Where Oregon football stands in Big Ten power rankings as conference play starts
The Big Ten season begins in earnest this weekend as all games will be conference play.
Six teams remain undefeated, including a pair — Illinois and Indiana — who are 4-0. As expected, Ohio State remains the class of the conference, however, with Oregon and Penn State right behind.
With that, here are the Big Ten Power Rankings after week 4 of the season.
1. Ohio State
Last week: 1
Record: 3-0
This week: at Michigan State, 4 p.m., Saturday (Peacock)
Last week: 49-14 win against Marshall
What to know: The Buckeyes’ talent at the skill positions combined with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s play calling has Ohio State looking unstoppable. It scored four TDs of 40-plus yards against Marshall and averaged 12.3 yards per play in the first three quarters.
2. Oregon
Last week: 3
Record: 3-0
This week: at UCLA, 8 p.m., Saturday (FOX)
Last week: No game
What to know: The No. 7 Ducks’ long-awaited Big Ten opener will come against a familiar opponent and in a familiar venue as fellow Pac-12 transplant UCLA is first up on Oregon’s conference schedule. The Ducks have won four straight against the Bruins and 10 of the last 11 games between the two schools.
3. Penn State
Last week: 5
Record: 3-0
This week: vs. No. 21 Illinois, 4:30 p.m., Saturday (NBC)
Last week: 56-0 win against Kent State
What to know: The Nittany Lions came out of their bye week with some zest, as they set a program record with 718 yards of offense while also holding the Golden Flashes to just 67 yards and six first downs. Penn State’s previous record for total offense was 707 yards set in 1926.
4. Illinois
Last week: 6
Record: 4-0, 1-0 Big Ten
This week: at No. 8 Penn State, 4:30 p.m., Saturday (NBC)
Last week: 31-24 OT win at Nebraska
What to know: The Illini are rolling, having won four straight to open the season for the first time since 2011. With a win against the then-No. 22 Cornhuskers last week and then-No. 20 Kansas on Sept. 7, Illinois has beaten two ranked opponents in the same season for the first time since 2007. Can they get a third ranked win on Saturday against Penn State?
5. Michigan
Last week: 8
Record: 3-1, 1-0 Big Ten
This week: vs. Minnesota, 9 a.m., Saturday (FOX)
Last week: 27-24 win against USC
What to know: If nothing else, these Wolverines proved their resilience on Saturday. They were without their best offensive player in tight end Colston Loveland and didn’t get rattled after losing a 14-0 lead as they rallied for the victory to extend its Big Ten winning streak to a school-record 26 games.
6. Southern California
Last week: 2
Record: 2-1, 0-1 Big Ten
This week: vs. Wisconsin, 12:30 p.m., Saturday (CBS)
Last week: 27-24 loss at Michigan
What to know: Welcome to Big Ten football, USC. All but 32 of Michigan’s 322 total offensive yards came on the ground as the Wolverines mauled the Trojans at the line of scrimmage. And still, USC led until Michigan scored the go-ahead TD on fourth-and-goal with 37 seconds to play.
7. Indiana
Last week: 7
Record: 4-0, 1-0 Big Ten
This week: vs. Maryland, 9 a.m., Saturday (BTN)
Last week: 52-14 win against Charlotte
What to know: With another blowout victory, Curt Cignetti became the first coach in Hoosiers’ history to start his career at Indiana 4-0 — the teams’ first 4-0 start since 2020. The Hoosiers have outscored their opponents 202-37 this season.
8. Nebraska
Last week: 4
Record: 3-1, 0-1 Big Ten
This week: at Purdue, 9 a.m., Saturday (Peacock)
Last week: 31-24 OT loss to Illinois
What to know: The Cornhuskers played in front of their 400th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium, but it didn’t help them from losing their 25th straight to a top-25 team since 2016. Nebraska is also now 8-31 in one-possession games since 2018.
9. Rutgers
Last week: 10
Record: 3-0
This week: vs. Washington, 5 p.m., Friday (FOX)
Last week: 26-23 win at Virginia Tech
What to know: The Scarlet Knights had a chance to make their win against the Hokies a blowout, but instead needed a game-winning field goal with 1:57 to play. Earlier in the game, Rutgers missed two field goals, failed to convert on fourth-and-goal from the Virginia Tech 1-yard line, and lost a fumble inside the 5-yard-line.
10. Iowa
Last week: 12
Record: 3-1, 1-0 Big Ten
This week: No game
Last week: 31-14 win at Minnesota
What to know: How about a name to know: Kaleb Johnson. The junior running back rushed for 206 yards and three TDs — including two in a decisive 17-point third quarter — against Minnesota and now leads the NCAA with 685 rushing yards in four games.
11. Washington
Last week: 13
Record: 3-1, 1-0 Big Ten
This week: at Rutgers, 5 p.m., Friday (FOX)
Last week: 24-5 win against Northwestern
What to know: Thanks to stellar effort from their defense, the Huskies rebounded from last week’s Apple Cup loss to rival Washington State to win their first game in Big Ten play. Washington held Northwestern to 112 total yards, had two interceptions and also a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter.
12. Michigan State
Last week: 9
Record: 3-1, 1-0 Big Ten
This week: vs. No. 3 Ohio State, 4 p.m., Saturday (Peacock)
Last week: 23-19 loss at Boston College
What to know: It was a rough finish Saturday for the Spartans, who were less than 90 seconds away from improving to 4-0. Michigan State gave up the go-ahead touchdown with 1:28 to play and then QB Aidan Chiles had the Spartans in BC territory before throwing an interception in the end zone.
13. Maryland
Last week: 14
Record: 3-1, 0-1 Big Ten
This week: at Indiana, 9 a.m., Saturday (BTN)
Last week: 38-20 win against Villanova
What to know: The Billy Edwards Jr.-Tai Felton connection struck again on Saturday. Edwards threw for a career-high 328 yards and two touchdowns, including one to Felton who caught 14 passes for 157 yards.
14. Wisconsin
Last week: 15
Record: 2-1
This week: at No. 16 USC, 12:30 p.m., Saturday (CBS)
Last week: No game
What to know: The Badgers are reeling after quarterback Tyler Van Dyke injured his knee against Alabama on Sept. 14 and is out for the season. That means redshirt sophomore Braedyn Locke takes over the offense with a road trip to Los Angeles for a game against USC and its resurgent defense this week.
15. Minnesota
Last week: 11
Record: 2-2, 0-1 Big Ten
This week: at No. 12 Michigan, 9 a.m., Saturday (FOX)
Last week: 31-14 loss to Iowa
What to know: The Gophers led 14-7 at halftime against the Hawkeyes but were outscored 24-0 in the second half as Iowa took the bronze Floyd of Rosedale statue back to Iowa City. Minnesota will have to get over the loss quickly as its first trip to Ann Arbor since 2017 to play Michigan is up next.
16. UCLA
Last week: 18
Record: 1-2, 0-1 Big Ten
This week: vs. No. 7 Oregon, 8 p.m., Saturday (FOX)
Last week: 34-17 loss at LSU
What to know: The Bruins showed life on offense for the first time this season when they matched the Tigers point for point to go into halftime tied 17-17. That’s a season-high for points for UCLA, which was still shutout in the second half.
17. Northwestern
Last week: 17
Record: 2-2, 0-1 Big Ten
This week: No game
Last week: 24-5 loss at Washington
What to know: The Wildcats had no success on offense against the Huskies with the absence of running back Cam Porter, who was out with a lower-body injury. They’ll now have a bye week to get healthy.
18. Purdue
Last week: 16
Record: 1-2
This week: vs. Nebraska, 9 a.m., Saturday (Peacock)
Last week: 38-21 loss at Oregon State
What to know: The Boilermakers have been blown off the ball the last two games, as they’ve allowed 703 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground in convincing losses to Notre Dame and Oregon State.
Chris Hansen covers University of Oregon football, men’s basketball, track and field, cross country and softball for The Register-Guard. You can reach him at chansen@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @chansen_RG.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Where Oregon football stands in Big Ten power rankings after week 4
