2024 Big Ten Power Rankings: Oregon reigns supreme, while Ohio State slips

Three months and a handful of twists and turns later, the Big Ten Championship game is set with conference newcomer Oregon set to face Penn State at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday night. The former is looking to entrench itself atop the league hierarchy after arriving from the Pac-12 over the summer, while the latter is seeking its first conference title since 2016.

For the Nittany Lions to even have this chance required No. 2 Ohio State to stumble against rival Michigan on Saturday afternoon, a result that ultimately went Penn State’s way. The unranked Wolverines stunned head coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes with a dramatic 13-10 win that gave the defending national champions four consecutive wins over Ohio state for the first time in more than 30 years. That opened the door for one-loss Penn State to punch its ticket to Indy by clobbering Maryland later in the day.

[RJ Young’s Ultimate 134 rankings, end-of-season edition]

Elsewhere around the league, Indiana ensured itself of a berth in the College Football Playoff by pounding Purdue, 66-0, in what proved to be the final game for Boilermakers’ head coach Ryan Walters, who was fired on Sunday afternoon.

Here’s the final batch of Big Ten Power Rankings for the 2024 season:

1. Oregon (12-0 overall, 9-0 Big Ten)

Result: 49-21 home win over Washington

There was nothing about the Ducks’ performance against Washington that suggested they’d already clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship game, regardless of how that contest unfolded. Head coach Dan Lanning’s team continues to play some of its best football of the season at exactly the right time, and its latest victim was an old Pac-12 rival. Oregon stormed out to a 28-6 lead by the 5:01 mark of the second quarter as a rushing attack that produced 226 yards and five touchdowns roared to life. Four different players scored rushing touchdowns for the Ducks, who converted five of eight times on third down and averaged 6.6 yards per carry. 

The offense was further bolstered by the return of star wideout Tez Johnson from injury (three catches, 36 yards, 1 TD). On the opposite side of the ball, Oregon’s defense feasted on true freshman quarterback Demond Williams Jr. by tying a school record with 10 sacks, including 2.5 sacks for standout defensive end Jordan Burch.

2. Penn State (11-1 overall, 8-1 Big Ten)

Result: 44-7 home win over Maryland

Aside from the Michigan fans themselves, nobody was cheering harder for the Wolverines than Penn State was on Saturday. Having lost to Ohio State earlier this season, the Nittany Lions needed Michigan to upend the Buckeyes in order to reach the Big Ten Championship game for the first time since 2016. And much to the delight of head coach James Franklin, that’s exactly what transpired at Ohio Stadium. From there, Penn State did its part by barnstorming Maryland with 44 unanswered points that led to a fifth consecutive win. A rushing attack led by tailback Nicholas Singleton (13 carries, 87 yards, 2 TDs) churned out 219 yards and four total touchdowns to put the game out of reach before halftime. The opportunistic Penn State defense, which now ranks fourth in the country overall (266.8 yards per game), only surrendered 72 rushing yards and forced quarterback MJ Morris to throw three interceptions. Maryland only converted two of 14 times on third and fourth down combined. Now the Nittany Lions will compete for a Big Ten Championship knowing they’ll be included in the College Football Playoff regardless of what happens against No. 1 Oregon in Indianapolis this weekend.

3. Ohio State (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten)

Result: 13-10 home loss to Michigan

The most stunning result from rivalry week took place in Columbus, Ohio, where an Ohio State team that was favored by as much as three touchdowns suffered a fourth consecutive defeat to Michigan. It was the first time in 48 games that head coach Ryan Day, whose job status will be the subject of endless debate in the coming weeks, lost to an unranked opponent. That he became the first Buckeyes’ coach to drop four in a row to Michigan since the much-maligned John Cooper from 1988-91 only further ignited the fan base. Quarterback Will Howard, the handpicked transfer from Kansas State, played his worst game of the season at the most inopportune time. He completed 19 of 33 passes (57.6%) for 175 yards, one touchdown and a season-high two interceptions, both of which were extremely poor throws. The subpar showing from Howard was compounded by a rushing game that only generated 77 yards on 26 carries against a highly talented Michigan defensive front. Two missed field goals from kicker Jayden Fielding and an inexplicable defensive penalty for having 12 men on the field after a timeout helped seal defeat for the Buckeyes down the stretch.

4. Indiana (11-1 overall, 8-1 Big Ten)

Result: 66-0 home win over Purdue

A handful of favorable results two weeks ago meant that Indiana was already in excellent position to earn an at-large berth in the College Football Playoff, and the Hoosiers put an exclamation mark on their candidacy by obliterating in-state rival Purdue on a snowy day at Memorial Stadium. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who must be considered among the most impactful transfers in the country this season, completed 23 of 31 passes for 349 yards and six touchdowns, which tied a school record. His touchdown-to-interception ratio of 27 to four is the best in the Big Ten during his first year with the program after a successful stint at Ohio. Even more impressive was an Indiana defense that limited Purdue to 67 yards of total offense, including just 13 on the ground, and only five first downs in a thoroughly dominating display. The Boilermakers never converted on third down and finished with fewer than 24 minutes in time of possession. With a playoff berth all but secure, head coach Curt Cignetti should be a shoo-in for national coach of the year awards.

5. Illinois (9-3 overall, 6-3 Big Ten)

Result: 38-28 road win over Northwestern

A four-point advantage for Illinois at halftime quickly ballooned into an insurmountable 18-point cushion courtesy of two touchdowns in the opening five minutes of the third quarter. That was more than enough for the Illini to hold off Northwestern and earn their ninth win for the first time since 2007, a feather in the cap for head coach Bret Bielema, who is now 27-22 overall across four seasons. Tailback Aidan Laughery exploded for 172 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, with all three of his scores measuring at least 30 yards. His efforts were buttressed by an Illinois defense that forced four turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble) to offset more than 440 yards and 90 offensive plays from the Wildcats. Though Bielema’s team won’t ascend high enough in the rankings to reach the College Football Playoff, it has a chance to equal the school record for single-season wins with 10, a mark that has been achieved three times in program history: 1902, 1983 and 2001. Illinois finished fifth in the Big Ten standings behind Oregon, Indiana, Penn State and Ohio State this year. 

6. Michigan (7-5 overall, 5-4 Big Ten)

Result: 13-10 road win over No. 2 Ohio State

If there was one thing that could salvage an otherwise disappointing season for Michigan, the defending national champion, it was a fourth consecutive victory over Ohio State — something that hadn’t happened in this storied rivalry since 1988-91, during the transition from legendary head coach Bo Schembechler to successor Gary Moeller. First-year head coach Sherrone Moore deserves immense credit for guiding his team along a narrow path to victory given the obvious deficiencies at quarterback, wide receiver and cornerback that have plagued the Wolverines all season. A rushing attack that only surfaced in fits and starts behind a revamped offensive line produced one of its finest performances of the year by carving out 173 yards and a touchdown on 41 pad-popping attempts. Tailback Kalel Mullings, the converted linebacker, led the way with 116 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries after fellow running back Donovan Edwards exited due to injury. New defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale called a fantastic game that both harassed quarterback Will Howard (two interceptions) and protected a secondary that played without star cornerback Will Johnson. The Wolverines only gave up 252 yards of total offense, including a measly 77 on the ground, and never allowed a pass longer than 24 yards.

7. Iowa (8-4 overall, 6-3 Big Ten)

Result: 13-10 home win over Nebraska

This was a prototypical Iowa victory in every sense of the word. Head coach Kirk Ferentz’s team fell behind 10-0 at halftime before corralling the Cornhuskers with smothering defense, one huge pass play and the kind of special teams efficiency that has typified this program for years. Quarterback Jackson Stratton, a former walk-on transfer from Colorado State, accounted for 62.6% of his passing yards on one touchdown to running back Kaleb Johnson, who turned a simple swing pattern into a 72-yard score that included five broken tackles. The play served as a bolt of lightning on an evening when Iowa failed to convert a single third down and only moved the chains five times. Kicker Drew Stevens drilled a 53-yard field goal in frigid conditions to give the Hawkeyes a win as time expired. Ferentz has now won at least eight games in nine consecutive seasons outside of the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

8. Minnesota (7-5 overall, 5-4 Big Ten)

Result: 24-7 road win over Wisconsin

Quarterback Max Brosmer bounced back from one of his worst outings of the season in Minnesota’s one-point loss to then-No. 4 Penn State two weeks ago with a highly efficient, three-touchdown effort against the Badgers. Brosmer, a transfer from New Hampshire, completed 17 of 26 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns in what finished as his eighth interception-free game of the season. He also opened the scoring with a one-yard run that pushed his overall total to five rushing touchdowns this year. As efficient as the Gophers were on offense, it was the Minnesota defense that turned in a statement performance on Friday afternoon. Defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman’s group sold out to stop Wisconsin’s rushing attack, limiting the Badgers to just 36 yards on 24 carries, and in doing so dared quarterback Braedyn Locke to beat them through the air. Put simply, Locke came nowhere close. He only completed 15 of 32 passes (46.9%) for 130 yards and a touchdown as the Badgers converted just three of 14 times on third and fourth down combined. Minnesota’s secondary did not allow a completion longer than 16 yards as it held its seventh opponent of the season to 20 points or fewer.

9. Rutgers (7-5 overall, 4-5 Big Ten)

Result: 41-14 road win over Michigan State

Head coach Greg Schiano and his staff deserve plenty of credit for rallying the Scarlet Knights from a four-game losing streak in the middle of the season to win three of their final four and set a new program record for conference wins since joining the Big Ten in 2014. Despite windy and snowy conditions in East Lansing, Michigan, the Rutgers offense scored on eight of its nine possessions behind the one-two rushing punch of tailbacks Kyle Monangai (31 carries, 129 yards, 1 TD) and Antwan Raymond (nine carries, 71 yards, 2 TDs). Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis turned in his third consecutive interception-free outing while throwing for 157 yards and a touchdown as Rutgers converted eight of 14 times on third and fourth down combined. Now the Scarlet Knights will play in a bowl game for the second time in as many seasons, which hasn’t been accomplished at Rutgers since former coach Kyle Flood did it in 2013 and 2014. They finished tied for ninth in the Big Ten standings.

10. Washington (6-6 overall, 4-5 Big Ten)

Result: 49-21 road loss to No. 1 Oregon

Head coach Jedd Fisch gave Washington fans a glimpse of the future by giving true freshman quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who had been splitting time with veteran Will Rogers, the first start of his career. The former four-star recruit from Chandler, Arizona, completed 17 of 20 passes for 201 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions — but he was under constant siege from an Oregon defense that tied a program record with 10 sacks. Washington’s lopsided loss was in keeping with an uneven first season in the Big Ten. The Huskies, who were decimated by coaching and player defections over the winter, never won consecutive games against power conference opponents, but also never lost more than two games in a row. An emotional victory over then-No. 10 Michigan in a rematch of last year’s national championship game served as the highlight, while a 35-6 thumping on the road at then-No. 6 Penn State brought Fisch’s team back down to earth.

11. USC (6-6 overall, 4-5 Big Ten)

Result: 49-35 home loss to No. 5 Notre Dame

A rivalry game that was tied 14-14 at halftime swung firmly in the direction of the visitors as Notre Dame poured on 21 points in the third quarter alone to distance itself from USC at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday evening. This marked the Trojans’ first loss since head coach Lincoln Riley benched starting quarterback Miller Moss in favor of UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava, who completed 27 of 49 passes (55.1%) for 360 yards with three touchdowns and a season-high two interceptions, both of which were returned for scores measuring 99 yards and 100 yards in the fourth quarter. USC’s offense generated more than 550 total yards and averaged seven yards per carry on the ground but was undone by Maiava’s late-game mistakes and three failed attempts on fourth down. Though the Trojans won two out of their last three games to reach bowl eligibility, the season itself will likely be viewed as a failure by large portions of the fan base — especially after Riley said over the summer that he planned to contend for Big Ten Championships and national championships immediately after joining the new league.

12. Nebraska (6-6 overall, 3-6 Big Ten)

Result: 13-10 road loss to Iowa

There was something devilishly apropos about Nebraska’s season ending with another one-score loss, a common theme for the program under head coach Matt Rhule and predecessor Scott Frost in recent years. Quarterback Dylan Raiola, a true freshman, fumbled at his own 36-yard line with :20 remaining to set up what proved to be the game-winning field goal for Iowa. It was Raiola’s third fumble of the game after two previous miscues were fortuitously recovered by the Cornhuskers. Rhule and his staff will be kicking themselves for losing a game in which the Hawkeyes’ offensive only moved the chains five times and failed to convert a single third down. Nebraska finished with an advantage of nearly 20 minutes in time of possession but still lost to Iowa for the ninth time in the last 10 games against its rival. Fortunately for Rhule, his team had already clinched bowl eligibility before suffering its fifth one-score loss of the season.

13. Wisconsin (5-7 overall, 3-6 Big Ten)

Result: 24-7 road loss to Minnesota

A season that was already sliding in the wrong direction came to a thudding halt Friday afternoon when Wisconsin was beaten handily by unranked Minnesota in the battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe. It’s hard to argue that the program is making progress under second-year head coach Luke Fickell considering the Badgers have now lost five games in a row — the first time that’s happened in more than 30 years — by an average of 17.2 points per game. Fickell’s decision to fire offensive coordinator Phil Longo in mid-November hardly generated much of a spark as Wisconsin turned in its worst showing of the year on that side of the ball with just 166 total yards against the Gophers, including a season-low 36 yards on the ground. An overall record of 5-7 is the Badgers’ worst regular-season mark since 2001, which was also the last time Wisconsin missed a bowl game. Fickell, whose job status might now be called into question, will have to hope a few invites are extended to teams with below .500 records if he wants to extends the program’s postseason streak.

14. UCLA (5-7 overall, 3-6 Big Ten)

Result: 20-13 home win over Fresno State

The Bruins ended their first season under head coach DeShaun Foster on a positive note by defeating Fresno State to snap a two-game losing skid. They erased a 10-6 halftime deficit by scoring 14 straight points spanning the third and fourth quarter before keeping the Bulldogs at bay in the waning minutes. The high point of UCLA’s debut as a member of the Big Ten was a three-game winning streak over Rutgers, Nebraska and Iowa in the middle of the year that proved Foster’s team could compete. But a loaded schedule that included games against Indiana, LSU, Oregon and Penn State also saddled the Bruins with a handful of lopsided and humbling defeats. They finished tied for 12th in the Big Ten standings overall but last among the four West Coast newcomers formerly of the Pac-12.

15. Michigan State (5-7 overall, 3-6 Big Ten)

Result: 41-14 home loss to Rutgers

It’s difficult to characterize the 2024 season as anything but disappointing for first-year head coach Jonathan Smith, formerly of Oregon State. The Spartans lost seven of their final nine games as the offense slipped to 110th in the country (333.4 yards per game) and the defense sunk to 77th nationally in scoring (26.1 points per game). A turnover margin of minus-8 was tied for 114th overall and second-to-last in the Big Ten ahead of Purdue. The debut of starting quarterback Aidan Chiles, a highly rated recruit who followed Smith to Michigan State, was thrilling at times but marred by turnovers and inconsistency. Chiles only completed 59.4% of his passes this season and finished with nearly as many interceptions (11) as touchdown passes (13). Smith and his staff also have plenty of work to do on the recruiting trail, where the Spartans don’t have any commitments from players ranked among the top 500 nationally as the early signing period nears.

16. Northwestern (4-8 overall, 2-7 Big Ten)

Result: 38-28 home loss to No. 23 Illinois

There’s no question that the second season under head coach David Braun was disappointing after the Wildcats finished 8-5 overall and 5-4 in the Big Ten during his debut last year. But it’s worth noting that Northwestern split its home games between a temporary, on-campus facility that only held a few thousand people and Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, as construction on its new stadium got underway. Northwestern lost three in a row to end the season and five of six overall by an average margin of 24.8 points per game to finish 16th in the Big Ten standings. It marks the third time in the last four years that the Wildcats have won two or fewer conference games in a season.

17. Maryland (4-8 overall, 1-8 Big Ten)

Result: 44-7 road loss to No. 4 Penn State

The first year for Maryland post-Taulia Tagovailoa, a star quarterback who exhausted his eligibility, proved excruciatingly difficult as the Terrapins lost five games in a row to end the season and only notched one victory after beating Villanova on Sept. 21. Head coach Mike Locksley’s team led 7-0 after 14 seconds against Penn State on Saturday before allowing 44 unanswered points in what ended as another blowout loss. Seven of the team’s eight losses this season came by at least 14 points, including the quintet of consecutive defeats to end the year. Maryland failed to qualify for a bowl game for the first time since 2020.

18. Purdue (1-11 overall, 0-9 Big Ten)

Result: 66-0 road loss to No. 10 Indiana 

Purdue’s season thudded to a depressing halt on Saturday with the program’s most lopsided loss in 125 games against in-state rival Indiana. Head coach Ryan Walters, who has since been fired and will reportedly receive a buyout of more than $9 million, called Saturday’s showing “the worst performance offensively that I’ve ever seen,” which was a damning description from the team’s play caller on that side of the ball. The Boilermakers only gained 67 yards of total offense and failed to convert a single third down on a cold and snowy day at Memorial Stadium. They lost 11 straight games to end the season and were by far the worst team in the Big Team.  

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.

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