Week one of the 2026 season is in the books, and the Big Ten took some lickings.
It wasn’t a great showing for the conference that has won the last three national championships. One of those three winners was particularly bad and needed the refs to save their biscuit.
With that being said, it was just week one. There is no reason to overreact too much heading into week two
Here are your Big Ten power ranking after week one
Ohio State is just Ohio State. They lost a ton of talent but reloaded quickly. They are the best team in the Big Ten until someone proves me otherwise.
Curt Cignetti has started his title defense in a big way. Indiana has a new quarterback, but he picked up where Fernando Mendoza left off. The Hoosiers look elite again.
I thought about dropping Oregon after they nearly fell to Boise State. The Ducks still have a ton of talent. I would imagine that in week two, things will look very different.
USC could be a dangerous team this season. Their biggest flaw has always been defense. They gave up zero points. The Trojans are a team to watch to crack the solid top three in the Big Ten.
You still can’t tell exactly what Penn State is this season. They have a good new head coach, and he brought a good new quarterback from Iowa State. I think they are pretty good, but I have been fooled by the Nittany Lions before.
Illinois knocked some rust off after the first half and put a number up on UAB. Our defense is still pretty suspect, but I think Katin Houser will keep us in and win most games this season.
I don’t trust the Iowa quarterback situation at all. I would have them ahead of Illinois, but I can’t tell what their quarterback situation is going to be. The Northern Illinois game didn’t get it sorted out, either.
Washington is ranked nationally, but their performance against Washington State has me a bit worried. The Huskies' defense looked stout, but their offense, which should be good, wasn’t impressive in the least bit. They could easily make a jump if they play well in week two.
The team I was most surprised by is UCLA. The Bruins looked good in week two against Cal. That is a solid Golden Bears team, and the Bruins won by 21 points. This team could rise quickly in the rankings.
I know the score looks bad, but Wisconsin kept with Notre Dame until the snowball happened. The Badgers looked better than I expected, but I am keeping an eye on them in case they lay an egg next week.
Nebraska was sweating Ohio at one time in week one. The Bobcats aren’t a good team, and the Cornhuskers let them hang around for a while. Matt Rhule has to get things corrected quickly.
This should have been a loss for Michigan. They got lucky against Western Michigan, and this resulted in a narrow win. The Wolverines looked bad against the Broncos. If they play like that the rest of the way, Michigan might not make a bowl game.
Minnesota played an FCS team in week one. You can’t tell how good or bad this program will be this season. They still sit toward the bottom of the Big Ten.
What I said about Minnesota applies to Maryland. A 62-spot looks like an impressive number, but they played the Hampton Inn Continental Breakfast Pirates, so who knows if the Terrapins are actually good.
It is the first season for Michigan State under Pat Fitzgerald. A 30-20 win over Toledo is lackluster. I don’t trust the Spartans in the least bit, so they should be toward the bottom of the Big Ten for a while.
Struggling against an FCS program is never a good look. This was way too close a game, and I expected Northwestern to be better. The Wildcats have a lot of work to do to rise in the rankings.
Indiana State hung around with Purdue for a minute. This game ended up being a blowout, but the Boilermakers are clearly not good once again. That is a massive uphill battle for Barry Odom.
This was the worst look for the Big Ten in week one. Rutgers fell to UMass, and it wasn’t close. The Minutemen were by far a better team, and the Scarlet Knights will be at the bottom of this ranking for a hot minute.
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