Big Ten QB Rankings Week 7: Sayin Holds No. 1 Ahead of High-Stakes Indiana Showdown

Ohio State’s Julian Sayin holds No. 1 in the Big Ten quarterback rankings entering Week 7, and Saturday’s noon kickoff at Indiana puts him on the same field as No. 2 Josh Hoover with first place on the line.

Northwestern’s Aidan Chiles climbs to No. 4, while Wisconsin’s Colton Joseph and Penn State’s Rocco Becht enter the top 8. Oregon’s Dante Moore and UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava drop out with injuries, and Nebraska’s Anthony Colandrea slips one spot after Indiana erased an 11-point fourth-quarter lead.

8. Rocco Becht, Penn State (Prev: NR)

• Last week: L 31-23 vs. USC, 289 yds, 1 TD
• Next: at Michigan, Sat. Oct. 17, 3:30 p.m. ET

Becht threw for 289 yards and a touchdown in front of 114,419 fans, the largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history, and Penn State converted three fourth downs on scoring drives to stay tied 17-17 at halftime. USC held the Nittany Lions to 68 rushing yards on 31 carries, so the offense ran almost entirely through Becht’s arm.

The Iowa State transfer returns on his full body of work: 1,397 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions, a better touchdown-to-interception ratio than Michigan’s Bryce Underwood or Iamaleava. Penn State has lost three straight games, though, and Saturday’s trip to Ann Arbor matches him against another struggling first-year staff.

7. Colton Joseph, Wisconsin (Prev: NR)

• Last week: Bye
• Next: at UCLA, Sat. Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m. ET

Joseph enters during Wisconsin’s bye because two quarterbacks ahead of him are sidelined, and his last two games produced Big Ten wins. He hit tight end Jacob Harris for a 72-yard touchdown with 1:13 left to beat Penn State 24-20, then threw three touchdown passes and ran for 141 yards against Michigan State to share Big Ten co-Offensive Player of the Week honors with Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith.

The Old Dominion transfer has 1,132 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions, and he completed just 9 of 20 passes against the Spartans. His running gives him the edge over Becht, and he’ll face a UCLA team preparing to play without Iamaleava at the Rose Bowl.

6. Ryan Browne, Purdue (Prev: 7)

• Last week: W 41-13 vs. Minnesota, 159 yds, 1 TD; 81 rush yds, 1 TD
• Next: vs. Washington, Fri. Oct. 16, 8 p.m. ET

Browne found George Burhenn for a 15-yard touchdown to put Purdue up 10-0, then rolled left for a 12-yard score that capped a 75-yard drive early in the fourth quarter. Fame Ijeboi ran for 195 yards and three touchdowns against his former team, and the Boilermakers scored on all six of their red-zone trips.

The redshirt junior has 1,549 passing yards, nine touchdowns and one interception, and Purdue has won back-to-back Big Ten games. Colandrea keeps a slight edge on scoring production, but Browne gets a home matchup Friday against a Washington team that has lost three straight.

5. Anthony Colandrea, Nebraska (Prev: 4)

• Last week: L 20-17 vs. Indiana, 263 yds; 47 rush yds, 1 TD
• Next: at Oregon, Sat. Oct. 17, 11 p.m. ET

Colandrea’s 39-yard touchdown run gave Nebraska a 17-6 lead with 12:01 left, but Indiana scored on the next snap and the Huskers couldn’t answer after Hoover’s go-ahead throw. The defeat was Nebraska’s 31st straight against ranked opponents, and Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said, “We’re certainly disappointed, but not discouraged.”

The UNLV transfer has 1,405 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions, and he slips only one spot because Chiles has paired similar production with cleaner efficiency. Saturday’s late kickoff in Eugene comes against an Oregon team that fell out of the AP Top 25 after a 17-15 home loss to UCLA.

4. Aidan Chiles, Northwestern (Prev: 6)

• Last week: W 45-14 vs. Ball State, 272 yds, 3 TD; 32 rush yds, 1 TD
• Next: at Michigan State, Sat. Oct. 17, noon ET

Chiles ran in Northwestern’s first touchdown and capped a 99-yard drive with a 32-yard scoring pass as the Wildcats finished nonconference play unbeaten for the first time since 2015. “It’s an equal-opportunity offense and the guys who are open are going to get the ball,” Chiles said.

The Michigan State transfer has 1,172 passing yards, nine touchdowns, no interceptions and six rushing scores, and Northwestern says he’s the program’s first quarterback to account for 15 touchdowns before throwing an interception.

The Wildcats also lead the country in opponent-adjusted expected points added per play, part of the case for a team chasing its first College Football Playoff berth. Saturday sends him back to East Lansing to face Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern’s all-time winningest coach.

3. Jayden Maiava, USC (Prev: 3)

• Last week: W 31-23 at Penn State, 21 of 33 for 301 yds, 3 TD
• Next: Bye

Maiava converted a fourth-and-5 at the Penn State 37 and hit Trent Mosley for a 19-yard touchdown on the next play, with Mosley finishing with nine catches for 111 yards after missing three games. Maiava’s 10-yard strike to freshman Kayden Dixon-Wyatt with 11:11 left pushed the lead to 31-23, and the performance carried him past 10,000 career passing yards and 70 career touchdown passes.

The Honolulu native leads this group with 2,045 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and three interceptions, though USC has played one more game than Ohio State or Indiana. That extra game keeps him behind Sayin and Hoover, but his road win over a Penn State team playing its best Big Ten game of the year separates him from the rest of the field.

2. Josh Hoover, Indiana (Prev: 2)

• Last week: W 20-17 at Nebraska, 12 of 22 for 263 yds, 2 TD
• Next: vs. Ohio State, Sat. Oct. 17, noon ET

Hoover hit Nick Marsh for a 75-yard touchdown on the first snap after Nebraska went up 17-6, then faked a handoff on fourth-and-1 and found him again for the 44-yard game-winner with Nebraska’s goal-line defense on the field. “They covered the guy we thought would get the ball and Nick flashed open and Josh found him,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said.

The TCU transfer has 1,364 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and no interceptions, and he delivered the comeback after Indiana ran for a season-low 65 yards. Indiana also generates more expected points per dropback than Ohio State, which gives Hoover a statistical argument heading into a home game that puts Indiana’s 22-game winning streak on the line.

1. Julian Sayin, Ohio State (Prev: 1)

• Last week: W 45-16 vs. Maryland, 13 of 21 for 242 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
• Next: at Indiana, Sat. Oct. 17, noon ET

Sayin threw touchdowns of 33 and 40 yards to Jeremiah Smith, who now has 38 career receiving touchdowns and sits one shy of the Big Ten record. The lone blemish came in the third quarter, when Maryland linebacker Daniel Wingate returned a deflected Sayin pass for a touchdown that cut the lead to 31-16.

The Carlsbad, Calif., native has 1,772 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and two interceptions, matching Hoover’s touchdown total with 408 more yards. Ohio State averages 10.26 yards per dropback, nearly a full yard more than Indiana, and the Buckeyes remain No. 1 in this week’s Big Ten power rankings. Indiana beat Ohio State 13-10 in last season’s Big Ten Championship Game, and Saturday in Bloomington is the first meeting since.

Who dropped out of the top 8?

Dante Moore (Oregon), Nico Iamaleava (UCLA)

Moore missed Oregon’s 17-15 home loss to UCLA while recovering from the concussion he sustained Sept. 26 at USC, and Dylan Raiola made his first start for the Ducks. Oregon coach Dan Lanning wouldn’t set a timeline after the loss, saying “we’re going to move with an abundance of caution.” Moore threw for 926 yards and nine touchdowns in four games. He’ll return to ranking consideration once he’s cleared and plays again.

Iamaleava completed 10 of 17 passes for 162 yards with two interceptions at Oregon before leaving with a left knee injury in the second quarter, and Ty Dieffenbach threw a touchdown pass in relief. Reports Monday said Iamaleava is expected to miss the rest of the season, though UCLA coach Bob Chesney said the program was still waiting on an official diagnosis.

Who just missed the top 8?

Katin Houser (Illinois), Demond Williams Jr. (Washington), Bryce Underwood (Michigan)

Houser threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score against his former team before hurting his hand while making a tackle on an interception return in Illinois’ 38-37 overtime win at Michigan State. “I do know he had something broken in his hand,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said, and Houser is out indefinitely.

Williams completed 6 of 11 passes for 69 yards before a rib injury ended his night in a 41-24 loss to Iowa, leaving him at 1,396 passing yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. “I’m not under the impression that I think he’ll be playing this week based upon where he’s at physically,” Washington coach Jedd Fisch said ahead of Friday’s game at Purdue.

Underwood has five touchdown passes, four interceptions and three lost fumbles, and backup Tommy Carr took some first-team snaps during Michigan’s bye week. “Jason is calling plays and Bryce is our guy,” Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham said Monday, and Underwood will start against Becht and Penn State on Saturday.