Ohio State wins the battle, but did they lose the war with Julian Sayin’s injury? UCLA’s streak continues. You may not believe this, but Nebraska lost in the fourth quarter yet again. At least Oregon isn’t ranked? Let’s rank this weird, bizarre league after Week 7.
1. #3 Ohio State (6-1, 4-0)
The Buckeyes were lucky to get out of Bloomington with a win, as Indiana’s fourth down to win was a foot out of bounds. And they just lost Julian Sayin, possibly for the year with an elbow injury. Good time for a bye now, as they get two weeks to work Luke Fahey in and get ready for their trip to Los Angeles.
Week 8 – Bye
2. #6 Indiana (6-1, 3-1)
Indiana’s big winning streak is over by a foot, as Nick Marsh couldn’t get his foot down late that would’ve given Indiana the win. For about 13 months, it felt like Indiana made all of the difficult catches possible. Literally all of them. Then they can’t get the foot down. Tough for the Hoosiers.
Week 8 – at Michigan
3. #9 UCLA (6-0, 4-0)
The Bruins magical run continues, upending Wisconsin, 17-7. The score flatters Wisconsin some, as the Badgers had just a shade over 200 yards of offense. People probably have to be prepared for an undefeated UCLA going into the last game of the year against USC. Have you talked to your kids about this??
Week 8 – Michigan State
4. #15 Iowa (5-1, 2-1)
Iowa comes back off a bye and we know Jeremy Hecklinski will start for the Hawkeyes over Hank Brown. They enter the back half of the schedule with a series of tough but winnable games. They too could be in playoff position late. I know I’ve talked about that with my children and they are PUMPED.
Week 8 – at Minnesota
5. #16 USC (6-1, 3-1)
USC’s also coming off a bye. They now have a road trip to Madison Saturday night. As noted, they struggle heading east. At Wisconsin then hosting Ohio State on Halloween. A fun but tough stretch for Lincoln Riley.
Week 8 – at Wisconsin
6. #24 Northwestern (5-1, 2-1)
Yes, we’re static teams 1 through 6 in the rankings. Northwestern managed to dance through the rain drops Saturday, effectively stealing a 24-21 game from their former sensei, Pat Fitzgerald. Steady as she goes. They get Rutgers next week – a sure win – before they enter a run of at Oregon, Iowa, at Ohio State. Yikes.
Week 8 – Rutgers
7. Oregon (4-2, 2-1)
I guess they go here? Orgeon kept their season alive with a hilarious win over Nebraska, with Dylan Raiola – he of one of the worst statistical games in recent history in their Week 6 loss to UCLA – leading the winning drive against his former team. Now they get to zoom to Champaign, where the real race to get back into playoff position starts. Can they elude those ahead of them? We’ll see (a bunch of guys were rumored to be drag racing in Eugene Sunday morning, with one plucked for a DUI.)
Week 8 – at Illinois
8. Michigan (4-2, 1-2)
I guess they go here too. The Wolverines notch their first league win of the year, taking down Penn State in Ann Arbor. The schedule doesn’t let up, as an angry, “We should be on a 23-game winning streak” Indiana team comes to town. Protect the women and children of Ann Arbor. At least the Bryce Underwood experience seems to be over. A lot of above board stuff going on with teams allegedly already contacting him to transfer?
Week 8 – #6 Indiana
9. Minnesota (4-2, 2-1)
Also coming off a bye, the Gophers welcome the Hawks to Minneapolis Saturday afternoon. Will this be another of those “Other than getting married and having kids, this is the best day of my life!” days for Philip John Fleck? Did they just not prepare for Purdue at all and look ahead a few weeks to Iowa? They hate Iowa, but guess what? I hate Minnesota. Oh and my new sporting interest is Iowa eventually owning the overall series lead against the Gophers (Minnesota is currently ahead by 9.) Iowa leads the series when Floyd is in play. Now I need the outright lead.
Week 8 – #15 Iowa
10. Washington (4-3, 1-2)
Who knows with these guys? They get the doors blown off by Iowa, have a short week heading east to a semi-hot Purdue team and they handle their business. They were -3 in turnovers but had nearly 500 yards of offense. And after giving up over 250 yards on the ground to Iowa and facing a Purdue team that had just gouged Minnesota for over 300, they held Purdue to under 100 yards rushing. Football is weird.
Week 8 – Bye
11. Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1)
A bit of a humbling for Wisconsin. They hung around but UCLA largely had them in a head lock for 3 hours. Now they get a visit from the Trojans Saturday night. Then it’s to Iowa City on Halloween. Super easy stretch here.
Week 8 – #16 USC
12. Nebraska (5-2, 2-2)
What a disaster for the Huskers. They could be 7-0 but they enjoy 45-minute games, I guess. This is especially tough though, with Raiola leading the winning drive late. AND they’re dancing between the third and fourth quarter, which has Husker Nation really upset. They just can’t get out of their own way.
Week 8 – Bye
13. Illinois (3-3, 1-2)
I could probably have them higher. Nah. This is right.
Week 8 – Oregon
14. Purdue (3-4, 2-2)
Water found its level here. Went back to the “we can’t stop anyone” defense, it seems. They won the turnover battle but just could not stop Washington.
Week 8 – Bye
15. Michigan State (2-5, 0-4)
Tough loss for Sparty. That was right there for the taking against Northwestern, Fitzgerald’s new Hate team, and they couldn’t close the door. It gets easier with a trip to the hottest team in the league.
Week 8 – at #9 UCLA
16. Penn State (3-4, 0-4)
Matthew gets a week off, and he really needs it. This is going badly. And now he’s doubled down on Rocco Becht, who is out over his skis in this league.
Week 8 – Bye
17. Rutgers (2-4, 1-2)
The Scarlett Knights win! No longer in last.
Week 8 – at #24 Northwestern
18. Maryland (2-5, 0-4)
Initially I wrote that I don’t get how Mike Locksley hangs on here. Not 10 minutes later, I got the push on my phone that he’s out. It’s really amazing Locksley held on as long as he did. He had lost 20 of his last 22 Big Ten games. Disaster class from Michael. Good recruiter, horrible head coach. And as Boiler noted in our Discord, they should’ve done this a year ago and gone for Chesney. Same for Penn State. Alas.
Week 8 – Bye
