Indiana’s Josh Hoover takes over No. 1 in the Big Ten quarterback rankings entering Week 8, with Ohio State’s Julian Sayin out for several weeks after injuring his throwing shoulder in the Buckeyes’ 19-15 win in Bloomington.
Purdue’s Ryan Browne enters the top 5 after a two-interception loss to Washington. UCLA’s Ty Dieffenbach, Iowa’s Jeremy Hecklinski and Penn State’s Rocco Becht just miss the cut.
Given the injuries, depth chart changes and overall uneven QB performance across the Big Ten, the rankings list has been reduced from 8 to 5. There simply isn't enough good quarterback play to justify more than a shallow ranking.
5. Ryan Browne, Purdue (Prev: 6)
Last week: L 38-26 vs. Washington, 273 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT; 15 rush yds, 1 TD
Next: Bye, then at Penn State, Sat. Oct. 31
Purdue forced five turnovers and still lost, and Browne’s two fourth-quarter interceptions decided it. His 49-yard throw to Asaad Waseem set up his own 8-yard touchdown run that cut Washington’s lead to 31-26 with 11:18 left. After the Huskies answered, Jeron Jones picked him off on a throw down the sideline for Tra’Mar Harris.
The redshirt junior enters the top 5 because Sayin’s injury opened a spot, and his 1,822 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions over seven starts outweigh Dieffenbach’s one start at UCLA. Two of those three interceptions came Friday, against a Washington team starting a backup quarterback. Purdue (3-4) gets a week off before visiting a Penn State team that has lost four straight.
4. Anthony Colandrea, Nebraska (Prev: 5)
Last week: L 17-14 at Oregon, 164 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT; 38 rush yds, 1 TD
Next: Bye, then vs. Washington, Sat. Oct. 31
Colandrea dove for the pylon on a 6-yard scramble at the end of the third quarter to put Nebraska up 14-6. Then Dylan Raiola threw the winning touchdown with 28 seconds left. Nebraska has now lost a fourth-quarter lead in back-to-back weeks, after Indiana erased a 17-6 deficit in Lincoln, and Colandrea threw an interception in both losses.
The UNLV transfer still has 1,570 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions, plus 334 rushing yards and four scores on the ground. His 18 total touchdowns are six more than Browne has accounted for, and that production keeps him at No. 4. The Huskers (5-2) and Ducks also traded places in this week’s Big Ten power rankings, and Nebraska gets a bye before hosting Washington.
3. Aidan Chiles, Northwestern (Prev: 4)
Last week: W 24-21 at Michigan State, 226 yds; 25 rush yds, 1 TD
Next: vs. Rutgers, Sat. Oct. 24, noon ET
Chiles tied the game with a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:24 left and threw a 2-point conversion to Alex Honig. After Matthew Smith blocked a Michigan State field goal, he drove the Wildcats 64 yards in eight plays to set up Jackson Kleather’s winning kick. He did it through five sacks and a hostile crowd in East Lansing, and he said the chants from the stands were “the best part.”
The former Spartan threw 14 interceptions during two seasons at Michigan State. He hasn’t thrown one in 139 attempts this season, and he has 1,398 passing yards, nine touchdown passes, seven rushing scores and a 70.5% completion rate. Northwestern is 5-1 and ranked No. 24, but Chiles stays behind Maiava because he has half as many touchdown passes.
2. Jayden Maiava, USC (Prev: 3)
Last week: Bye
Next: at Wisconsin, Sat. Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m. ET
Maiava climbs without playing, and his 2,045 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and three interceptions still make him the most productive passer in this group. His last game was his best Big Ten showing, a 301-yard, three-touchdown night in USC’s 31-23 win at Penn State.
That win has lost some value with Penn State now 0-4 in conference play, and it’s the main reason Hoover edges him for No. 1. Saturday is USC’s first trip to Camp Randall since joining the Big Ten. Ohio State then visits the Coliseum on Oct. 31 without Sayin, so the Honolulu native has two chances to take the top spot back.
1. Josh Hoover, Indiana (Prev: 2)
Last week: L 19-15 vs. Ohio State, 296 yds, 1 TD
Next: at Michigan, Sat. Oct. 24, noon ET
Hoover left for one play in the third quarter with his right arm hanging at his side. He returned to lead a 75-yard drive capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass to Nick Marsh and a 2-point conversion. On fourth-and-4 with 1:02 left, Marsh got open down the sideline but landed with his left foot out of bounds. “It’s not Nick’s fault at all, right?” Hoover said.
The TCU transfer completed only half his passes, and his fourth-down fumble was his first turnover of the season. He still has 1,660 yards, 18 touchdowns and no interceptions, and he kept Indiana alive against the Big Ten’s top-ranked team. The loss made Indiana one of five top-7 teams to fall in Week 7. “The sun comes up tomorrow, and we’ve got to get ready for Michigan,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said.
Who dropped out of the top 8?
Julian Sayin (Ohio State)
Sayin was hurt with just over eight minutes left when Indiana’s Mario Landino hit him and forced a fumble that Ohio State recovered, and he returned to the sideline in a sling. He finished 15 of 29 for 235 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, including a 38-yard score to Jeremiah Smith that made it 19-7. He has 2,007 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and four interceptions this season.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Sayin will miss “several weeks” with an injury to his throwing shoulder, and he named true freshman Luke Fahey the starter.
“He’s got confidence, he’s got athletic ability, he’s a competitive kid,” Day said of the Mission Viejo, California, native, who’s 9 of 13 for 203 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The injury complicates the case for Ohio State as the new No. 1 ahead of the Buckeyes’ Oct. 31 trip to USC.
Who just missed the top 8?
Ty Dieffenbach (UCLA), Jeremy Hecklinski (Iowa), Rocco Becht (Penn State)
Dieffenbach began the season third on UCLA’s depth chart, then went 22 of 33 for 264 yards in his first start as UCLA beat Wisconsin 17-7 to reach 6-0. The Bruins are the only unbeaten team left in the Big Ten. “We’re just getting started, for real,” said the Calabasas, California, native, who has 307 yards, one touchdown and one interception in two appearances.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz named Hecklinski the starter Tuesday over a healthy Hank Brown. The Wake Forest transfer went 14 of 19 for 202 yards and three touchdowns at Washington in his only full start. “It’s not a coin toss, but it’s awfully close,” Ferentz said, and Hecklinski has 410 yards, four touchdowns and one interception heading into Saturday’s game at Minnesota.
Becht’s two interceptions and a lost fumble at the Penn State 16 produced all 21 of Michigan’s points in a 21-18 loss, though he threw for 267 yards and a late touchdown. “This game’s super humbling,” Becht said after Penn State fell to 0-4 in Big Ten play. The fifth-year senior has 1,664 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions.
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