BIG TEN FOOTBALL RELEASE – WEEK 8 | STANDINGS | SCHEDULE | WE GIVE BLOOD DRIVE
• Week eight of the 2026 college football season features six conference games, highlighted by the fight for Floyd of Rosedale when Iowa travels to Minneapolis to take on Minnesota at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Maryland, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Washington will all enjoy a bye this week, with the complete schedule appearing to the right.
• Ten of the Big Ten’s 18 teams are mentioned in this week’s AP or US LBM Coaches Polls, announced on Sunday. The AP poll featured No. 3 Ohio State, No. 6 Indiana, No. 9 UCLA, No. 15 Iowa, No. 16 USC and No. 24 Northwestern, while Oregon received votes. At No. 2, Ohio State leads 10 Big Ten teams in the coaches’ poll (No. 6 Indiana, No. 10 UCLA, No. 14 Iowa, No. 15 USC, No. 23 Northwestern and No. 25 Oregon), Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin also earned votes.
• UCLA is one of six NCAA FBS teams to remain undefeated through seven weeks of the 2026 season. The Bruins defeated Wisconsin, 17-7, last weekend to stay perfect and become bowl eligible for the first time since the 2023 season.
• The Big Ten announced its Football Players of the Week on Monday, with Rutgers’ KJ Duff earning Offensive Player of the Week honors after posting nine receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-30 Big Ten road win at Maryland. The two receiving scores brought him to nine for the season, one shy of tying the single-season school record, and 17 for his career, tied for fifth most in program history.
• Michigan’s Chris Bracy claimed Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording the Wolverines’ sixth interception this season and his second interception of the year in a 21-18 victory against Penn State. The junior finished with eight total tackles, 1.0 sack, a forced fumble, an interception and a pass breakup.
• Oregon’s Gage Hurych won Special Teams Player of the Week by helping the Ducks to a 17-14 comeback win against Nebraska, going 3-for-3 on field goals with makes from 36, 36 and 37 yards. Hurych is one of seven FBS kickers still perfect on field goals with at least nine attempts.
• Ohio State’s Jay Timmons was tabbed as the Freshman of the Week, with seven tackles, two pass breakups and the forced fumble in Ohio State’s second ranked road win of the season against Indiana. His forced fumble in the third quarter marked the first fumble by the Indiana offense in 1,473 snaps, which was the longest streak in the FBS.
• Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith continued his standout season with four receptions, 68 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s 19-15 victory against Indiana. The junior wide receiver moved to ninth in Big Ten history for career receptions with 215, fourth in career receiving yards with 3,542 and is tied for first overall in career touchdowns with 39.
• The Floyd of Rosedale, a result of a bet between the governors of Iowa and Minnesota in 1935, is at stake Saturday as the Gophers look to win the trophy in Minneapolis for the first time since 2014. A win would also mark the first time since Oct. of 1978 that the Gophers had possession of Floyd of Rosedale, the Little Brown Jug and Paul Bunyan’s Axe at the same time. The trophy currently resides in Iowa City, with Iowa leading the series 46-43-2.
• Northwestern’s Robert Fitzgerald, Ohio State’s Carson Hinzman and Oregon’s Dante Moore were named finalists for the 2026 William V. Campbell Trophy on Oct. 21, with each of them receiving an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2026 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. Now in its 37th year, the Campbell Trophy is presented annually to the nation’s top football scholar-athlete.
• The 2026 Discover Big Ten Championship Game will be played on Saturday, December 5, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and will be broadcast by FOX. The winner will represent the conference as the Automatic Qualifier (AQ) to the College Football Playoff.
• Abbott and the Big Ten Conference kicked off Season 3 of the We Give Blood drive on August 26. Donations are tracked in real-time until December 4. The school with the most donations at the end will be announced on December 5 at the 2026 Discover Big Ten Championship Game. Every donation can help save up to three lives — and someone in the U.S. needs blood every two seconds. The leaderboard can be found on page 5.
• The Big Ten has claimed three consecutive College Football Playoff championships by three different universities (Indiana 2026, Ohio State 2025, Michigan 2024).
• With national championships in football and men’s and women’s basketball, the Big Ten became the second conference to sweep football and basketball national titles since 1981-82. The Big Ten is the only conference to achieve the feat with three different schools.
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BIG TEN SCHEDULE HAS THREE TOP 25 TEAMS GOING ON THE ROAD TO FACE UNRANKED FOES
Things to watch this weekend in the Big Ten:
Game of the week
No. 6 Indiana (6-1, 3-1) at Michigan (4-2, 1-2), Saturday, noon ET (Fox)
Indiana attempts to bounce back from a 19-15 home loss to No. 3 Ohio State that snapped the defending national champions’ 22-game winning streak.
Michigan could have a new starting quarterback for this game. The Wolverines rallied to beat Penn State 21-18 last week after Tommy Carr took over for Bryce Underwood at quarterback in the second half. Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham said he had decided on his starter but didn’t want to announce it beforehand.
The undercard
No. 15 Iowa (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) at Minnesota (4-2, 2-1), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Iowa has won 10 of its last 11 meetings with Minnesota and will attempt to maintain possession of Floyd of Rosedale, the 98-pound bronze pig that goes to the winner of this matchup. Minnesota already got a rivalry win this year by beating Michigan at home for the first time since 1977.
No. 16 Southern California (6-1, 3-1) at Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1), 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
One week after losing 17-7 at UCLA, Wisconsin returns home to try spoiling USC’s College Football Playoff hopes. Wisconsin’s home-field advantage could get neutralized a bit since this game is taking place at the same time Game 2 of the World Series is happening 80 miles away in Milwaukee.
Impact players
— Northwestern LB Braydon Brus had 15 tackles – including one for loss – in a 24-21 victory at Michigan State.
— Rutgers WR KJ Duff had nine catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-30 victory at Maryland. Duff has nine touchdown catches, and he has accumulated over 100 yards receiving in four of Rutgers’ six games.
— Oregon OLB Matayo Uiagalelei has recorded a sack in each of his last four games. His 24 ½ career sacks put him in a tie for fourth in school history. Nick Reed owns the school record with 29 ½ from 2005-08.
Inside the numbers
No. 9 UCLA has 19 takeaways to rank second in the Bowl Subdivision, behind only New Mexico (21). UCLA has eight more takeaways than any other Big Ten team. … Rutgers has the fewest penalty yards per game (28.67) of any Bowl Subdivision team. … Indiana’s FBS-leading streak of 1,473 straight snaps without losing a fumble ended against Ohio State, as the Hoosiers lost two fumbles in that game. … Washington’s 38-26 victory over Purdue last week marked the first time since a 2003 Apple Cup triumph over Washington State that the Huskies had won a game in which they committed at least five turnovers. … Penn State has lost its first four Big Ten games for a second straight season. The last time Penn State had started out 0-4 in Big Ten competition in consecutive seasons was in 2003-04.
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