2024 B1G Power Rankings - Week 8

Week 8 has wrapped in the B1G and it was the week of upsets.  Favorites were 3-4 on the week, with powerhouses Oregon and Indiana (!!) winning, as well as upstart Wisconsin.  Michigan, Iowa, and USC fell on the road, while Rutgers continued it's downward slide, falling a winless in the B1G UCLA. 

The week 9 slate features eight conference matchups.  Bottom feeders Purdue and UCLA are off this week.  Things get started Friday night, as Rutgers travels to USC in a game of two struggling teams looking to get back in the win column after three game losing streaks.  ESPN College Gameday is heading to Bloomington, as undefeated Indiana hosts Washington.  The Buckeyes are back, hosting Nebraska.  Penn State has to travel to Madison for a Halloween weekend night game in Camp Randall.  National #1 Oregon hosts Illinois.  Michigan's "Drive to six" is on, as they host Michigan State in a night Big Ten Network banger!

The week 8 B1G Power Rankings are below.  These are based strictly on on-field performance relative to the competition and is not a projection of things to come.  

1. Oregon (7-0) - The Ducks are 7-0 and #1 in the polls after taking care of business at Purdue.  They host Illinois in Eugene this weekend. 

2. Ohio State (5-1) - The Buckeyes were off and host Nebraska in week 9.

3. Penn State (6-0) - The Lions were off and travel to Wisconsin for a game under the lights at Camp Randall.    

4. Indiana (7-0) - The Hoosiers absolutely crushed Nebraska in Bloomington to get to 7-0.  They are moving up the polls and sit at #13 this week, just outside of the playoff.  10-0 Indiana going to the Horseshow in late November?  

5. Illinois (6-1) - The Illini manhandled Michigan in Champaign.  A week after giving up 49 points to Purdue, the Michigan offense was a welcomed guest for the Illini.  They travel to Oregon this weekend, looking to pull the upset.    

6. Wisconsin (5-2) - The Badgers had another impressive win at Northwestern.  They host Penn State at night, looking to pull the upset over the undefeated Nittany Lions.  They were in the same spot last year against Ohio State at the end of October, keeping it close before Ohio State pulled away late in the game.  The Wisconsin offense is much improved and is looking for Luke Fickell's first big win in Madison.

7. Nebraska (5-2) - The Huskers were throttled 56-7 by Indiana.  The Hoosiers were up early and kept the heat on the entire game.  Now Nebraska has to pull up their pants and survive in Columbus this week.

8. Michigan State (4-3) - The Spartans are coming off a good win against Iowa.  They held Kaleb Johnson to under 100 yards and Aiden Chiles is getting better week after week.  They travel to the Big House this weekend, looking to pounce on the floundering Wolverines.  

9. Iowa (4-3) - The Hawkeyes lost to Michigan State, unable to move the ball.  The defense has regressed, which doesn't bode well when the offense hasn't gotten any better.  They host Northwestern this week.

10. Washington (4-3) - The Huskies were off and travel to Indiana this week.  They will need to limit turnovers to upset the Hoosiers.

11. Michigan (4-3) - The Wolverines were once again horrible in a loss to Illinois.  They have an inept offense and allowed the Illini to control the game.  They host Michigan State this week. 

12. Minnesota (4-3) - The Gophers were off and host Maryland this week.

13. Maryland (4-3) - The Terrapins came back from a score deficit to beat USC.  Down 28-14, they went for two to make it 28-22.  A late touchdown allowed them to escape with a 29-28 victory.  They travel to Minnesota this week.  

14. Rutgers (4-3) - They lost a 3rd game in a row, this time to UCLA at home.  They were still missing a large part of their defense.  They travel to USC on Friday night, both teams looking to get back in the win column.  

15. USC (3-4) - Three losses in a row and the Trojans are really struggling.  They continue blow leads and that's a reflection on Lincoln Riley and the coaching staff.  They host USC in a "who wants to lose more" game on Friday night.

16. Northwestern (3-4) - The Wildcats lost their final game at the temporary lakefront stadium to Wisconsin. They travel to Iowa this week.  

17. UCLA (2-5) - The Bruins went in to Piscataway for a noon scrum and came away with their first B1G Conference win!  They controlled the entire game, scoring 20 points for the first time this season.  That leaves the CLEVELAND BROWNS as the only NCAA/NFL team that hasn't scored 20 points in a game this season!!!  

18. Purdue (1-6) - The Boilermakers were blanked by Oregon on Friday night.  They'll score the same amount of points this week as they are off!