Big Ten. Big News.
• Week 6 features seven conference matchups, highlighted by No. 21 UCLA and No. 13 Oregon meeting at Autzen Stadium for a top-25 showdown at 3:30pm ET Saturday on CBS. A clash of the unbeatens is set for noon ET on FOX when No. 7 Indiana visits RV Nebraska.
• Dating back to the 2025 campaign, Indiana has won 21 straight games (including bowl and Big Ten Championship Game records). The Hoosiers are on the longest active streak in FBS and fifth longest streak by a Big Ten team since 1945.
• Minnesota moved to 2-0 in Big Ten play with a 20-14 win over Michigan, its first versus the Wolverines since 2014 and first at home since 1977.
• Nebraska improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2016 after defeating Maryland, 48-23.
• Northwestern opened its New Ryan Field with a 34-13 victory over Penn State. It was their most points the Wildcats had scored against the Nittany Lions since 2001. Northwestern finished with 413 rushing yards, their most in a game since 2003.
• The Big Ten has six teams ranked in the top 25 in the FBS for scoring defense, including three in the top 10. Five teams are among the top 15 in scoring offense with four in the top 10. Indiana is one of only three teams in the top 10 of both categories.
• The Big Ten had 10 teams included in both this week’s AP and US LBM Coaches Polls. The AP poll featured No. 5 Ohio State, No. 7 Indiana, No. 13 Oregon, No. 19 USC, No. 20 Iowa and No. 21 UCLA, while Wisconsin, Northwestern, Nebraska and Minnesota received votes. Oregon was the lone team whose ranking remained the same in the coaches’ poll with shifts for No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 17 USC, No. 18 Iowa and No. 22 UCLA. Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Minnesota also earned votes.
• The Big Ten Football Players of the Week were announced Monday with Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and Wisconsin’s Colton Joseph being named Co-Offensive Players of the Week. Smith had 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns against Iowa. His performance lifted the wide receiver to stand alone atop the Buckeyes leaderboard for career catches (207), receiving yards (3,381) and touchdowns (36). Joseph ran for 141 yards and scored once on 13 carries while also throwing for 145 yards and three touchdowns versus Michigan State. Joseph’s 141 rushing yards were the second most in a game for a Badger quarterback in program history and his 47-yard touchdown run was the longest for a Wisconsin quarterback since 1998.
• Northwestern’s Braydon Brus earned Defensive Player of the Week recognition after recording nine tackles (three solo), 1.0 TFL, one sack, an interception and a pass breakup against Penn State. Brus is just the third Big Ten player in the last decade (first since 2020) to post nine tackles, one INT, one sack and one PBU in the same game.
• Purdue’s Jacobo Echeverria Lozano was selected as the Special Teams Player of the Week. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goals to help the Boilermakers defeat Illinois for the program’s first conference victory since 2023. He ranks second for most field goals made by a Purdue freshman kicker.
• USC defensive end Luke Wafle was voted Freshman of the Week for his five tackles, including four solo stops, a career-high 2.0 TFL and one sack.
• 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 6.
• 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.
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