The fourth week of the regular season is in the books, and some Big Ten football teams are separating themselves from the pack as contenders.
Others? Well, not so much.
Michigan State suffered a tough loss at the hands of No. 25 USC on Saturday night, but the Spartans didn't look completely outclassed like many thought they would but they just couldn't complete the second-half comeback. The defense really deserves the fault there.
Where does that put Michigan State in the Week 5 Big Ten power rankings?
18. UCLA (0-3)
Last week: BYE
Last rank: 18
The bye came at the perfect time for UCLA. The Bruins are reeling after losing their head coach, and several players are considering hitting the transfer portal. UCLA is falling apart, but at least the Bruins got a bye week. At least they can't lose.
17. Northwestern (1-2, 0-1)
Last week: BYE
Last rank: 17
Northwestern got its first bye in Week 4, and the Wildcats can put it to good use with the worst team in the Big Ten coming to town this week. I'm not sure a win over UCLA will prove anything, but at least it will give this Northwestern team a little confidence.
16. Purdue (2-2, 0-1)
Last week: L 56-30 at No. 24 Notre Dame
Last rank: 16
If you're a fan of quarterbacks throwing the ball 35-40 times a game for around 300 yards with an interception or two in a losing effort instead of being a fan of winning games, Purdue may be your program. The Boilermakers always seem to have prolific passers, but the rest of the team is just mediocre. That proved to be true again in a 26-point loss to Notre Dame.
15. Rutgers (3-1, 0-1)
Last week: L 38-28 vs. Iowa
Last rank: 14
There's no shame in losing to a solid Iowa team, but where I do draw the line of shame is giving up nearly 40 points to the Hawkeyes. While Iowa has had a better offense over the past two seasons, it's not some world-beater. If Rutgers wants to be considered a serious program, it needs to win these games.
14. Wisconsin (2-2, 0-1)
Last week: L 27-10 vs. Maryland
Last rank: 12
The "fire Luke Fickell" crowd has already gathered their pitchforks and torches, and they're marching on Camp Randall as we speak. Wisconsin fans want Fickell gone after a lifeless home loss to a mediocre Maryland team. This team has just been super underwhelming through four games, and it doesn't look like it's going to be an easy fix. Maybe the Badgers can hire an alum like Mel Tucker to turn things around (not my words).
13. Minnesota (2-1)
Last week: BYE
Last rank: 15
Minnesota had a bye week, but the Gophers move up a couple of spots because Wisconsin and Rutgers looked so bad last weekend.
12. Michigan State (3-1, 0-1)
Last week: L 45-31 at No. 25 USC
Last rank: 9
This may seem like too big of a drop for Michigan State after losing to a ranked team on the road, but the teams just behind the Spartans really impressed me in Week 4. I did think the Spartan offense, led by Aidan Chiles, was good enough to win the game, but the defense sold.
11. Iowa (3-1, 1-0)
Last week: W 38-28 at Rutgers
Last rank: 11
Still sitting at No. 11 after beating Rutgers on the road? I just think that Maryland's win over Wisconsin on the road was just slightly more impressive. Plus, I just don't think Rutgers will have much of a pulse this season in conference play, and Piscataway isn't the scariest road environment. Still, Iowa showed an offensive pulse, and that deserves to be celebrated. A win over Rutgers doesn't move the needle.
10. Maryland (4-0, 1-0)
Last week: W 27-10 at Wisconsin
Last rank: 13
Is Maryland good? Is Wisconsin just bad? Has Mike Locksley turned a corner in College Park? I have so many questions, but I'm going to just assume this is Maryland's annual September title contender run where it just fizzles out the second the calendar turns to October. Still, you can't overlook a 17-point road win at Camp Randall. That was a great win.
9. Nebraska (3-1, 0-1)
Last week: L 30-27 vs. No. 21 Michigan
Last rank: 7
Nebraska had a chance to make a statement against No. 21 Michigan, but the Cornhuskers blew it. Patrick Mahomes Jr. and the offense just couldn't make up for the fact that the defense just couldn't bring down Justice Haynes, Jordan Marshall, and Bryce Underwood. The run defense owes Dylan Raiola a massive apology.
8. Illinois (3-1, 0-1)
Last week: L 63-10 at No. 19 Indiana
Last rank: 4
There's not much to say here. Bret Bielema's Illini probably shouldn't have even gotten off the bus on Saturday in Bloomington. Indiana proved it was better, and then didn't stop proving it. Back to the drawing board for Illinois.
7. Washington (3-0)
Last week: W 59-24 at Washington State
Last rank: 9
Washington State isn't exactly what it used to be under Mike Leach (RIP) and Jeremy Dickert, but you'd think a team that won eight games a year ago would have a little more pride in the Apple Cup. Demond Williams is looking like a legit Heisman candidate, and the Huskies are proving to be better than preseason expectations so far.
6. Michigan (3-1, 1-0)
Last week: W 30-27 at Nebraska
Last rank: 8
Exhausting Bryce Underwood hype aside, it's impressive what Michigan has done over the past two weeks without Sherrone Moore. While I'm not sold on Moore as head coach yet, having a team win two games in the fashion that it did without its head coach is impressive. Michigan beat Central by 60 two weeks ago and then went to Nebraska to take down the undefeated Cornhuskers.
5. USC (4-0, 1-0)
Last week: W 45-31 vs. Michigan State
Last rank: 5
I came away very impressed with USC's offense after watching the Trojans do whatever they wanted against Michigan State's defense, but Indiana's performance against Illinois was just too good not to vault the Hoosiers over the Fighting Lincoln Rileys. Jayden Maiava, Makai Lemon, and Waymond Jordan are fun to watch, and the Trojans are going to score a boatload of points this year.
4. Penn State (3-0)
Last week: BYE
Last rank: 3
This isn't going to make Penn State fans very happy, and I don't necessarily think this invalidates their AP ranking, but the Nittany Lions just need to beat a team with a pulse, and I'm back in. This is a top-five team in the country in terms of talent, but wins over Nevada, FIU, and Villanova don't move me.
3. Indiana (4-0, 1-0)
Last week: W 63-10 vs. No. 9 Indiana
Last rank: 6
Is Indiana actually better than Penn State? I can't say I believe that, but I do think that through four weeks in 2025, the Hoosiers have been the better team. Indiana, which jumped up eight spots in the AP Top 25 this week, was just beating up on lesser teams in the first three weeks, but the Hoosiers made a gargantuan statement against No. 9 Illinois, winning by 53 points. Right now, Indiana is the third-best team in the Big Ten.
2. Oregon (4-0, 1-0)
Last week: W 41-7 vs. Oregon State
Last rank: 2
Remaining at No. 2 is Oregon after mopping the floor with little brother Oregon State. The Ducks really just suffocated the Beavers after a slow start, scoring 34 straight points over the final three quarters to win 41-7. Dante Moore's Heisman campaign is really picking up some steam after 300-yard, three-touchdown performance.
1. Ohio State (3-0)
Last week: BYE
Last rank: 1
Sitting at No. 1 yet again is Ohio State. To put it bluntly, the Buckeyes aren't going to be dethroned unless another team near the top pulls an Indiana and beats a top-10 team by 50 points. Ohio State still has the best win of the year, beating No. 1 Texas in Week 1.