Ohio State and Indiana are the last uyndefetaed teams in the Big Ten and they could now be on a collision course for the Big Ten title.
The race to the Big Ten championship is already a two-team race. Ohio State and Indiana scored big wins this weekend to set themselves above the rest of the conference in the Big Ten football standings, as well as boost their College Football Playoff outlook. Despite taking a loss, Oregon is still very much in the playoff hunt and not out of the Big Ten race yet, and USC turned in a big performance to keep its name in the mix. But you know who is out of the playoff and Big Ten race? Penn State.
Happy Valley is running out of patience with its supposed preseason national championship contender after Penn State took a third straight loss, and second as a heavy favorite. Penn State isn't the only prorgam with an uncertain coaching future looming above it. Wisconsin was steamrolled at home by Iowa and the Badgers and Nittany Lions are each sitting in the bottom of the Big Ten standings with three conference losses already.
Rankings referenced are from the US LBM Coaches Poll.
No. 1 Ohio State 34, No. 17 Illinois
Ohio State wasted little time in making sure there would be no upset alert in place at Illinois. Ohio State held a 20-3 lead at halftime and paced itself to a hard-fought win in Champaign that featured Ohio State being outgained overall. But three Illinois turnovers led to three Ohio State touchdowns as the Buckeyes made the Illini pay for their mistakes all game long.
No. 7 Indiana 30, No. 2 Oregon 20
Are you taking Indiana seriously yet? You should be! The Hoosiers traveled to Oregon and handed the Ducks their first loss in Big Ten play in prorgam history, while making a name for itself. Last year was no fluke as Curt Cignetti has Indiana poised for its highest top 25 ranking in nearly 60 years.
Fernando Mendoza passed for 215 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 31 yards and the Hoosiers defense picked off Orgeon quarterback twice in the fourth quarter to slam the door shut on the Ducks. We could now be on track for an Ohio State-Indiana Big Ten championship game as the two teams do not face each other in the regular season this year.
USC 31, No. 15 Michigan 13
USC made a bit of a statement at home on Saturday night against Michigan. Jayden Maiava passed for 265 yards and King Miller rushed for 158 yards as the Trojans closed out a big win against Bryce Underwood and the Wolverines. Underwood passed for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns the offense could not close the gap on its final two offensive possessions in the fourth quarter after 69-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Marsh.
Northwestern 22, No. 22 Penn State 21
It is beginning to look like the James Franklin era is about to come to an end in Happy Valley. A week after a dismal showing on the road against UCLA, Penn State was unable to regain its footing in the national picture with a feel-good performance against Northwestern. Instead, it was the Wildcats capitalizing on Penn State's miscues and battling its way to a defensive victory to spoil the Penn State homecoming and put Franklin's time in charge on thin ice. For the second striaght week, Penn State lost as a three-touchdown favorite. Penn State also lost starting quarterback Drew Allar to a season-ending injury late in the game.
In Scores of Other Games...
- Iowa 37, Wisconsin 0
- Nebraska 34, Maryland 31
- UCLA 38, Michigan State 13
- Minnesota 27, Purdue 20
- Washington 38, Rutgers 19
Updated Big Ten Football Standings Through Week 7
| B1G W | B1G L | W | L | |
| Indiana | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Ohio State | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| USC | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Oregon | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Michigan | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Minnesota | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Northwestern | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Nebraska | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Washington | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| Iowa | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| UCLA | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Illinois | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Maryland | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Michigan St | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Penn State | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Purdue | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Rutgers | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
- Bowl eligible: Indiana, Ohio State
- Next to become bowl eligible: Illinois, Nebraska, Oregon, USC, Washington
Week 8 Big Ten Schedule
All times are Eastern and all games are on Saturday, Oct. 18 unless noted otherwise.
- Minnesota vs. Nebraska (Friday, Oct. 17), 8:00 p.m., Fox
- Michigan vs. Washington, 12:00 p.m., Fox
- Northwestern vs. Purdue, 3:00 p.m., Big Ten Network
- Wisconsin vs. Ohio State, 3:30 p.m., CBS
- Indiana vs. Michigan State, 3:30 p.m., Peacock
- Rutgers vs. Oregon, 6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network
- Iowa vs. Penn State, 7:00 p.m., Peacock
- UCLA vs. Maryland, 7:00 p.m., FS1
- Notre Dame vs. USC, 7:30 p.m., NBC
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Big Ten Week 7 recap: Scores, updated standings, bowl tracker
Category: General Sports
