There’s a clear top-four in the Big Ten this season – Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana and Penn State – and then there’s everybody else.
And due to the Big Ten being an 18-team gargantuan conference, there are only three games total between those top four teams.
Oregon won the first one over Ohio State. The Buckeyes won the second one of Indiana.
Now, the last the last chance to see the Big Ten’s top teams battle it out in the regular season will be on Saturday, when Ohio State and Indiana kick off in Columbus. The winner has the inside track to the Big Ten title game and the College Football Playoff. The loser could find themselves on the playoff bubble.
Exciting times in a new college football world. Here’s a look at this week’s rankings:
18. Purdue (1-9, 0-7): Poor Purdue. The Boilermakers had to play Ohio State and Penn State in back-to-back weeks and lost by a combined 94-10. They should at least be competitive on a trip to reeling Michigan State this week.
17. Maryland (4-6, 1-6): Mike Locksley had been to three straight bowls before this year, so his job will probably be safe. But a season gone sideways will likely have him on some hot seat lists this offseason.
16. Northwestern (4-6, 2-5): The Wildcats took the focus off a season gone awry (they lost 31-7 to Ohio State on Saturday) by unveiling plans for a slick new $850 million stadium complex this week.
15. Michigan State (4-6, 2-5): The bottom is falling out for the Spartans, who lost by 20-plus points for the second straight game and didn’t record a sack for the sixth consecutive game.
14. Nebraska (5-5, 2-5): Installing Dana Holgorson as offensive coordinator in mid-November didn’t turn out to be the answer for Matt Rhule as his team lost its fourth straight game and will enter Week 12 still looking for bowl eligibility after a 5-1 start.
13. Rutgers (6-4, 3-4): The Scarlet Knights pulled away in the fourth quarter behind Kyle Monangai to top Maryland on the road and get to bowl eligibility.
12. USC (5-5, 3-5): The Trojans’ quarterback change paid off as Jayden Maiava threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns in a home win over Nebraska.
11. Michigan (5-5, 3-4): No game for the Wolverines this season; they’ll want to take care of business against Northwestern on Saturday to get to bowl eligibility before the Ohio State game.
10. UCLA (4-6, 3-5): The Bruins’ three-game winning streak came to an end with a loss at Washington, but bowl eligibility is still in reach for UCLA with remaining games against USC and Fresno State.
9. Wisconsin (5-5, 3-4): The Badgers nearly pulled off the upset of the season in the Big Ten but couldn’t hold on late in a loss to No. 1 Oregon. The Badgers had Alabama, Penn State and the Ducks at Camp Randall this year but couldn’t get a breakthrough win for Luke Fickell.
8. Washington (6-5, 4-4): Big Friday night win for the Huskies, who beat a hot UCLA team by nearly two touchdowns and got to bowl eligibility. Demond Williams Jr. came off the bench at in the second half and quarterbacked Washington to a strong finish.
7. Minnesota (6-4, 4-3): The Gophers spent the week on a bye after getting to bowl eligibility last week.
6. Iowa (6-4, 4-3): Hawkeyes fans who are a bit nauseous from this roller coaster Iowa season got a reprieve on Saturday when their team had a bye.
5. Illinois (7-3, 4-3): The Illini are looking like the best of the rest in the Big Ten after beating Michigan State by 22 to snap a two-game losing streak behind three touchdowns from Josh McCray.
4. Penn State (9-1, 6-1): The Nittany Lions took care of business against Purdue, 49-10, as Drew Allar had three touchdowns and only two incompletions. Penn State will likely be left out of the Big Ten title game barring an upset loss by Ohio State or Indiana but is in position to make the playoff anyway.
3. Indiana (10-0, 7-0): This Saturday marks the biggest game for Indiana football since…ever? Or at least since 1967. The Hoosiers got a mid-November bye to get ready to travel to Columbus to take on the No. 2 Buckeyes.
2. Ohio State (9-1, 6-1): The Buckeyes overcame a bit of a sluggish start before scoring 31 unanswered to win easily and set up next week’s showdown with the Hoosiers.
1. Oregon (11-0, 8-0): A Big Ten team besides Ohio State finally gave the Ducks a scare, as Wisconsin held a fourth-quarter lead before Oregon came back and clinched the game with a late interception to stay in line for the playoff’s top seed.