Big Ten football teams are beginning to separate themselves as contenders, on the fringe, tough outs or plain dreadful. Our power rankings for Week 6.
Often times in a Big Ten football league that now stretches coast to coast, the team doing the traveling rarely comes out on top.
Well, Ohio State and Oregon aren't just any team.
The Buckeyes went to Seattle and hammered the Huskies, holding an offense previously averaging more than 50 points per game to just six.
Oregon, meanwhile, handled the hostility of a night game in Happy Valley to become one of just two 5-0 teams in the conference.
Elsewhere, Illinois righted its wrongs, Indiana kept it rolling and UCLA looks like it just might go winless in 2025.
Here are the Big Ten power rankings heading into Week 6 (last week's here).
1. Ohio State (4-0)
Last week's ranking: 1.
This week's game: vs. Minnesota.
What to know: The Buckeyes are rolling. Just how good is their defense? After allowing just six points to Washington, their average total of points allowed per game went up to 5.5 points per game. Matt Patricia!
2. Oregon (5-0)
Last week's ranking: 2.
This week's game: Bye.
What to know: Traveling across the country to Penn State for a night game White Out is about as impressive a win as a program can have. Now the Ducks enjoy a well-earned bye week.
3. Indiana (5-0)
Last week's ranking: 3.
This week's game: Bye.
What to know: IU avoided a letdown spot at Iowa, a historically difficult place to play and now reaches nearly the halfway mark of the season still undefeated.
4. Penn State (3-1)
Last week's ranking: 4.
This week's game: at UCLA.
What to know: So James Franklin lost to a top-10 team yet again. Who could have possibly seen that coming? Penn State is a very good team, but it's just not in the same class as Ohio State or Oregon.
5. Illinois (4-1)
Last week's ranking: 5.
This week's game: at Purdue.
What to know: Most people overreacted to Illinois' objectively brutal loss to Indiana two weeks ago. But for them to be underdogs at home to a USC team on the same level was insulting. Playoff hopes still in tact.
6. Michigan (3-1)
Last week's ranking: 7.
This week's game: vs. Wisconsin.
What to know: The Wolverines got to regroup during a bye week as they hope to be healthier going into this next section of the season. It starts off relatively easy with a struggling Wisconsin at home.
7. USC (4-1)
Last week's ranking: 6
This week's game: Bye.
What to know: Playing at Illinois at 11 a.m. (9 a.m. in the USC body clock) after it got blown out by 53 points is an insanely tough spot. Still, Lincoln Riley's group put up a solid effort in a 34-32 defeat. That's the only moral victory it can claim this year, but now has a bye to take a breather before Michigan comes to town for a huge showdown Oct. 11.
8. Washington (3-1)
Last week's ranking: 8.
This week's game: at Maryland.
What to know: The 24-6 loss was closer than the final outcome, but it's concerning for the high-flying offense that even at home it wasn't able to find the end zone against the Buckeyes. Sneaky big game on tap this week.
9. Nebraska (3-1)
Last week's ranking: 9.
This week's game: vs. Michigan State.
What to know: Nebraska cannot beat ranked teams it seems. Well, MSU is far from ranked. If there's any juice in this program, it has to take care of the Spartans while coming off a bye at home.
10. Maryland (4-0)
Last week's ranking: 10.
This week's game: vs. Washington.
What to know: Few expected Maryland to be undefeated at this juncture. Now, it welcomes a Husky team that just got manhandled by OSU and has to fly clear across the country. There's an outside chance here at an upset.
11. Minnesota (3-1)
Last week's ranking: 11.
This week's game: at Ohio State.
What to know: It's hard to find any potential path to victory for Minnesota here, short of perhaps winning the turnover battle 4-0. PJ Fleck's group, respectfully, should just hope to leave Columbus with its health and most of its pride still in tact.
12. Michigan State (3-1)
Last week's ranking: 12.
This week's game: at Nebraska.
What to know: Last year, MSU had its best game of the season against Iowa when fresh off a bye. Let's see if there's any chance it can re-bottle that in a tough spot at Nebraska.
13. Iowa (3-2)
Last week's ranking: 13.
This week's game: Bye.
What to know: Anybody who picked Iowa against Indiana was skewed by the names on the front of the jerseys. The Hawkeyes' best win is at Rutgers. That's hardly something to write home about essentially 40% of the way into the season.
14. Rutgers (3-2)
Last week's ranking: 14.
This week's game: Bye.
What to know: That's now two tight fourth-quarter losses in as many games. It doesn't get any easier after the bye week, with games at Washington, vs. Oregon, at Illinois, at Ohio State and vs. Penn State still remaining. Quite the gauntlet.
15. Purdue (2-2)
Last week's ranking: 15.
This week's game: vs. Illinois.
What to know: Purdue has had a pulse this year, which is more than some expected, but a talented Illinois team coming to town with confidence after a win over USC does not set up well.
16. Northwestern (2-2)
Last week's ranking: 17.
This week's game: vs. UL Monroe.
What to know: There's actually a chance Northwestern will be above .500 while in the month of October. That wasn't expected coming into this season.
17. Wisconsin (2-2)
Last week's ranking: 16.
This week's game: at Michigan.
What to know: The Badgers have put up 24 total points combined in their past two games and now have to travel to Ann Arbor to take on one of the most formidable defensive fronts in the nation.
18. UCLA (0-4)
Last week's ranking: 18.
This week's game: vs. Penn State.
What to know: UCLA at least kept a game close for the first time this year, losing 17-14 at Northwestern. This seems like an impossible task coming up this week, with an upset Penn State squad looking to take out its anger on somebody.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Big Ten power rankings going into Week 6 reveal tier separations
Category: General Sports
