College football has more parity than ever, and that is evident in the Big Ten this fall. Two of Minnesota’s early conference opponents squared off on Friday night in West Lafayette, and Washington beat Purdue 38-24. When the Gophers were destroyed by 28 points last week, some people thought the Boilermakers might be getting underrated, but Friday’s result should answer that question.
Final. pic.twitter.com/zjSW7MoQMp
— Purdue Football (@BoilerFootball) October 17, 2026
The top and bottom of the Big Ten have been established, with teams like Ohio State and Indiana looking like contenders and teams like Maryland and Rutgers looking like bottom-feeders. Minnesota is firmly in the middle of the conference alongside Purdue and Washington.
The Huskies have plenty of their own problems, but it’s clear that QB Demond Williams Jr. isn’t the same player he was last season. Stanford transfer Elijah Brown made his first start of the season against Purdue, and Washington had its most encouraging offensive performance of the season. The Huskies are clearly not the top-20 team they were billed as in the preseason AP Poll, but they’re still a real test for just about anyone in the conference.
As for Purdue, the Boilermakers are firmly in the mediocre tier of the conference with Minnesota and Washington. Their first three losses of the season came against Wake Forest, UCLA and Notre Dame, which are all currently ranked in the AP Poll. There was a realistic scenario in which the Boilermakers continued to climb the Big Ten standings, but good teams can beat a backup QB in one of their biggest home games in years.
What does this all have to do with the Gophers? First off, the Purdue loss was bad. There should be zero defending of a 28-point blowout loss for P.J. Fleck and his entire staff. Some coaches will continue to preach about how deep the conference is and how there are no easy games in the Big Ten. Well, you hear that sentiment a lot less from head coaches like Ryan Day, Curt Cignetti or Kirk Ferentz.
The Big Ten is a deep conference … of mediocre teams. Friday’s result in West Lafayette affirms Minnesota’s place in the standings. The Gophers’ next opportunity to prove that they deserve to be mentioned in the second tier with teams like Iowa, USC or UCLA will come next week when they host the Hawkeyes. As of now, they’re a mediocre team that had almost zero success against Purdue, which is a mediocre team.
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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Oct 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Gophers section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.