 49-0
Purdue unsurprisingly looked awful playing at Nebraska and continues to be among the worst four teams in the 18-team Big Ten. Hudson Card went from being the best QB in Week 1 to being one of the worst in short order. Don’t expect much to change in this race to the bottom. The Boilermakers travel to Wisconsin next week.
17
Northwestern WildcatsDavid Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Record:2-2
Hi/Lo:12/17
Change:–
Last game:Loss at Washington, 24-5
Biggest win:vs. Miami (Ohio), 13-6
Northwestern is on bye but faces a tough Indiana team next week.
16
UCLA BruinsPhoto: Isaiah Hole
Record:1-3
Hi/Lo:16/18
Change:–
Last game: Loss vs. Oregon, 13-34
Biggest win:at Hawaii, 16-13
In some ways, the Bruins are improving. And let’s face it, it’s a tough ask to see the improvement against an Oregon team that was our preseason champion. But the offense is still abysmal and the defense is leagues away from where it was with D’Anton Lynn last year. At one point, in the second half, this was a two-score game and UCLA was driving. But the Bruins continue to play uncomplementary football and find themselves in blowout situations. A trip to Happy Valley to play Penn State is next.
15
Maryland TerrapinsPhoto: Isaiah Hole
Record:3-2
Hi/Lo:9/14
Change:-1
Last game:Loss vs. Indiana, 28-42
Biggest win:vs. UConn, 50-7
Oh Maryland — you got out-Marylanded. A trip to Bloomington saw IU look more like Maryland has the past few years and the Terps have officially fallen apart after a strong start to the season. This just isn’t a very good team and despite not having Michigan or Ohio State on the schedule, this looks like a team that will simply play in a lower-tier bowl game — as always.
Maybe — because there aren’t three sure wins left on the schedule. Getting right against Northwestern after the bye week next week should help.
14
Minnesota Golden GophersMichigan football
Record:2-3
Hi/Lo:14/15
Change: +1
Last game:Loss at Michigan, 24-27
Biggest win:vs. Rhode Island, 48-0
Minnesota was on the verge of being blown out but managed to make a furious comeback in the fourth quarter. If it wasn’t for a recovered onside kick called back, there’s little doubt that the Gophers would have at least sent the game to overtime with the way the offense was performing in the final 15 minutes. There are some good qualities to this team and if they didn’t get thoroughly outplayed in all three phases in the first half in Ann Arbor, this game could have gone differently.
But, you know, horseshoes and hand grenades. The Gophers host USC next.
13
MSU SpartansPhoto: Isaiah Hole
Record:3-2
Hi/Lo:12/17
Change:–
Last game:Loss vs. Ohio State, 7-38
Biggest win:vs. Maryland, 27-24
Despite the score, MSU showed some spunk. The offense moved the ball regularly against the Ohio State defense — before, you know, turning the ball over. You can see where this team could be really good if it managed to take care of the football, but given what we’ve seen every week, this bug has become more of a feature.
A trip to Oregon looms next week.
12
Wisconsin BadgersMark Hoffman-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Record:2-2
Hi/Lo:10/12
Change:Down 1
Last game:Loss vs. USC, 21-38
Biggest win:vs. Western Michigan, 28-14
Wisconsin had control in The Coliseum in the first half but couldn’t do as Michigan did last week and stave off the comeback. The Badgers did look improved and able to contend with the likes of the Trojans but some big mistakes by QB Braedyn Locke sealed the game for USC. Both sides of the ball need to be better, but next week should be a get-right game against Purdue in Camp Randall.
11
Washington HuskiesJoe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Record:3-2
Hi/Lo:9/11
Change:–
Last game:Loss at Rutgers, 18-21
Biggest win:vs. Northwestern, 24-5
A furious comeback came up short, but the national champion runner-up needing a furious comeback against Rutgers? That’s a new one.
The Huskies just couldn’t finish drives but they thoroughly outgained the Scarlet Knights. But having better offensive numbers that aren’t included in the score matters little, and Washington’s season is on the verge of falling apart. UW hosts Michigan next weeks.
10
Nebraska CornhuskersPhoto: Isaiah Hole
Record:4-1
Hi/Lo:3/9
Change:-1
Last game:Win vs. Purdue, 28-10
Biggest win:vs. Colorado, 28-10
Nebraska bounced back after a tough loss last week on Friday night to Illinois but beat a bad Purdue team by the same margin it did Colorado a few weeks ago. Both sides of the ball were great but a date with a surging Rutgers team looms next week.
9
Illinois Fighting IlliniPhoto: Isaiah Hole
Record:4-1
Hi/Lo:8/13
Change:-1
Last game:Loss at Penn State, 7-21
Biggest win:vs. Kansas, 23-17
It was a tough way to get the first loss of the season, as Illinois played Penn State close in a night white out — the most raucous and difficult road environment, in our opinion. The offense just couldn’t get going and the run defense was abysmal. But Penn State didn’t pull away until just under two minutes left, and Illinois proved it’s a tough out. Up next is a very winnable game against Purdue.
8
Iowa HawkeyesPhoto: Isaiah Hole
Record:3-1
Hi/Lo:4/7
Change:-1
Last game:Win vs. Minnesota, 31-14
Biggest win:vs. Minnesota, 31-14
Iowa was on bye this week but has a tough road trip to Columbus next week to face Ohio State.
7
Indiana HoosiersPhoto: Isaiah Hole
Record:5-0
Hi/Lo:7/16
Change:+3
Last game:Win vs. Maryland, 42-28
Biggest win:vs. Maryland, 42-28
Curt Cignetti, take a bow. You were right, we were wrong with our preseason No. 16 ranking. Indiana is a scary team to face right now and Kurtis Rourke may be the best quarterback in the entire conference. The Hoosiers looked every part what Maryland tries to be but did it better. Rourke did toss two picks, but it didn’t matter as IU ended up winning convincingly against a team that had long been ahead of it within the Big Ten Conference, despite having joined just a decade ago.
Bowl eligibility is likely to be attained next week when IU heads to Evanston to face Northwestern.
6
Rutgers Scarlet KnightsPhoto: Isaiah Hole
Record:4-0
Hi/Lo:6/8
Change:–
Last game:Win vs. Washington, 21-18
Biggest win:vs. Washington, 21-18
When was the last time Rutgers faced multiple teams with a pulse and emerged victorious? The Scarlet Knights hosted Washington on Friday night and did have to fight off the Husky comeback. But Greg Schiano’s group continues to impress and look much improved this year.
What’s perhaps the most impressive is that Washington thoroughly outgained Rutgers, 521-299, and yet it battled and beat a team that was in the national championship game a year ago. That’s some big progress. A tough road trip to Nebraska is up next.
5
USC TrojansPhoto: Isaiah Hole
Record:3-1
Hi/Lo:2/8
Change:–
Last game:Win vs. Wisconsin, 38-21
Biggest win:vs.LSU, 27-20
Miller Moss is one tough cookie. For the second straight week, he was battered and bruised but stood tough and in the pocket (or sometimes showed off his mobility) to help get the Trojans back in the win column. Despite being down at the half, USC rallied back and the defense found another level in the second half. A road trip to Minnesota will likely test the resolve of the offense once again next week.
4
Michigan WolverinesPhoto: Isaiah Hole
Record:3-1
Hi/Lo:3/7
Change:–
Last game:Win vs. Minnesota, 27-24
Biggest win:vs. USC, 27-24
That was ugly.
Michigan’s offense continues to be anemic and the defense continues to be excellent in the first half. But the second half defensively has been a problem every week except in the blowout loss to Texas. Alex Orji more than doubled his passing yardage against one of the best pass defenses in the country, but the shorthanded Wolverines still manage to have one missed assignment out of 11 often, keeping the more creative playcalling to yield much in terms of results.
Still, despite giving up 21 points in the fourth quarter, Michigan found a way to win, which is all that counts. Now we’ll see what it can do with the first road trip of the season, at Washington, up next week, before a much needed bye.
3
Penn State Nittany LionsPhoto: Isaiah Hole
Record:4-0
Hi/Lo:2/4
Change:–
Last game:Win vs. Illinois, 21-7
Biggest win:vs. Illinois, 21-7
James Franklin has struggled mightily to beat ranked teams and Illinois was no easy challenge. It wasn’t a blowout but the Nittany Lions did just enough to upend a tough Illini team. The run defense and offense both shined but the pass game struggled against the stout Illinois pass defense. A home game against UCLA is up next.
2
Oregon DucksJoe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Record:4-0
Hi/Lo:1/6
Change:–
Last game: Win vs. UCLA, 34-13
Biggest win:vs. Oregon State, 49-14
It’s still not as sharp as you’d like but really this isn’t much different from what Ohio State did to Michigan State on Saturday night. Oregon scored on the opening drive, effectively putting its foot on UCLA’s throat given the Bruins’ limitations. Dillon Gabriel was solid, as was the run game, and the Ducks more so bled this game away instead of going for the full-on jugular early. The defense was solid, the offense was efficient, and Oregon left Pasadena with a good Pac-12 (er, Big Ten) win. A home night game on Friday night against MSU is next.
1
Ohio State BuckeyesPhoto: Isaiah Hole
Record:4-0
Hi/Lo:1/2
Change:–
Last game:Win vs. Michigan State, BLANK
Biggest win:vs. Western Michigan, 56-0
It’s hard to say that Ohio State finally played a team with a pulse, but MSU has been somewhat surprising this year. There were times when OSU looked less than impressive and times it looked otherworldly. WR Jeremiah Smith is an absolute freak and is possibly the most talented player in college football even as a true freshman. The Buckeyes have a tougher challenge offensively next week with Iowa and its impressive defense on the docket next.