A couple of shutouts, some close calls, and some surprising results gave us a satisfying week eight of college football. Here's how the Big Ten stacks up heading into week nine.
No.1: Ohio State
For another week, yes indeed, the Buckeyes are the class of the league. Among the best teams in the country, Ohio State seems to be the only one that has shown no weaknesses at this point.
No. 2: Indiana
After the enormous win last week at Oregon, it's not a shock that the Hoosiers had a slow first half, especially with Michigan State dominating the time of poss
ession. However, their second half was nearly perfect and showed the let-down game was not in the cards this week.
No. 3: Oregon
The Ducks dominated the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway as the attempt to win all of their remaining games.
Oregon needs to keep their momentum going to reach the Big Ten Conference championshio abd the College Football Playoff.
No. 4: Illinois
Idle this week, the Ilini have had more than enough time to prepare for a Washington team. They have one of the easiest schedules remaining for the rest of the year so that any slip-ups would be very discouraging.
No. 5: University of Southern California (USC)
The Trojans fought hard against the Fighting Irish, but came up short in their 24-34 defeat.
While they look good as far as Big Ten play is concerned, a win could have been a huge resume builder and could have potentially knocked the Irish out of the playoffs.
No. 6: Michigan
A couple of costly turnovers aided the Wolverines in their 24-7 victory over the Huskies.
Bryce Underwood will have plenty of time to refine his game before the big matchup against Ohio State to close out the regular season.
No. 7: Minnesota
Taking a big leap this week is the Gophers, whose 24-6 victory over Nebraska was the biggest surprise of the weekend.
P.J. Fleck and company will hope to carry this momentum with them as they travel to Iowa City for the battle for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy.
No. 8: Northwestern
The Wildcats have benefited from an easy schedule and are now 3-1 in conference play, with a 19-0 shutout of the Boilermakers as a highlight of the season.
However, the last stretch of their schedule is unforgiving, with road games in Lincoln, Los Angeles, and Champaign on the horizon.
No. 9: Iowa
The Hawkeyes survived in a tight 25-24 win over a Penn State team that's now one week removed from their head coach and starting quarterback being fired and lost to injury for the season.
Mark Gronowski's run attack has become their safety valve, which may be effective, but could lead to some huge disappointments if he becomes injured.
No. 10: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Similar to the Hawks, the Bruins needed a miracle drive at the end to defeat an upset-minded Maryland team.
The 20-17 victory makes it three in a row for the Bruins, who undoubtedly have made the biggest turn of any team in the country midseason.
No. 11: Maryland
The Terrapins will earn a much-deserved bye this week after three straight one-score losses. They have a massive opportunity to make an impression the first weekend of November as the Hoosiers come to College Park.
No. 12: Nebraska
The road loss Friday night to the Gophers feels like a confirmation: the Huskers are still not out of this drought they've been experiencing.
The years of Tom Osbourne and sustained success for the Huskers feel like an eternity ago to the fans. If Matt Rhule does end up taking the Penn State head coaching job, that may set the program back even further.
No. 13: Washington
The Huskies also take a big step back this week after a disappointing 7-24 loss at Ann Arbor.
The second half performance was truly awful, and shows that yes, against teams like Rutgers or Washington State, they can have success, but the big boys will give them problems.
No. 14: Penn State
The Nittany Lions could have completely folded after their most disappointing season in over a decade.
However, their run game and special teams do show promise, and they could win a couple of games down the stretch, especially with Michigan State and Rutgers on the schedule.
No. 15: Michigan State
The first half showed a lot of fight in the Spartans in their 13-38 defeat at Indiana. The Paul Bunyan trophy battle next week may be their last gasp at turning their season around.
No. 16: Rutgers
It would be a surprise if the Scarlet Knights can eek out more than one victory the rest of the year. Their best shot is probably this week as Purdue comes to town for homecoming.
No. 17: Purdue
When starting quarterback Ryan Browne left in the second half, all hope was lost in the goose egg performance by the Boilermakers.
If Browne is out the rest of the year, they may be staring down the barrel of two straight years without a conference win.
No. 18: Wisconsin
As bad as things may be in West Lafayette, the situation in Madison may be even worse.
The Badgers have been outscored 71-0 in their last two games, both at home. Now they have to travel to Autzen Stadium in Oregon, where the deterioration of this culture may accelerate even further.