First and Ten – Week Eight

Ten takeaways from the eighth weekend of Big Ten Football. You can follow along all season on SiriusXM Big Ten Radio (Ch. 372).

HOOSIER CONCERN?

Sure the record has just the one loss to Ohio State. But this year’s edition of the Indiana Hoosiers is not on par with the championship team of a year ago. There’s talent for sure but another squeaker over a down Michigan team has to have Hoosier fans a bit worried.

MESSY MICHIGAN

The Wolverines gave the defending champs a run for the money on Saturday. But overall it was a sloppy game and there’s much to shore up in Ann Arbor beyond the Bryce Underwood-Tommy Carr quarterback scenario.

DUCKS DOWN

The season began with the Oregon Ducks the number two team in the AP 25 poll. That seems like an eternity ago. Oregon’s hopes for just a berth in the College Football Playoff are over after last week’s road loss at Illinois.

FIGHT IN THE ILLINI

The Illinois win was a big one for a Fighting Illini team that has gone through a lot this season including the dismissal of defensive coach Bobby Hauck and the loss of starting quarterback Katin Houser. Sadly Saturday’s win came before head coach Bret Bielema’s father Arnie passed away Sunday morning.

CHILDS PLEASE

The impressive run by Northwestern has been led by the emergence of Aidan Childs as one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He had 300 yards and 5 touchdowns total against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday and at this pace will be in the Heisman race as well.

IOWA QUARTERBACK WOES

It’s another story at Iowa on the QB front as the Hawkeyes continue to struggle offensively. While the running game and defense remain Iowa’s strong suits, neither Hank Brown or Jeremy Hecklinski are getting the job done.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR MARYLAND?

While Aazaar Abdul-Rahim was named interim head coach for the remainder of the 2026 season, it will be an interesting search for the next full-time head coach at Maryland in the wake of Mike Locksley leaving College Park. Athletic director Jim Smith hired the search firm TurnkeyZRG to assist with the process and where that net is cast will be a major story to watch as the program looks to regroup.

BRUINS BEST

The Bruins had a sloppy performance against the Spartans with two first half fumbles, but the defense gave Michigan State fits throughout their game. UCLA held Michigan State to 156 total yards and forced three turnovers to give their offense plenty of chances. The Bruins scored on two of the turnovers and ended the game with a fourth quarter interception. It all added up to UCLA remaining a perfect 7-0 and on top of the Big Ten Conference at 5-0.

SAY CHEESE

Wisconsin’s win over USC on Saturday night maybe shouldn’t have been as much of a surprise as some make it out to be. The Badgers have been trending gin the right direction the last few weeks especially on the defensive side of the line. Case in point, USC’s senior star quarterback Jaydan Maiava was picked off twice in the first quarter by the Badgers and ended the game being sacked five times for a loss of 57 yards. That helped the Badgers to cruise home with a 24-7 win at Camp Randall.

0 FOR THE CONFERENCE

The list is down to three teams still looking for their first Big Ten victories in 2026; Penn State, Maryland and Michigan State.