Big Ten power rankings: Who's up, down and where Oregon stands after week 6 win

Four teams remain undefeated in the Big Ten Conference. By the end of Saturday night, there will be at least one fewer. It just won't be Indiana.

No. 2 Ohio State (5-0) and No. 3 Oregon (5-0) are heading for a showdown at Autzen Stadium this weekend , while No. 5 Penn State (5-0) is at Southern California. The No. 20 Hoosiers (6-0) are off this week, able to sit home and watch what unfolds.

The top end of the Big Ten power rankings haven't seen much fluctuation the past few weeks. Expect that to change as conference play heats up this month.

1. Ohio State

Last week: 1

Record: 5-0, 2-0 Big Ten

This week: at Oregon, 4:30 p.m. Saturday (NBC)

Last week: 35-7 win against Iowa

What to know: If Oregon is going to beat the Buckeyes at home on Saturday, it's going to have to do what no team has been able to do all season – either stop or stay with the Ohio State offense. The Buckeyes are averaging 46.0 points and 510.2 yards of offense and are outscoring opponents by an average of 39.2 points.

2. Oregon

Last week: 2

Record: 5-0, 2-0

This week: vs. Ohio State, 4:30 p.m. Saturday (NBC)

Last week: 31-10 win vs. Michigan State

What to know: A potential difference-maker down the road could be kicker Andrew Boyle, who made his first field-goal attempt at Oregon a memorable one. Boyle's 50-yarder against the Spartans was the first field goal of 50-or-more yards by a Duck since Matt Evensen kicked a 52-yarder against Arizona State in 2008. It was also the longest field goal by a Duck at Autzen Stadium since 2002.

3. Penn State

Last week: 3

Record: 5-0, 2-0

This week: at USC, 12:30 p.m. Saturday (CBS)

Last week: 27-11 win against UCLA

What to know: All eyes will be in Eugene this weekend, but the Nittany Lions' trip west to Los Angeles shouldn't be overlooked. Penn State has moved into the top 5 in the national rankings ( No. 4 Associated Press, No. 5 US LBM Coaches ) and a win against USC will elevate it past the loser of the No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 2 Ohio State game.

4. Indiana

Last week: 4

Record: 6-0, 3-0

This week: No game

Last week: 41-24 win against Northwestern

What to know: The Hoosiers are one of just three FBS teams who have never trailed in a game this season. On Saturday, when they defeated Northwestern to improve to 6-0, they officially became the first bowl-eligible team of the college football season.

5. Michigan

Last week: 5

Record: 4-2, 2-1

This week: No game

Last week: 27-17 loss at Washington

What to know: Two fourth-quarter turnovers flipped the script in the Wolverines' College Football Playoff rematch with the Huskies , as Michigan's 24-game Big Ten regular season win streak came to an end. The Wolverines hadn't had a loss in conference play since falling at Michigan State on Oct. 30, 2021.

6. Illinois

Last week: 7

Record: 4-1, 1-1

This week: vs. Purdue, 12:30 p.m. Saturday (FS1)

Last week: No game

What to know: The Illini had a bye week to evaluate their first loss of the season and now they'll jump back into their schedule with a game against the inept Boilermakers before back-to-back games against Michigan and Oregon.

7. Nebraska

Last week: 9

Record: 5-1, 2-1

This week: No game

Last week: 14-7 win against Rutgers

What to know: With former All-American defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh on hand for his Nebraska Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the Cornhuskers defense gave an effort the 2009 Heisman Trophy finalist would be proud of as they held Rutgers to 264 yards, one TD and registered four sacks and two takeaways.

8. Southern California

Last week: 6

Record: 3-2, 1-2

This week: vs. Penn State, 12:30 p.m. Saturday (CBS)

Last week: 24-17 loss at Minnesota

What to know: That's two losses on two road trips to the Midwest for the Trojans , who fell at Michigan earlier this season. Not a good trend for the first-year member of the Big Ten. Nor is their inability to hold fourth-quarter leads in both losses. They led the Gophers 17-10 at the start of the fourth and were up 24-20 on the Wolverines with less than 7 minutes to play.

9. Rutgers

Last week: 8

Record: 4-1, 1-1

This week: vs. Wisconsin, 9 a.m. Saturday (FOX)

Last week: 14-7 loss at Nebraska

What to know: The Scarlet Knights lost for the first time Saturday as their vaunted rushing attack fell flat. After rushing for 70 yards on its first two drives, Rutgers managed just eight more yards on the ground the rest of the game.

10. Washington

Last week: 11

Record: 4-2, 2-1

This week: at Iowa, 9 a.m. Saturday (FOX)

Last week: 27-17 win against Michigan

What to know: The opportunistic Huskies turned two takeaways by their defense into 10 points in the final 6:22 as they rallied to outscore the Wolverines 13-0 in the fourth quarter. The win earned Washington some matter of revenge – as well as a field storming by fans inside Husky Stadium – for the loss in the 2024 College Football Playoff championship game.

11. Iowa

Last week: 10

Record: 3-2, 1-1

This week: vs. Washington, 9 a.m. Saturday (FOX)

Last week: 35-7 loss at Ohio State

What to know: The Hawkeyes learned Saturday what four other teams learned before them this season – they're not nearly as good as the Buckeyes. Not even running back Kaleb Johnson had any luck against Ohio State. Johnson was averaging 171 yards per game before Ohio State held him to 86 on 15 carries.

12. Minnesota

Last week: 13

Record: 3-3, 1-2

This week: at UCLA, 6 p.m. Saturday (BTN)

Last week: 24-17 against USC

What to know: The Gophers have been the one team in the conference whose mediocre record hasn't reflected how close their games have been (minus the blowout loss to Iowa). But this week Minnesota finally found a way to close out an opponent as a go-ahead TD in the final minute against the then-No. 11 Trojans secured it a win against USC for the first time since 1955.

13. Michigan State

Last week: 12

Record: 3-3, 1-2

This week : No game

Last week: 31-10 loss to Oregon

What to know: The Spartans, who have now lost three straight games, rank 128th in the nation in turnovers with 14, and 126th in red-zone efficiency at 66.7%. Those will certainly be at the top of Michigan State's to-fix list during the bye week.

14. Maryland

Last week: 14

Record: 3-2, 0-2

This week: vs. Northwestern, 5 p.m. Friday (FOX)

Last week: No game

What to know: The Terrapins want to believe they have the talent and coaching to play spoiler throughout the season, but after a 3-0 start in nonconference play when they averaged 38.3 points and 505.7 yards of offense, they've been unable to beat Michigan State or Indiana in Big Ten play. We'll see if the bye week helped come Saturday.

15. Wisconsin

Last week: 15

Record: 3-2, 1-1

This week: at Rutgers, 9 a.m. Saturday (FOX)

Last week: 52-6 win against Purdue

What to know: Nothing like a game against the Boilermakers to lift the spirits. The Badgers and quarterback Braedyn Locke took advantage of their moment with a blowout victory on Saturday. Locke, who took over the starter's job two weeks ago, threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns.

16. Northwestern

Last week: 16

Record: 2-3, 0-2

This week: at Maryland, 5 p.m. Friday (FOX)

Last week: 41-24 loss at Indiana

What to know: The Wildcats ' defense let them down last Saturday as they allowed seven-straight scoring drives to the Hoosiers en route to a season-high 41 points allowed. Northwestern doesn't have the firepower on offense to overcome that sort of performance by the defense.

17. UCLA

Last week: 17

Record: 1-4, 0-3

This week: vs. Minnesota, 6 p.m. Saturday (BTN)

Last week: 27-11 loss at Penn State

What to know: If the Bruins could only get some help from their offense, they might actually find themselves in some tight games. As it is, UCLA's only offensive touchdown in the last 2½ games came in the final minute of the loss to the Nittany Lions. In the previous nine quarters the Bruins had produced just three field goals and one defensive TD.

18. Purdue

Last week: 18

Record: 1-4, 0-2

This week: at Illinois, 12:30 p.m. Saturday (FS1)

Last week: 52-6 loss at Wisconsin

What to know: In a conference with three teams battling for the bottom spot in the rankings each week, the Boilermakers are making themselves tough to supplant. Purdue has lost four straight and has been oustcored 184-44 in those games with an average score of 46-11.

Chris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, men’s basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him at chansen@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @chansen_RG.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Big Ten power rankings: Who's up, down and where Oregon stands after week 6 win