The college football season continues to move on at a rapid pace, and the Big Ten is full of intriguing storylines through five weeks. This past weekend revealed a lot about who is for real and who is trending in the wrong direction.
The defending National Champion Indiana Hoosiers moved to 5-0 with an emphatic 47-15 win over Rutgers on Saturday night, which moved their winning streak to 21 games. Heading into Week 6, let's take a look at how the Big Ten's 18 teams stack up against one another.
Week 6 Big Ten Power Rankings
18. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-4, 0-2) Last week: 18
17. Maryland Terrapins (2-3, 0-2) Last week: 16
16. Michigan State Spartans (2-3, 0-2) Last week: 15
15. Illinois Fighting Illini (2-3, 0-2) Last week: 14
Rutgers remains at 18th after getting blown out by Indiana 47-15 on Saturday night. Things continue to go from bad to worse for Greg Schiano, and it's becoming harder to see how he can turn things around.
Mike Locksley's seat is getting hotter and hotter at Maryland. The Terps have lost their two Big Ten games against UCLA and Nebraska by a combined score of 102-26.
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Michigan State lost 31-3 to Wisconsin in Week 5 and has now lost three straight games by at least three scores. Pat Fitzgerald has a long way to go to get the Spartans back on track.
Bret Bielema and the Fighting Illini lost at home to Purdue on Saturday afternoon. Illinois is now 2-3 with its wins coming against UAB and Southern Illinois. It may be a long season in Champaign.
14. Purdue Boilermakers (2-3, 1-1) Last week: 17
13. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-2, 0-2) Last week: 13
12. Michigan Wolverines (3-2, 0-2) Last week: 10
11. Washington Huskies (3-2, 0-2) Last week: 11
Purdue has finally won a Big Ten game. The Boilermakers took down the Fighting Illini 24-17 in Week 5. It's the first Big Ten win for Barry Odom in West Lafayette, and Purdue's first conference win since November of 2023.
Matt Campbell's first season at Penn State is going downhill quickly. The Nittany Lions started 3-0 but have now lost back-to-back games against Wisconsin and Northwestern to begin Big Ten play. Campbell and his staff have some serious re-grouping to do before taking on USC this weekend.
Another first-year Big Ten head coach joins Campbell with an 0-2 record to start conference play. Kyle Whittingham and Michigan have lost back-to-back games to Iowa and Minnesota over the last two weeks, and Bryce Underwood continues to look overwhelmed. Campbell and Whittingham will go head-to-head in two weeks on Oct. 17 in Ann Arbor.
Washington entered the 2026 season with high hopes, but has looked underwhelming through five games. The Washington offense hasn't performed as expected, which has led to an 0-2 start in conference play with losses to Minnesota and USC.
10. Wisconsin Badgers (4-1, 2-0) Last week: 12
9. Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-0, 2-0) Last week: 9
8. Iowa Hawkeyes (4-1, 1-1) Last week: 4
7. Northwestern Wildcats (3-1, 1-1) Last week: 8
6. Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-1, 2-0) Last week: 7
The Wisconsin Badgers are starting to find a groove for the first time under Luke Fickell. The Badgers lost in Week 1 to Notre Dame, but have reeled off four straight wins since then. They are on a bye week this week before facing a big challenge on the road against No. 21 UCLA. That game will tell us a lot about how for real the Badgers really are.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers are quietly flying under the radar with a 5-0 start to the season. Coming off a 48-23 win over Maryland, Nebraska is set to host the 7th-ranked Hoosiers this Saturday afternoon. It is sure to be a chaotic environment in Lincoln as the Huskers look to find the signature win they've desperately been searching for under Matt Rhule.
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Iowa lost to Ohio State on Saturday, but the Hawkeyes are still a threat in the Big Ten. As it stands, Kirk Ferentz and company won't face another ranked opponent the rest of the regular season. Iowa can still make plenty of noise in 2026.
Curt Cignetti was right. Northwestern is a good football team. Aidan Chiles is taking a big step forward, and the Chip Kelly-led offense is thriving right now. With a new stadium and a 3-1 record, Northwestern's next three games come against Ball State, Michigan State, and Rutgers. They should probably be 6-1 before facing Oregon on Oct. 31.
How about Minnesota? The Golden Gophers are 4-1 and coming off back-to-back wins over Washington and Michigan. PJ Fleck has his team playing at a high level, which makes this team dangerous moving forward.
5. UCLA Bruins (4-0, 2-0) Last week: 6
4. USC Trojans (5-1, 2-1) Last week: 5
3. Oregon Ducks (3-1, 1-0) Last week: 3
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (4-1, 2-0) Last week: 2
1. Indiana Hoosiers (5-0, 2-0) Last week: 1
UCLA was on a bye this week. Bob Chesney is off to a 4-0 start to his UCLA tenure, which includes consecutive Big Ten wins over Purdue and Maryland. The Bruins scored 106 total points in those contests. UCLA's huge matchup against No. 10 Oregon is must-watch TV this Saturday.
UCS bounced back from a tough loss to Oregon by defeating Washington 25-21 in Week 5. In a make-or-break year for Lincoln Riley, the Trojans have little room for error the rest of the way.
Oregon was on a bye in Week 5, and is preparing to host the upstart UCLA Bruins on Saturday in Eugene. Dylan Raiola is set to be the starter with Dante Moore sidelined, which brings plenty of intrigue to the Ducks moving forward.
Ohio State went on the road and took down Iowa 31-14 in Week 5. Ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll, the Buckeyes remain National Championship hopefuls. After taking on Maryland this weekend, a pivotal matchup against Indiana awaits on Oct. 17.
Indiana boat-raced Rutgers in Week 5, which was expected. The Hoosiers remain at No. 1 in the Big Ten Power Rankings, despite receiving little love from the AP Poll. Curt Cignetti and company have a tough road test this weekend at Nebraska. To avoid being put on upset alert, it's imperative that Indiana isn't caught looking ahead to its Week 7 matchup against Ohio State.
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