EUGENE, OREGON - OCTOBER 10: Tyson Ford #95 of the UCLA Bruins celebrates a fumble recovery during the first half of a game between the Oregon Ducks and UCLA Bruins at Autzen Stadium on October 10, 2026 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Al Sermeno/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images) | ISI Photos via Getty Images Chris Lucia Tue, October 13, 2026 at 12:52 PM UTC · 6 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hello there and welcome to the Big Ten Power Rankings! Each week we'll rank how the teams across the conference are playing, in the hopes of seeing just who is a contender, and who is a pretender over the course of the season.
Teams are ranked by how they're playing at that time. Not body of work, not rankings in the polls, but simply how each team is playing at that point in the season.
The approach to the rankings is not necessarily on the field results (though those do count, as an obvious, tangible data point), but more generally if the two teams played at a neutral site 100 times, which team would win 51 times (or more).
These rankings are subjective. As the author I get to follow the rules as closely or loosely as I want to, and if you don't like the rankings, you're wrong.
Week 6 is in the books, with a few upsets to help move the needle (squiggles) a bit. Let's get to it!
Teams that are all but guaranteed to make the playoffs, if they continue to play the way they have played thus far.
After a month, we have a new top dog in the conference. The Buckeyes defeated Maryland 45-16 and appear to be in full end-of-season form. Fun thing is we get to see how they really stack up next week when they take in #5 Indiana (whom they just managed to unseat in these here power rankings, which are objectively better than the AP Poll).
Credit where it's due, the Hoosiers showed grit in a comeback win over a feisty Nebraska squad, 20-17. But you can't get down in games like that against better opponents. A visit from #4 Ohio State will prove who truly belongs at the top of the conference.
Teams that could very well end up in the playoffs, but need to continue to improve their resume and move up the rankings before they can make it.
The Hawkeyes dismantled Washington 41-24, and are very quietly sitting just behind the leaders in the conference. They've got a bye week before they'll get back to it.
I TRIED TO TELL Y'ALL ABOUT BOB CHESNEY BUT YOU WOULDN'T LISTEN. UCLA defeated Oregon ON THE ROAD 17-15. Could Penn State beat Oregon at home? Neutral site? In a bobbing for apples competition?? I digress. The Bruins are rolling under Chesney NOT THAT I'M MAD and will host Wisconsin next week SO WE CAN SEE HOW THE TWO TEAMS COMPARE AGAINST A COMMON OPPONENT. Again though, not mad.
The Trojans fended off a surprisingly lively Penn State squad 31-23, on the road in the White Out. They'll head to the bye week next.
Teams that likely won't make the playoffs, but will represent the conference in quality bowls, including the Citrus Bowl and the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
All is not lost for the Cornhuskers, who had a lead but couldn't hold it against Indiana. Still, you have to take advantage of those opportunities when they arise. An interesting test is next when they travel to take on a wounded Oregon team.
The Wildcats got an oddball non-conference game out of the way with a 45-14 win over Ball State. They'll travel to take on Michigan State next.
The Ducks were bullied by the Bruins and came up short, 17-15 in a perfectly cromulent B1G West score. They'll host Nebraska which will tell us exactly where both teams stand.
The Badgers were on their bye week, and will now travel to take on #12 UCLA.
Teams that will end up making it to a bowl game, but likely the bowls that aren't quite as prestigious, including the Pinstripe Bowl and the Music City Bowl.
The Wolverines were on their bye week, and hope to have gotten some thing sorted before hosting Penn State this coming weekend.
The bottom end of this conference is just an absolute charlie foxtrot. Purdue somehow beat the brakes off Minnesota 41-13, and so shoot up this list when just last week I didn't even think they could make a bowl. Make it make sense. They'll host Washington Friday night to see how bad things can get.
The Lions showed more signs of life than I was expecting in their 31-23 loss to USC. They'll head west to take on Michigan in a slap fight next.
What the hell, Gophers? Very Jekyll and Hyde this year it appears, with a ham blasting at the hands of Purdue the most recent Hyde (I think that analogy makes sense? Would Hyde get ham blasted or be the one doing the ham blasting?). The bye week beckons.
A fun 38-37 overtime win over Michigan State moves the Illini up a bit, but again, the bottom end of this conference is just a mess. They'll head to the bye week next.
The Huskies couldn't hang with Iowa, losing 41-24. I'd say it gets easier when they travel to take on Purdue, but uh, yeah, the Boilermakers are apparently a handful this year.
Teams that are on a trajectory to end the season below .500 and miss out on a post-season bowl game.
The Spartans put up a fight against Illinois but couldn't quite pull it off, losing 38-37 in overtime. They'll host #25 Northwestern next in what could be a last gasp for the season for them.
The Terrapins got demolished by Ohio State 45-16, and Mike Locksley looks like a dead man walking. The bottom feeders get to beat up on each other next as Rutgers comes to town.
The worst of the worst, teams whose fans wear paper bags over their heads and count down the days until they have a new head coach.
The Scarlet Knights were on their bye week, so luckily they can't go any lower. A pillow fight against Maryland is next to see who really deserves to dwell in The Basement ™ .
There's the top, the middle, and a whole bunch of weirdness at the bottom.
Ohio State takes over the top spot, while Indiana slips. Iowa and UCLA are heading on up, while USC stays put. Nebraska drops, and Northwestern holds steady. Oregon tumbles, but Wisconsin stands pat. Michigan and Purdue rise, with Penn State treading water. Minnesota dips, while Illinois climbs. Washington and Michigan State tumble, with Maryland and Rutgers chilling at the bottom.
Source: Sport
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