Big Ten Superlatives: Week 8

Penn State was off on Saturday. But, there were other games. Those other games saw some things happen. What happened? Read about it here.

Best Win of the Week: UCLA Stays Unbeaten

It was a slow start for the Bruins at home on Saturday against Michigan State. But, UCLA dominated the middle two quarters, scoring four touchdowns on its way to a 28-10 win against the Spartans. More than that, the Bruins remain the conference’s lone unbeaten team and it should stay that way as they face off against non-conference for Nevada on Halloween. November will be a very interesting month for first-year coach Bob Chesney as the Bruins will close out with four bowl-caliber Big Ten opponents.

Worst Loss of the Week: USC Shut Down in Madison

How hot is the seat for Lincoln Riley now? The Trojans had negative yards rushing on the night, Jayden Maiava was sacked five times and threw two interceptions, and Wisconsin – with only about 200 yards of total offense – came away with an easy win.

Offensive Player of the Week: Caleb Komolafe, Northwestern

The Wildcats ran for nearly 300 yards as a team in a 42-14 rout of Rutgers. Komolafe carried the ball 13 times for 150 yards and a score and Northwestern improved to 6-1 on the season.

Defensive Player of the Week: Rolijah Hardy, Indiana

The Hoosiers rode their defense to a 13-6 overtime win against Michigan in the Big House. Hardy was a standout, coming away with nine tackles, two sacks, and forcing a fumble.

Offensive Play of the Week: Aiden Laughery, Illinois

More on Oregon later, but the Illini got a win on Saturday against the Ducks and the game’s biggest offensive play was Laughery’s 75-yard scoring run.

Defensive Play of the Week: Matt Kingsbury, Minnesota

More on Iowa later, but Minnesota won Floyd of Rosedale thanks, in part, to its ability to come up with key turnovers. This one came in the fourth quarter with Kingsbury collecting the deflection.

Most Big Ten Moment of the Week: Where’s the offense? Or is the defense that good?

Here’s your question – Saturday featured a lot of “defensive struggles”. Or was it really just that the offense was struggling? The Michigan/Indiana game featured a stretch where more than 20 consecutive passes were incomplete and the game’s lone touchdown came in overtime. Northwestern was the lone team to score more than 30 points on the weekend – and that was against Rutgers. If the conference hopes to win a fourth consecutive national title, one of these top teams is going to have to find a way to score more points.

Most Big Ten West Moment of the Week: Welcome to our misery, Oregon

Oregon wore the shiny label of Big Ten’s most likely new national champion all off-season. It’s the same way Penn State went into the 2025 season. Well, the Ducks are looking a lot like last year’s Lions. Oregon is now just 4-3 (2-2 in the Big Ten) after Saturday’s dispirited effort in Champaign.

Most Iowa Moment of the Week: Iowa didn’t get away with it this time

Saturday looked like a classic Iowa game – bad offense the entire day, a sudden late rally, and Kirk Ferentz’s team somehow wins. Rinse and repeat. Well, on Saturday at Minnesota, the Hawkeyes were trailing with less than four minutes to go when they suddenly put together a 98-yard drive to tie the game at 10-10. It felt like Iowa was destined to ultimately win in overtime, but it was the Gophers who drove into field goal range to earn the upset.

What We’re Looking Forward to the Most: Halloween in Happy Valley

Let’s have a good time next weekend. What do you say?