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It’s time to get real about USC in Big Ten football power rankings

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It’s time to get real about USC in Big Ten football power rankings

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Ben Bolch’s Big Ten Power Rankings

Game of the Week: UCLA (4-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) at Oregon (3-1, 1-0), 12:30 p.m. PT Saturday on CBS. Coach Bob Chesney’s Bruins will come barreling into Autzen Stadium with one of the nation’s best run games and plenty of mutual respect after Chesney offered to check on Dante Moore after the Oregon quarterback was sent to an LA hospital with a concussion sustained against USC last week.

1. Ohio State (4-1) Buckeyes might just be in a Big Ten class of their own. (Last week: 1)

2. Indiana (5-0) Close call against Northwestern suddenly doesn’t look nearly as bad. (2)

3. Oregon (3-1) Who figured Ducks’ big test from an LA school might come from UCLA? (3)

Southern California head coach Lincoln Riley on the sideline during a game against Washington.

USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley looks on against the Washington Huskies during the third quarter at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

4. Iowa (4-1) Hawkeyes would rather have been at an Atlanta Hawks game Saturday. (5)

5. UCLA (4-0) Beat Oregon and it’s time to start talking CFP for Bob Chesney’s Bruins. (6)

6. USC (5-1) Trojans’ new spot is adjusted for deflation. (4)

A Minnesota Golden Gophers football player wearing number one points forward while holding a football during a game against Michigan.

Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Darius Taylor (1) celebrates a first down against the Michigan Wolverines in the first quarter, Oct. 3, 2026, at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

7. Minnesota (4-1) P.J. Fleck rivaling fellow Minnesotans Prince, Bob Dylan in popularity. (10)

8. Wisconsin (4-1) Luke Fickell’s fate may no longer be fickle if this keeps up. (8)

9. Northwestern (3-1) Lifelong Bruin Jerry Neuheisel says, “It’s a great day to be a Wildcat!” (13)

A male coach wearing a white hoodie and a black hat shouts with his fists clenched on the sidelines during a game.

Northwestern Wildcats head coach David Braun celebrates after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. Getty Images

10. Nebraska (5-0) Unbeaten fun will almost surely end against Indiana this week. (12)

11. Michigan (3-2) Plummeting Wolverines will be .500 in reality soon enough. (7)

12. Washington (3-2) Huskies seemed as surprised as everyone else to be in USC game late. (11)

13. Penn State (3-2) Why did the Nittany Lions get rid of James Franklin again? (9)

14. Purdue (2-3) The streak is over! Boilermakers log first Big Ten win since 2023. (16)

15. Illinois (2-3) This was not the kind of history Illini wanted to be part of. (14)

16. Michigan State (2-3) Just a completely dreadful display of football against Wisconsin. (15)

17. Rutgers (1-4) Scarlet Knights played Indiana, and it went exactly as you’d imagine. (17)

18. Maryland (2-3) Terrapins blow big lead with pick six that may deep-six Mike Locksley. (18)

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