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.
(Last week’s rankings are here.)
In case the Big Ten isn’t producing enough headlines recently, what with Penn State firing James Franklin and the conference pondering a $2.4 billion cash infusion, the basketball school in the bottom left corner of the footprint has quietly delivered a notable nugget.
UCLA is getting serious about football.
Yes, we’ve heard that line before in Westwood. But this instance appears different. The Bruins are asking the ask while they talk the talk.
How do we know? The University of California Board of Regents has called a special meeting for Tuesday in San Francisco to address a handful of issues, including the “Athletic Contract Compensation Components for UCLA Football Head Coach.” (It’s a closed session, unfortunately.)
In other words: The Bruins want the governing board to approve an unprecedented salary structure for the head coach hired to replace DeShaun Foster, who was dismissed last month, early in his second year.
Foster’s contract called for $3.2 million (average) over five years. His predecessor, Chip Kelly, made roughly $6 million in his final season with the Bruins. We suspect that taking the issue to the regents means the Bruins are seeking approval to offer annual compensation in the $10 million range, which would allow them to get an established winner at the highest level of the sport.
It’s worth noting that former UCLA basketball player Bob Myers is on the search committee and a member of the board of regents. There is nobody better to make the case for a next-level cash outlay — to explain to the regents why it behooves UCLA to spend big dollars on the football coach.
Another key point: This would not have happened under former chancellor Gene Block. But his successor, Julio Frenk, who took command of the Westwood campus in January, appears committed to saving the floundering program.
The combination of Frenk, Myers, mega-donor Casey Wasserman and alumnus Adam Peters, general manager of the Commanders — plus approval from the regents — provides UCLA with the chance to land a first-class coach.
And that would be the perfect twist to this sorry tale, for we can’t help but ponder the possibility that hiring Foster in the winter of 2024 will prove to have been an inadvertent masterstroke.
What if Foster’s flameout and the outrage over athletic director Martin Jarmond’s management of the program serve as motivation for the school to overhaul its compensation philosophy and offer the type of contracts typically associated with USC, Oregon, Ohio State and Michigan?
What if Foster turns out to be the unwitting, unsuspecting bridge from Block’s indifferent leadership to Frenk’s commitment to winning?
What if Jarmond’s great mistake — a hiring whiff for the ages — leads to the Bruins offering huge dollars and landing a coach who lifts the program out of its three-decade malaise?
What if absolute rock bottom was the necessary launch point for a remarkable transformation?
Granted, it’s all too rich, too delicious, to warrant serious contemplation at this moment. But the regents meeting is an intriguing first step on what could be a fascinating road ahead for the Bruins.
To the power rankings …
(All times Pacific)
1. Ohio State (6-0/3-0)
Result: won at Illinois 34-16
Next up: at Wisconsin (12:30 p.m. on CBS)
Comment: The Buckeyes, who don’t play Oregon or Indiana, will be massive favorites in every game the rest of the way, until the last game. (Previous: 2)
2. Indiana (6-0/3-0)
Result: won at Oregon 30-20
Next up: vs. Michigan State (12:30 p.m. on Peacock)
Comment: We considered the Hoosiers for the top spot, but Penn State’s unmasking — and the impact that had on our view of Oregon — contributed to the decision to slot Indiana just below the Buckeyes. (Previous: 3)
3. Oregon (5-1/2-1)
Result: lost to Indiana 30-20
Next up: at Rutgers (3:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network)
Comment: Among the most surprising developments Saturday was Oregon’s inability to maintain a clean pocket. (Indiana had six sacks.) One recurring problem: The running backs were ineffective in pass protection. (Previous: 1)
4. USC (5-1/3-1)
Result: beat Michigan 31-13
Next up: at Notre Dame (4:30 p.m. on NBC)
Comment: If you want to believe this isn’t your slightly older sibling’s USC, the performance Saturday evening was compelling evidence. Let’s see how the Trojans fare in South Bend before fully buying in. (Previous: 7)
5. Washington (5-1/2-1)
Result: beat Rutgers 38-19
Next up: at Michigan (9 a.m. on Fox)
Comment: Given the schedule ahead, the Huskies are in great shape to win eight with a reasonable shot at nine. And if you had offered that scenario when Jedd Fisch took over in January 2024, every UW fan in captivity would have gladly accepted. (Previous: 6)
6. Michigan (4-2/2-1)
Result: lost at USC 31-13
Next up: vs. Washington (9 a.m. on Fox)
Comment: The Wolverines aren’t out of the danger zone with second-year Sherrone Moore — enough still could go wrong this season to jeopardize his job. How might that series of events begin? With a loss this week, that’s how. (Previous: 4)
7. Nebraska (5-1/2-1)
Result: won at Maryland 34-31
Next up: at Minnesota (Friday at 5 p.m. on Fox)
Comment: If you are tracking the Big Ten schedule with an emphasis on egregious assignments comparable to Washington playing at Maryland (with the Terps coming off a bye), here’s one for the file: Back-to-back road games for the Cornhuskers, with the second scheduled for a Friday night. (Previous: 9)
8. Illinois (5-2/2-2)
Result: lost to Ohio State 34-16
Next up: idle
Comment: The lopsided nature of the losses to Indiana (53 points) and Ohio State (18) is far more telling than the losses themselves. The Buckeyes could have won by 30-something but eased off the gas. (Previous: 5)
9. Iowa (4-2/2-1)
Result: won at Wisconsin 37-0
Next up: vs. Penn State (4 p.m. on Peacock)
Comment: Although it has not received much attention outside traditional Big Ten spaces, the Hawkeyes are averaging 30.7 points per game. That doesn’t seem like much but is double their average (15.4) from two seasons ago. (Previous: 12)
10. UCLA (2-4/2-1)
Result: won at Michigan State 38-13
Next up: vs. Maryland (4 p.m. on FS1)
Comment: We have seen post-firing bounces before. The Bruins will return to sea level in the next week or two and finish with five wins. Remember where you read it. (Previous: 15)
11. Minnesota (4-2/2-1)
Result: beat Purdue 27-20
Next up: vs. Nebraska (Friday at 5 p.m. on Fox)
Comment: There’s a path to nine wins for the Gophers, which would mark the fourth such instance in PJ Fleck’s nine years. He doesn’t get enough credit for winning consistently at a difficult place to win consistently. (Previous: 13)
12. Michigan State (3-3/0-3)
Result: lost to UCLA 38-13
Next up: at Indiana (12:30 p.m. on Peacock)
Comment: Jonathan Smith returning to Oregon State is a terrible idea, even worse than Smith’s decision to take the Michigan State job in the first place. As the Hotline pronounced at the time: “We envision Smith getting swallowed up by the Big Ten and lost in the machinery of the massive league, unable to carve an identity that works for the Spartans the way his methods worked for OSU.” (Previous: 10)
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13. Maryland (4-2/1-2)
Result: lost to Nebraska 34-31
Next up: at UCLA (4 p.m. on FS1)
Comment: The victory at Wisconsin to open Big Ten play seemed to indicate major progress in College Park. With hindsight, it feels like a mediocre team slapping around a dreadful opponent. (Previous: 11)
14. Northwestern (4-2/2-1)
Result: won at Penn State 22-21
Next up: vs. Purdue (12 p.m. on Big Ten Network)
Comment: Who could have imagined that beating Penn State in Happy Valley would not be hailed as one of the greatest wins in school history? (Previous: 18)
15. Penn State (3-3/0-3)
Result: lost to Northwestern 22-21
Next up: at Iowa (4 p.m. on Peacock)
Comment: Had the Nittany Lions simply stopped Oregon on third and fourth down in the first overtime session two weeks ago, they would (likely) be No. 1 right now and churning toward a playoff berth. We cannot recall a turn of events like this, ever. (Previous: 8)
16. Rutgers (3-3/0-3)
Result: lost at Washington 38-19
Next up: vs. Oregon (3:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network)
Comment: Some offense and no defense does not a contender make. (Previous: 14)
17. Purdue (2-4/0-3)
Result: lost at Minnesota 27-20
Next up: at Northwestern (12 p.m. on Big Ten Network)
Comment: Better means better; it doesn’t mean good. (Previous: 16)
18. Wisconsin (2-4/0-3)
Result: lost to Iowa 37-0
Next up: vs. Ohio State (12:30 p.m. on CBS)
Comment: The bell that tolled in Happy Valley on Sunday is reportedly on the back of a flatbed, headed west on Interstate 90 to Madison … just in case the Badgers make a change. (Previous: 17)
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