2026 Big Ten Football Week 5 Release

by | Oct 1, 2026 | Football Blogs

Big Ten. Big News.

  • Eight games are on the docket for Week 5 of the 2026 season, including a top-15 battle of the unbeatens between No. 5 Ohio State and No. 14 Iowa at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. ESPN’s College GameDay will make its return to Iowa City for the second time in the show’s history and first time since 2006.  
  • Dating back to the 2025 campaign, Indiana has won 20 straight games to become the 11th program in Big Ten history with at least 20 consecutive wins (including bowl and Big Ten Championship Game records). The Hoosiers are on the longest active streak in FBS and are the third Big Ten team with 20 straight wins since 2012-13.
  • Northwestern will open its New Ryan Field on Friday night against Penn State in front of a sellout crowd. The 35,000-capacity stadium will usher in a new era that returns Wildcats football to Central Street for the first time in 1,049 days, 100 years after its predecessor opened.
  • With a 54-3 win over Maryland, UCLA recorded its largest conference road win since 1955 at Washington State (+55) with a +51-scoring margin. Head coach Bob Chesney is just the second first-year UCLA head coach to start the season 4-0, joining Henry “Red” Sanders (1949).
  • The Big Ten had 12 teams included in this week’s AP and 13 in the US LBM Coaches Polls. The AP poll featured No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Indiana, No. 14 Iowa, No. 15 Oregon, No. 18 USC and No. 23 UCLA, while Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan, Nebraska, Minnesota and Northwestern received votes. Iowa, Oregon, USC and UCLA’s rankings remained the same in the coaches’ poll with shifts for No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 22 Penn State and No. 24 Michigan. Nebraska, Wisconsin, Washington, Northwestern and Minnesota also earned votes.
  • The Big Ten Football Players of the Week were announced Monday with Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith being named Offensive Player of the Week. Smith had a career day against Illinois with 12 catches, 217 yards and four touchdowns. He became the only player in Buckeye history to surpass 3,000 receiving yards and ranks 10th in Big Ten history (3,175). Smith has 34 receiving TDs in his career, which ties for fifth in Big Ten history. Smith’s 217 yards tied for sixth most in a single game in Ohio State history and he is tied for second behind 14 games with at least 100 receiving yards.
  • Minnesota’s Maverick Baranowski was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week after tying for the team lead with seven tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss in a 27-24 win at Washington. The linebacker also added 1.0 sacks and his first career interception.
  • Fellow Gopher Luke Drzewiecki was tabbed as the Big Ten’s Special Teams Player of the Week. Drzewiecki was 2-of-2 on field goals, converting from 31 and a career-long 51 yards. His 51-yarder proved to be the game-winner against the Huskies. Drzewiecki finished with nine points for Minnesota.
  • With a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in Iowa’s 20-19 road victory at No. 18 Michigan, Braeden Jackson earned Freshman of the Week recognition. The running back’s return is tied for the seventh-longest kickoff return for a touchdown in program history and helped the Hawkeyes earn their first win over a ranked Michigan squad on the road since 2002.
  • The 2026 Discover Big Ten Championship Game will be held 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 6.
  • The 2026 AP Preseason Poll features eight Big Ten teams in No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Oregon, No. 6 Indiana, No. T14 USC, No. 16 Michigan, No. 17 Washington, No. 18 Penn State and No. 22 Iowa, while Illinois and Minnesota received votes.
  • Indiana captured its first national title last season with a 27-21 victory over Miami (Fla.) in the 2026 College Football Playoff at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla. The Hoosiers capped off the season as the only team in college football history to go 16-0.
  • 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.