UCLA Leads Big Ten Rankings After Ohio State Falls at USC
UCLA moved to No. 1 in the Big Ten power rankings published November 3, after Ohio State lost to USC. The Bruins are 8-0, while USC rose to third and the Buckeyes fell to fourth.
UCLA claimed the top spot entering Week 10 after recording its first shutout since 2015 and improving to 8-0. Indiana remained second during its bye. USC surged seven places to No. 3 after handing Ohio State its second defeat; the Buckeyes dropped to fourth and are now starting freshman quarterback Luke Fahey.
Iowa and Oregon also climbed, while Nebraska suffered the largest slide, falling six spots to No. 12. The Huskers lost 17-10 to Washington, their third consecutive defeat in a game they had led entering the fourth quarter. Washington rose from 13th to 10th after Demond Williams Jr. led the decisive touchdown drive late in the game and Alex McLaughlin returned an interception for a score.
Penn State moved up one place to 14th after ending a four-game losing streak with a 31-17 win over Purdue. The Nittany Lions ran for 269 yards. Illinois beat Maryland 20-17 on a field goal as time expired, while Michigan edged Rutgers 28-21. The next slate includes Nebraska at Illinois on November 6 and several games on November 7, including Michigan State at Michigan and Penn State at Washington.