The Big Ten power rankings will be published weekly throughout the regular season using a mix of data-driven insight and unapologetic subjectivity. With 18 teams, nine conference games and wild variations in the quality of non-conference schedules, comparative analysis is an inherently flawed approach. Which is fine, because the Hotline hasn’t been wrong about anything in at least 90 minutes.

(Review last week’s Big Ten rankings here.)

The stages are set — three of them, in fact, across 11 consecutive hours of premium airtime with tens of millions of college football fans tuning in.

Are the top programs on the West Coast ready for the challenge?

USC, Washington and Oregon joined the Big Ten in the summer of 2024 in order to provide their football programs with maximum visibility.

(Also, for the money.)

The final Saturday in September offers exactly that in a unique way, with co-starring roles in an over-the-air network tripleheader:

— 9 a.m. on Fox: No. 21 USC at No. 23 Illinois

— 12:30 p.m. on CBS: No. 1 Ohio State at Washington

— 4:30 p.m. on NBC: No. 6 Oregon at No. 3 Penn State

More than 20 million viewers — and perhaps closer to 30 million — are expected to watch, although competition for eyeballs will be stiff. (The Oregon-Penn State game, for example, is up against Alabama-Georgia on ABC.)

It’s not the first time the Trojans, Ducks and Huskies will have appeared in each of the Big Ten’s broadcast network windows.

On the seventh Saturday of the 2024 season, Washington drew the Fox assignment and was beaten badly at Iowa. USC had the CBS broadcast and lost at home to Penn State (in overtime). In the NBC window, Oregon edged Ohio State in a thriller.

Collectively, will they fare any better this weekend?

USC has the most daunting logistical challenge.

The Trojans closed out Week 4 with a victory over Michigan State a few minutes before midnight and must cross the country for an early kickoff in Champaign.

Unlike the Huskies and Ducks (and UCLA), the Trojans didn’t play at 9 a.m. last season — they cannot draw on the experience to inform their preparation.

That said, their opponent just lost by 53 points (at Indiana). From a personnel standpoint, the Trojans are better positioned for success than either the Huskies or Ducks.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest duo is facing immensely talented opponents who possess significant advantages in preparation time: Ohio State and Penn State were idle on Saturday and will have had two weeks to prepare.

Don’t blame the Big Ten for that. Oregon and Washington would have received extra time, as well, but played their rivalry games, the Civil War and Apple Cup, respectively, on Sept. 20.

Non-conference games are set by the schools, not the conference office.

Could the Big Ten have slotted the matchups elsewhere on the fall calendar? Sure. But the conference is wary of stacking too many big games in the back half of the season. For its teams and its TV partners, balance is better.

Given that the Oregon-Ohio State duel on Oct. 12 of last year drew 9.6 million viewers (NBC), and the USC-Michigan matchup on Sept. 21 attracted 6.3 million (CBS), it only made sense to scatter showdowns across 11 Saturdays of conference play this fall.

(Another factor in the placement of the games on the calendar: The conference is reluctant to ask teams to make cross-country trips late in the season.)

Long before the Big Ten pieced together the 2025 schedule, Oregon and Washington blocked off Sept. 20 for their rivalry games.

Neither was a taxing affair — the Huskies won by 35 points, the Ducks by 34 — but their opponents have a clear edge in preparation.

At least Washington is home. Oregon is facing one of the most difficult environments in the sport: a night game in Beaver Stadium.

For the Ducks, the environment stands as the primary competitive disadvantage.

For the Huskies, it’s Ohio State’s personnel.

For the Trojans, it’s the logistics of an early kickoff.

But for all three, the exposure will be enormous — as will the opportunity.

To the power rankings …

1. Ohio State (3-0/0-0)

Result: did not play
Next up: at Washington (12:30 p.m. on CBS)
Comment: Quarterback Julian Sayin performed well under pressure in the Week 1 victory over Texas, but this will be the sophomore’s first start outside Ohio Stadium. He has thrown just five passes on unfriendly ground, in a brief appearance last season at Michigan State. (Previous: 1)

2. Oregon (4-0/1-0)

Result: beat Oregon State 41-7
Next up: at Penn State (4:30 p.m. on NBC)
Comment: The Ducks easily managed the noise generated by 12,000 fans two weeks ago in Northwestern’s temporary facility. There will be nine times that number in Beaver Stadium. Communication along the offensive line — to set blocking schemes and avoid false-start penalties — will be vital. (Previous: 2)

3. Penn State (3-0/0-0)

Result: did not play
Next up: vs. Oregon (4:30 p.m. on NBC)
Comment: Not hard to guess the Nittany Lions’ plan of attack after they rushed for 297 yards against the Ducks in the Big Ten championship game last year. That’s right: Two. Ninety. Seven. How will Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi adjust? (Previous: 3)

4. USC (4-0/2-0)

Result: beat Michigan State 45-31
Next up: at Illinois (9 a.m. on Fox)
Comment: The Trojans won at Purdue two weeks ago, suggesting 2025 won’t bring more of the same road woes from Lincoln Riley’s program. Illinois is better than Purdue. How much better, we aren’t exactly sure. (Previous: 4)

5. Indiana (4-0/1-0)

Result: beat Illinois 63-10
Next up: at Iowa (12:30 p.m. on Peacock)
Comment: In consecutive seasons, Cal’s quarterbacks have been Fernando Mendoza, who now starts for Indiana — and is a Heisman Trophy frontrunner — and Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who’s arguably the best freshman passer in the country. Ponder that for a minute. (Previous: 12)

6. Michigan (3-1/1-0)

Result: won at Nebraska 30-27
Next up: idle
Comment: Not sure why the Wolverines don’t simply use an acting coach every game, since they are 8-0 over the past three years when their head coach is suspended. (Previous: 9)

7. Washington (3-0/0-0)

Result: won at Washington State 59-24
Next up: vs. Ohio State (12:30 p.m. on CBS)
Comment: It’s clear the Huskies have an offense capable of contending for the College Football Playoff, but we’re far from certain their defense is worthy. The unit looked a bit wobbly in the Apple Cup as Washington State generated three 75-yard touchdown drives with no running game to speak of. Then again, Julian Sayin is no Zevi Eckhaus. (Previous: 7)

8. Illinois (3-1/0-1)

Result: lost at Indiana 63-10
Next up: vs. USC (9 a.m. on Fox)
Comment: Typically, it’s easier to recover emotionally from a blowout loss than a last-second gut punch. At least, the Illini better hope that’s the case. (Previous: 5)

9. Michigan State (3-1/0-1)

Result: lost at USC 45-31
Next up: idle
Comment: The back end of the schedule, with Iowa and Maryland, looks vastly more difficult than it did a few weeks ago. We’re starting to wonder if MSU’s bowl math simply doesn’t compute. (Previous: 6)

10. Maryland (4-0/1-0)

Result: won at Wisconsin 27-10
Next up: idle
Comment: The seat temperature is cooling rapidly for Mike Locksley and, in that regard, stands in contrast to the situation in Madison, where Luke Fickell’s tenure leading Wisconsin could be coming to an end. (Previous: 10)

11. Iowa (3-1/1-0)

Result: won at Rutgers 38-28
Next up: vs. Indiana (12:30 p.m. on Peacock)
Comment: An impressive win for the Hawkeyes — Friday road games are tough. But an entirely different challenge awaits this weekend. (Previous: 11)

12. Nebraska (3-1/0-1)

Result: lost to Michigan 30-27
Next up: idle
Comment: What’s the first word you think of upon reading this fact? Nebraska has lost 28 consecutive games against ranked opponents, a streak that dates to 2016. For us, the word is incomprehensible. (Previous: 8)

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13. Minnesota (2-1/0-0)

Result: did not play
Next up: vs. Rutgers (9 a.m. on Big Ten Network)
Comment: Other than their trips to Columbus and Eugene, the Gophers can win every game on their schedule. Then again, any team that loses by double digits to a team (Cal) that loses to San Diego State by 34 points can lose every remaining game on its schedule. (Previous: 13)

14. Rutgers (3-1/0-1)

Result: lost to Iowa 38-28
Next up: at Minnesota (9 a.m. on Big Ten Network)
Comment: Here’s what the short straw in the Big Ten scheduling matrix looks like: Washington, Illinois and Ohio State on the road; Oregon and Penn State at home. Good luck with that, Scarlet Knights. (Previous: 14)

15. Purdue (2-2/0-1)

Result: lost at Notre Dame 56-30
Next up: idle
Comment: This placement is both a credit to Boilermakers coach Barry Odom and an indictment of the bottom tier of the Big Ten, which is orders-of-magnitude worse than the bottom tier of the SEC — and could impact the conference when CFP selections are made. (Previous: 16)

16. Wisconsin (2-2/0-1)

Result: lost to Maryland 27-10
Next up: idle
Comment: Plenty of buzz about former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, who was cleared of any wrongdoing in the hazing scandal, as the obvious choice if the Badgers opt to make a coaching change. (Previous: 15)

17. Northwestern (1-2/0-1)

Result: did not play
Next up: vs. UCLA (12:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network)
Comment: With two weeks to prep for a guest in disarray, the Wildcats are ideally positioned for one of the few winnable games on the conference schedule. Several paths lead to a postseason bid, but every last one of them includes a victory over the Bruins. (Previous: 17)

18. UCLA (0-3/0-0)

Result: did not play
Next up: at Northwestern (12:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network)
Comment: Any candidates who express serious interest in the coaching vacancy before the Bruins figure out what they want to be, and how they plan to get there, should be instantly disqualified from consideration. Either they aren’t smart enough to know what they don’t know, or they know what they don’t know and don’t care, which is actually worse. (Previous: 18)

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