The Whistlestop Tour: Week 7 of Big Ten Football

The Whistlestop Tour: Week 7 of Big Ten Football

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The Whistlestop Tour: Week 7 of Big Ten Football
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – OCTOBER 17: Tommy Carr #14 of the Michigan Wolverines runs with the ball against Marcus Neal #31 of the Penn State Nittany Lions during the second half of a college football game at Michigan Stadium on October 17, 2026 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Michigan Wolverines won the game 21-18. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images) | Getty Images

We have a new No. 1 team in our recap this week. Ohio State’s 19-15 win in Bloomington has the Buckeyes back atop the Big Ten standings, but there are some teams closing in. We cannot overlook UCLA, who has been really, really good this year and is one of just six remaining unbeaten teams.

  1. Ohio State (Last Week: 2, 6-1, 4-0) – Beat Indiana 19-15 – How long will the Buckeyes stay here. Yes, they beat a top contender for the league crown on the road, but losing Julian Sayin for several weeks is devastating. They barely hung on here.
  2. UCLA (Last Week: 3, 6-0, 4-0) – Beat Wisconsin 17-7 – The Bruins are getting scary good. They are winning games in multiple ways. Against Purdue, they won a shootout. Against Wisconsin they won a defensive struggle. With their remaining schedule they could stay undefeated.
  3. Indiana (Last Week: 1, 6-1, 3-1) – Lost to Ohio State 19-15 – The Hoosiers finally lost, but Indiana-Ohio State is officially a bit of a rivalry now. They just missed connecting on another late game-winning TD. The rest of the schedule is very manageable for a rematch in Indy.
  4. Northwestern (Last Week: 7, 5-1, 3-1) – Beat Michigan State 24-21 – What a final minute turnaround. The Wildcats blocked MSU’s game-winning FG attempt, then drove down and made their own with 2 seconds left. The Wildcats are really solid.
  5. USC (Last Week: 6, 6-1, 3-1) – On BYE – After a week 0 game and then six more straight weeks someone finally let the Trojans get some rest.
  6. Iowa (Last Week: 4, 5-1, 2-1) – On BYE – The Hawkeyes were also on a break, but it’s Iowa. At least three more 24-17 games are coming from them.
  7. Oregon (Last Week: 8, 4-2, 2-1) – Beat Nebraska 17-14 – I am not used to Oregon with a bad offense, and playing their third string QB certainly didn’t help matters. What is wrong with these guys?
  8. Nebraska (Last Week: 5, 5-2, 2-2) – Lost to Oregon 17-14 – For the second straight week Nebraska was moments from a breakthrough win, but like every other time since they joined the Big Ten, it just didn’t happen. This team is cursed in close games.
  9. Wisconsin (Last Week: 11, 4-2, 2-1) – Lost to UCLA 17-7 – They get credit for slowing down UCLA, but how bad is the offense when they got only 7 points at home to a defense that gave up 30+ to Purdue?
  10. Washington (Last Week: 13, 4-3, 1-3) – Beat Purdue 38-26 – This was a really weird game. It felt like both Purdue and Washington were trying as hard as they could to give it away. In the end, the Purdue defense was more generous.
  11. Michigan (Last Week: 15, 4*-2, 1-2) – Beat Penn State 21-18 – The less said about this game the better.
  12. Purdue (Last Week: 8, 3-4, 2-2) – Lost to Washington 38-26 – I really thought Purdue was turning a corner, especially on defense, but then it was gashed by a backup quarterback who still threw three interceptions. There is no question Purdue is better, but consistency is needed. I think we beat Maryland and get one more, but two more beyond Maryland might be a stretch.
  13. Minnesota (Last Week: 10, 4-2, 2-1) – On BYE – The Gophers had a week off to soothe their wounds after losing to Purdue. The good news is that it is only one loss, but this is a weird team.
  14. Illinois (Last Week: 12, 3-3, 1-2) – On BYE – This week they host Oregon in what will be a very interesting game. If Illinois is good, they find a way to beat an Oregon team that has been extremely underwhelming.
  15. Rutgers (Last Week: 18, 2-4, 1-2) Beat Maryland 37-30 – Hey! Rutgers got a Big Ten win! After losing badly to UMass I didn’t think that would happen.
  16. Michigan State (Last Week: 16, 2-5, 0-4) – Lost to Northwestern 24-21 – It looked like Sparty was going to break through with a nice little upset, but that final minute was brutal.
  17. Penn State (Last Week: 14, 3-4, 0-4) – Lost to Michigan 21-18 – What kind of Penn State will Purdue get in two weeks. Both will be coming off of a bye, but Purdue has had a lot more positives around them of late. I’d love to steal one in Happy Valley, something I did not expect to say when the year started.
  18. Maryland (Last Week: 17, 2-5, 0-4) – Lost to Rutgers 37-30 – It’s starting to look like Mike Locksley won’t make it to the Purdue game on November 7, which absolutely has to be a Boilermaker win.

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