We have officially arrived at the halfway point of the 2026 campaign (at least for most teams in the Big Ten). With six games down and six to go, we’ve seen teams cement themselves atop the league, while others remain in flux. Here is the Big Ten top five entering Week 7:
Big Ten football Week 7 top five
No. 5 Nebraska
Nebraska, which entered Week 6 with an unblemished record and five victories of 18 or more points, fell to Indiana at home. So why did the Cornhuskers make the cut? Because they dominated that game for more than 45 minutes.
After quarterback Anthony Colandrea weaved through the Hoosiers defense to cap off a five-play, 71-yard drive with six points, Nebraska held a 17-6 lead with 12 minutes left.
Through that point of the game, the Cornhuskers had suffocated Indiana’s offense, and, despite only having 17 points, made impressive work of the Hoosiers’ usually-dominant defense. But, of course, Nebraska didn’t finish the job. How the Cornhuskers respond in Week 7 at Oregon may determine the outcome of their 2026 campaign.
No. 4 USC
The Trojans are 3-1 in Big Ten play and own two road ones – the latest of which came at Happy Valley. Nowadays, winning at Penn State doesn’t carry the weight it did in the past, but any road win is impressive.
The USC offense continues to fire on all cylinders (430 total yards and zero turnovers last week), but the growth from the defense is what’s worth monitoring. It played its best half of football in the final frame of the Trojans’ win in Week 6, holding the Nittany Lions to just six total points and forcing a game-sealing fumble.
USC, at 6-1 overall, still has a shot at the CFP. But with a gauntlet of a schedule on the docket (three top-12 teams and at Wisconsin), the Trojans are going to have to earn it.
No. 3 UCLA
The Bruins, who decimated their first four opponents before going into Autzen and taking down Oregon, have a dream path to the CFP. They’re at Michigan and then get USC at home to close out 2026, but UCLA may not be challenged until those final two matchups (vs. Wisconsin this weekend, though).
The rushing attack has already put up nearly 1300 yards in five games, and the Bruins are averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Defensively, they’ve been absolute stalwarts (aside from yielding 38 to Purdue).
After holding Maryland to 181 yards, five turnovers and three points, UCLA forced a mind-boggling seven turnovers against Oregon. The Bruins committed three themselves in a turnover-fest for the ages. But that’s how it goes on the road in the Big Ten. Ugly or pretty, a win is a win. Good teams find a way, which brings us to…
No. 2 Indiana
OK, we get it. Undefeated reigning national champions at No. 2? That’s just wrong, isn’t it? Well, the Hoosiers have looked anything but dominant through six games. They were quite vulnerable at home against an admittedly-tough Northwestern club.
And on the road at Nebraska, which was a raucous environment against a high-level foe, Indiana was flat-out lost. For most of the game, that is. But the Hoosiers clawed back and survived. The defense got timely stops, the offense made big plays and Indiana escaped with its 22nd win in a row.
But Curt Cignetti’s club is yet to put a full game together. It may seem like we’re nitpicking – the Hoosiers are undefeated – but to sit atop the best league in college football, a team has to consistently play 60 minutes of great football.
No. 1 Ohio State
Speaking of inconsistency, ever since Ohio State’s infamous crumble at Texas (21 unanswered fourth-quarter points), the Buckeyes haven’t left a doubt.
They went into Kinnick Stadium, one of the toughest road venues in the country, and didn’t break a sweat en route to a 31-14 victory. Ohio State also tacked on blowout home wins over Illinois and Maryland, as well.
The Buckeyes defense doesn’t seem to be nearly as stingy as it was in 2025, but it’s still elite (more opponents have surpassed 14 points through six games than all of last season).
The difference is the offense, though. All-world wide out Jeremiah Smith, somehow, is even better than last season. Quarterback Julian Sayin is dialed in. But the rushing attack does remain mildly uninspiring.
It’ll all be put to the test in Bloomington on Saturday against Indiana, in a contest that’ll determine the top of this list, and, more importantly, the Big Ten title favorite.
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