Week 10 of the college football campaign brought even more chaos to an already chaotic season. The Big Ten featured plenty of intriguing games and storylines, and the race for the Big Ten title continues to see major shake-ups on a weekly basis.
Heading into Week 10, let's take a look at where all 18 Big Ten teams stand.
Week 10 Big Ten Football Power Rankings
18. Maryland Terrapins (2-6, 0-5)
Last week: 18
Maryland lost 20-17 to Illinois in Week 9, and fell to 2-6 overall and 0-5 in Big Ten play this season. Mike Locksley was fired on October 21, and the Terps will likely be at or near the cellar of the Big Ten standings the rest of the way.
17. Michigan State Spartans (2-6, 0-5)
Last week: 17
Pat Fitzgerald and the Spartans entered their bye week still searching for their first Big Ten win of the season. Michigan State has had some close calls, but haven't been able to find the win column in conference play just yet.
16. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-6, 1-4)
Last week: 16
Rutgers played Michigan tough over the weekend, but ultimately lost 28-21. Things continue to go downhill for Greg Schiano is Piscataway.
15. Penn State Nittany Lions (4-4, 1-4)
Last week: 15
Matt Campbell finally got his first Big Ten win at Penn State with a 31-17 win over Purdue in Week 9. The Nittany Lions out-gained the Boilermakers 457-175 in the victory.
14. Purdue Boilermakers (3-5, 2-3)
Last week: 13
Purdue drops one spot from No. 13 to No. 14 after losing to Penn State on Saturday. The Boilers are making some solid strides this season, but Barry Odom still has a lot of work to do in West Lafayette.
13. Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-3, 2-3)
Last week: 8
Nebraska just can't buy any sort of positivity right now. The Huskers held a 7-3 lead over Washington with less than two minutes to play. Nebraska ended up losing 17-10. It was another brutal loss for Matt Rhule and company, who have now lost three straight games in which they held leads in the 4th quarter.
12. Michigan Wolverines (5-3, 2-3)
Last week: 14
Michigan loves playing one-score games. Seven of the Wolverines' eight games have been decided by seven points or less. The defense remains elite, but even with Tommy Carr taking over for Bryce Underwood at quarterback, this is still a very flawed team.
11. Illinois Fighting Illini (5-3, 3-2)
Last week: 12
Illinois picked up a 20-17 road win at Maryland in Week 9. The Fighting Illini have quietly won three games in a row, and have another winnable game set for Week 10 against Nebraska.
10. Washington Huskies (5-2, 2-3)
Last week: 10
Washington's last-second heroics against Nebraska boosted the Huskies' record to 5-3. However, Washington still has three losses and were out-played for the majority of the game against Nebraska. Even with a strong finish to the season, it's still been an underwhelming Year 3 for Jedd Fisch in Seattle.
9. Wisconsin Badgers (5-3, 3-2)
Last week: 5
Wisconsin steamrolled USC last week, only to turn around and get steamrolled by Iowa in Week 9. The Badgers were blown out 30-0 in Iowa City, and now have some serious re-grouping to do.
8. Oregon Ducks (5-3, 3-2)
Last week: 11
Oregon moves up three spots after an impressive 34-26 win over a good Northwestern team. Dylan Raiola was in a groove all game long, going 22-for-31 for 336 yards and three touchdowns without any interceptions. WR Dakorian Moore went off for seven catches and 128 yards with a pair of scores.
7. Northwestern Wildcats (6-2, 3-2)
Last week: 4
Despite losing to Oregon, Northwestern is still a dangerous team. The Wildcats out-gained the Ducks 456-441 and played turnover-free football in a tough road environment in Eugene. A huge matchup against Iowa awaits Northwestern this Saturday.
6. Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-3, 3-2)
Last week: 6
Minnesota probably should have beat Indiana, but just couldn't do it. It's a crushing loss for PJ Fleck and company, who gave the Hoosiers all they could handle on the road. Things won't get any easier for the Golden Gophers this week as they host No. 5 UCLA.
5. Iowa Hawkeyes (6-2, 3-2)
Last week: 7
Iowa made light work of Wisconsin in Week 9 after losing a tough rivalry game to Minnesota in Week 8. The Hawkeyes have navigated the toughest part of their schedule, and don't face a ranked team in the rest of the regular season.
4. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-2, 4-1)
Last week: 1
The Buckeyes were thoroughly out-played against USC on Saturday night. The remaining schedule is still manageable with matchups against Oregon, Northwestern, Nebraska, and Michigan, but there's no denying that Ohio State's season outlook now looks completely different with two losses and without Julian Sayin.
3. USC Trojans (7-2, 4-2)
Lat week: 9
Lincoln Riley finally got a signature win at USC. It came against a backup QB, but I don't think he cares. Riley has the Trojans in good position to compete for a Big Ten title entering Week 10. A pivotal matchup awaits on November 14 with a trip to Bloomington to face the Hoosiers.
2. Indiana Hoosiers (8-1, 5-1)
Last week: 2
Indiana narrowly escaped Week 9 with a wild 23-16 win over Minnesota. It was ugly, but in the end Curt Cignetti's team found a way to win once again. The Hoosiers now get a much-needed bye before hosting USC in two weeks.
1. UCLA Bruins (8-0, 5-0)
Last week: 3
UCLA claims the top spot in this week's Big Ten Power Rankings. The Bruins beat Nevada 27-0 in Week 9 to improve to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in Big Ten play in Year 1 under Bob Chesney. Even without Nico Iamaleava, UCLA has continued to roll. The 5th-ranked Bruins head to Minnesota to face a Golden Gophers team aiming to pull off a major upset.
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