Big Ten Power Rankings: Where do the Badgers fit after hectic Week 6?

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The Wisconsin Badgers enjoyed their bye week this past weekend, as they prepared ahead for their Week 7 matchup against the-now No. 12 UCLA Bruins on the road. The rest of the Big Ten, however, had another hectic week of action.

The action started on Friday night when Iowa decimated Washington on the road as a three-point underdog. The action carried over to Saturday, where Indiana squeaked by Nebraska, UCLA upset Oregon on the road, and USC beat Penn State in Happy Valley.

There were some other notable games as well, as Minnesota got demolished by Purdue, while Illinois upset Michigan State in overtime with a second-string quarterback ending the game.

Let’s get into our Big Ten Power Rankings for Week 7, and I’m going to sort by tiers here.

Tier 1

Ohio State

Honestly, I think the Buckeyes are in a tier of their own right now. Yes, they lost to Texas, but Ohio State could still very well be considered as the best team in the country right now. I think they’ve played better as the year has gone on, and that road win over Iowa last week is going to be good for their resume.

We’ll get an even better look at them this weekend on the road against No. 5 Indiana, who I considered, but did not put in this tier.

Tier 2

Indiana

The Hoosiers escaped with a 20-17 win over Nebraska on the road this weekend in a game that they had to come back from behind double-digits in the fourth quarter.

I think Nebraska is a very good football team, and they played extremely hard on Sunday. But Indiana has now squeaked by two close Big Ten wins with Nebraska and Northwestern. I do still think the Hoosiers are a good football team, probably a top-10 football team.

But this season is going to be predicated on how consistent Josh Hoover and Indiana’s run game can be.

Tier 3

UCLA

Iowa

I would’ve put UCLA in the second tier, but unfortunately, Nico Iamaleava is now out with a serious knee injury. The Bruins have looked fantastic under Bob Chesney, going undefeated so far. They got a marquee win over Oregon last weekend, and look like a complete team.

The offense had been humming all year long, and that’s the main concern now without Iamaleava. We’ll see how the Badgers defense fares against that unit this weekend.

Iowa remains consistently good, as they took care of business against Washington this weekend. They’ve managed without good quarterback play once again and also definitely have a complete team. They’re a sneaky College Football Playoff contender, sitting at 5-1. Here’s the rest of their schedule: @ Minnesota, vs. Wisconsin, @ Northwestern, vs. Purdue, @ Illinois, vs. Nebraska.

I think there’s a number of good football teams in that group, including Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue, and Nebraska. But the Hawkeyes have a shot at a really good season with another complete group.

Was also tempted to put USC or Northwestern here, but they’re at the top of the next tier.

Tier 4

Northwestern

Nebraska

Oregon

USC

Wisconsin

Northwestern is legit, but it’s really their loss against Indiana that convinced me. They were very close to winning that game before falling 29-23 on the road. Since then, they’ve beaten Penn State and Ball State, so the resume isn’t the strongest. But I do think this is a good football team and one worthy of being in the Top 25 right now.

The Wildcats also get Michigan State and Rutgers the next two weeks before a gauntlet against Oregon, Iowa, and Ohio State. They should be 6-1 going into that three-game stretch.

I came away from Nebraska’s loss on Saturday thinking even better things about the Huskers. I felt they were a Top 25 team already before last week, and the loss to Indiana only confirmed that for me. Nebraska could’ve very easily won that game. They’ve handled business against every other opponent, and have a quality team on both sides of the ball with a quality quarterback.

Oregon comes after that for me, but this is also with an asterisk. This team is clearly far different with and without Dante Moore, and that’s even with the 2026 version of Moore, who has been inconsistent behind an inconsistent offensive line.

Dylan Raiola had the worst performance of any quarterback this season in the FBS this season. It was the worst of the last three years by EPA per drive. The Ducks are better than what their loss to UCLA showed. But they won’t be themselves until we see improvements from a number of units.

Then there’s USC, which beat a mediocre Penn State team on the road this week. The Trojans have had the same story the last few years: struggles against good teams while beating mediocre and bad teams. I do think this USC team has talent, and the money they spent clearly indicates that. But the Trojans haven’t had many convincing wins this season.

I have Wisconsin currently at the bottom of this team, as every team above them would likely be favored in a head-to-head on a neutral field. Now, the Badgers have a chance to rise this week with a win over UCLA. If they beat the Bruins, that’s a notable win on their resume, and probably the best win of Luke Fickell’s career, even with the injury to Nico Iamaleava.

But for now, they’re a fringe-top 25 team.

Tier 5

Purdue

Minnesota

Michigan

Penn State

Washington

Purdue looks like a good football team. Credit to Barry Odom and his staff, who have inspired winning football with the Boilermakers for the first time in years. Purdue has already won the same number of games (3) than they won the last two years combined. They have two Big Ten wins, more than they’ve had combined the last two years.

And they just whooped Minnesota. I was tempted to put Purdue in a tier above, or frankly in a tier of its own, but settled for them as the clear top team in this tier.

The Gophers are still here, despite their 28-point loss to Purdue, after their wins over Michigan and Washington. But Minnesota does not look good, and they’ve been blown out bad twice now. Drake Lindsey, a serious NFL prospect before the year, has regressed. And this team still has to face Iowa, Indiana, UCLA, Penn State, Northwestern, and Wisconsin. Yikes.

Michigan can’t go higher on the rankings after their bye week. Bryce Underwood looks really rough this year, and the Wolverines have now lost close games to Iowa and Minnesota. I think their talent level is higher than this, and they’ve got a big win over Oklahoma. But their quarterback play and losses keep them here, for now.

Penn State and Washington both look like major disappointments at a combined 0-6 in Big Ten play. They probably beat the four teams below them, but they have significantly underwhelmed expectations this year.

Tier 6

Illinois

Michigan State

Maryland

Rutgers

It feels like a down year for Illinois, which is naturally going to happen in the portal era. They’re also going to be without quarterback Katin Houser for a considerable amount of time, but they pulled off the upset on the road against Michigan State in overtime this weekend.

The Pat Fitzgerald project is going awful. Michigan State, battered by injuries, is completely spiraling, and Fitzgerald is now 2-19 in his last 21 Big Ten games. The Spartans have been blown out by Nebraska and Wisconsin, and now lost to Illinois in Week 6.

Maryland has been a supreme disappointment, and Mike Locksley’s seat is getting hotter by the minute. It’s honestly unfathomable how bad the Terrapins have been with that much talent. Maryland has lost its three Big Ten games by a combined 147-42. There could be major change coming up.

Then there’s Rutgers, who was the laughingstock of Week 1 with a loss to UMass. They’ve since lost to Boston College (28-21), USC (42-35), and Indiana (47-15), with their lone win coming against Howard. They’re at the bottom of the Big Ten.

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