Oregon, Ohio State and… oh, Purdue: Recapping a disastrous Week 2 for Big Ten football

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The Big Ten has had its time in the sun with three consecutive national championships.

But oh man, there was a reckoning to be had this past weekend. The conference, which weeks ago seemed to be relishing its newfound primacy, now stands on its heels with losses to ACC, Big 12 and SEC teams with a near-miss against the zombie Pac-12.

Let’s recap:

Texas 24, Ohio State 23

Ohio State’s losses under Ryan Day, few as they may be, have a few concerning parallels. Said parallels were on full display during the Buckeyes’ collapse at Texas on Saturday.

The Buckeyes, entering the fourth quarter with a 23-3 lead, allowed 21 unanswered points to the Longhorns in the final frame as the offense went stagnant and the defense allowed Arch Manning to get comfortable enough to lead Texas all the way down the field.

Does this kind of loss knock Ohio State out of the national championship race, let alone the Big Ten? No, we’ve seen the Buckeyes come back from worse. Does it cause plenty of angst for the scarlet and gray faithful that these kinds of games keep happening under Day? Absolutely.

Indiana faces Ohio State on October 17 in Bloomington.

Oklahoma State 39, Oregon 31

This though? That could very well be it for Oregon in 2026.

The Ducks got got by the same Oklahoma State team that dropped its season opener to Tulsa 24-10. The same program they beat 69-3 just last year, albeit during Mike Gundy’s ill-fated final years leading the Cowboys.

Oregon could still come back from this, for sure, anything’s possible. But Dan Lanning replacing his two star coordinators with internal hires rather than seeking outside ideas is looking an awful lot like a poor decision here early.

Duke 31, Illinois 27

Illinois in 2026 is pretty far from what it was in 2025, when the Fighting Illini appeared set for perhaps their strongest season under Bret Bielema.

Still, losing to Duke at home like this has to sting. The Illini got the better of the Blue Devils on the road last year before the drubbing against Indiana and seemed set for a similar result before a second half rally saw them take the lead in the fourth quarter and never look back.

Illinois has room to grow, but there’s gonna be pains with a new system on defense and an offense unable to stop the game from getting out of control.

Wake Forest 38, Purdue 36

Oh, Purdue. What can you even say.

The Boilermakers haven’t won a game against a power conference opponent since 2023. That opponent was Indiana, then coached by Tom Allen in his final game leading the program. Purdue has one less coach during the ensuring two seasons and a game than it has points against Indiana during that same stretch.

It looked like Saturday could be it for Purdue with overtime giving the Boilers a real shot to put Wake Forest in the dirt before they got introduced themselves.

Someday, perhaps.

Mississippi State 38, Minnesota 13

Minnesota let Mississippi State travel all the way up the titular river just to get rocked by the Bulldogs in its own house.

That’s 38-13, man. That’s a drubbing. Kamario Taylor is perhaps the most fun watch in the sport and torched the Gophers through the air for 227 yards and three touchdowns.

Yikes!

Washington 16, Utah State 14

Washington needed to intercept a Hail Mary to hold on against a Utah State team coming off of a season-opening 29-17 loss to FCS Idaho State. That’s as close to a loss as a win gets, thematically.

So that’s that in a really rough week for the Big Te- oh wait!

Michigan 17, Oklahoma 10

The Michigan Wolverines, they of the Mystery Second and the Secret Clock against Western Michigan in Week 1, nabbed the most impressive win of any Big Ten team on the young season with Saturday’s 17-10 victory over Oklahoma in Ann Arbor.

The Sooners were a playoff team in 2025 and were/are looking to get back there in 2026, having beaten Michigan down in Norman last season. The Wolverines were able to stay in front by a narrow margin throughout the contest before a Sooners field goal made it 10-10 early in the fourth quarter. An interception by Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer set Michigan up in prime scoring territory, and it took advantage in the redzone with a pair of runs to score and retake the lead, which proved ultimate.

Michigan went from a pretty embarrassing win to the only win worth talking about in just a week.

But that’s college football, I guess.

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