Big Ten power rankings for Week 7: Indiana and Iowa climb, plus our Hot Seat updates for USC, Oregon and Washington

The Big Ten football power rankings are published on the Hotline each Monday throughout the regular season. The placement of teams reflects both the latest results and season-long performance. (Call it an objectively-subjective process.) For comparative purposes, we have included each team’s position in last week’s rankings .

The seat heat is rising under three of the highest-profile coaches on the West Coast.

All three reside in the Big Ten.

None of them are providing the desired return on investment.

And each was, conveniently, profiled on the Hotline prior to the season for exactly this reason: Elevated pressure in Los Angeles, Eugene and Seattle.

For Lincoln Riley, the pressure was traditional: Lead USC into the College Football Playoff or risk termination.

For Dan Lanning, the pressure existed on a multi-year delay: Lead Oregon to the national championship game or risk losing his status as the forever coach.

For Jedd Fisch, the pressure was scoreboard-adjacent: Lead Washington to the Big Ten’s top tier or risk losing the support of donors (and their dollars).

Six weeks later, the pressure has not abated.

Let’s take them one at a time …

Lincoln Riley

Annual compensation (approx.): $11 million

August premise: “Lincoln Riley, now in his fifth season leading the Trojans, is finally on the clock … The Trojans have everything needed to beat the teams they should beat and match the best in the Big Ten point-for-point. How many wins does Riley need to save his job? Can the university afford the buyout? Those aren’t the right questions, at least not today. Instead, we ask of Riley and the Trojans: If not now, when?”

October reality: The Trojans are 6-1, with an emphasis on the 1. They did not win the game they needed to win, the game Riley had to win: Oregon. In fact, all the usual flaws were visible: the porous defense, the lack of discipline, an offense that fades at critical times. The double-digit loss to Oregon left USC with little margin for error in pursuit of the coveted CFP bid.

December outlook: The Trojans have five games remaining, and four of them are challenging: Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio State and UCLA. (Combined record: 20-2.) By our count, Riley must win three of the four, and beat Maryland, to reach the 10-win threshold that should result in a CFP invitation. Otherwise, we suspect the Trojans will dig deep and find a way to cover the $70 million buyout.

Dan Lanning

Annual compensation (approx.): $11 million

August premise : “To this point, Lanning has been Oregon’s forever coach, a perfect fit for the school and the community worthy of all the contract extensions the Ducks have offered … But if they lose early in the CFP, or if they lose badly, the forever timeline could turn into a ticking clock that, for the first time, allows us to envision a future in which Lanning and the Ducks go their separate ways. So yes, he has something on the line this season even though there’s nothing at stake.”

October reality: The Ducks (3-2) have been a massive disappointment in losing to Oklahoma State and UCLA — and looking poorly prepared, ill-equipped and generally dysfunctional in both. (They committed seven turnovers against the Bruins.) The lines of scrimmage have struggled, the quarterback situation is murky without injured starter Dante Moore and the coaching staff looks overmatched, especially on offense.

December outlook: Based on CFP selection precedent, the Ducks must run the table in order to claim a berth in the playoff for a third consecutive season. As we opined prior to the season: “In the traditional sense, (Lanning’s) seat temperature is somewhere between liquid nitrogen and the dark side of Pluto.” But barring drastic improvement, Oregon will miss the CFP and its key constituents, including an 88-year-old alumnus who desperately wants a national championship, might start to wonder if the Forever Coach has an expiration date.

Jedd Fisch

Annual compensation (approx.): $8 million

August premise : “Fisch’s seat features an altogether different type of heat — a heat linked directly to the talent acquisition and roster compensation models that underpin college football in the mid-2020s. This stands as a make-or-break season for momentum on Montlake. Either it continues to build or begins to dissipate. Whichever trajectory emerges at the end of November will set the framework for UW’s near-term football future.”

October reality: Grim. Washington has lost three in a row, including ghastly performances at home against Minnesota and Iowa, which, tellingly, have similar NIL resources to the Huskies. At times, the effort has waned. Frequently, the offense and defense have been inept. (The 41-24 loss to Iowa, which used a backup quarterback, established rock bottom — or so we believe.) Washington doesn’t look like a team capable of qualifying for the Independence Bowl, much less the CFP.

December outlook: We opined in August that unless the Huskies crash and burn, “there will be no termination.” And that remains the Hotline’s position due to the immense cost and disruption that comes with a coaching change. (Could the administration insist that Fisch relinquish play-calling duties? Absolutely.) That said, a sub-.500 record undoubtedly would make donors more hesitant to fund the roster, potentially sparking a doom loop in which extended losing and pinched pennies lead UW into the abyss.

We’ll circle back on Riley, Lanning and Fisch at the end of November.

For at least one, and perhaps all three, the situation could be ugly.

To the power rankings …

(All times Pacific)

1. Ohio State (5-1/3-0)

Result: beat Maryland 45-16 Next up: at Indiana (9 a.m. on Fox) Comment: The Buckeyes’ next five opponents (Indiana, USC, Oregon, Northwestern and Nebraska) have a combined record of 24-5. And after all that, they get Michigan. (Last week: 1)

2. Indiana (6-0/3-0)

Result: won at Nebraska 20-17 Next up: vs. Ohio State (9 a.m. on Fox) Comment: We are old enough to remember when TCU coach Sonny Dykes ripped Josh Hoover for all the interceptions he threw in Fort Worth. Hoover’s pick total through six games in Bloomington: zero. Wonder what has changed. Hmmmm. (Last week: 3)

3. Iowa (5-1/2-1)

Result: won at Washington 41-24 Next up: idle Comment: We aren’t suggesting the Hawkeyes should permanently change quarterbacks, to Jeremy Hecklinski, once starter Hank Brown is healthy. But we aren’t not suggesting that, either. (Last week: 5)

4. UCLA (5-0/3-0)

Result: won at Oregon 17-15 Next up: vs. Wisconsin (4:30 p.m. on NBC) Comment: We aren’t suggesting that UCLA’s best win of the season was the 14-point victory over Purdue a few weeks ago, but we aren’t not suggesting that, either. (Last week: 7)

5. Oregon (3-2/1-1)

Result: lost to UCLA 17-15 Next up: vs. Nebraska (8 p.m. on Fox) Comment: No opponent will have a better sense for defending Dylan Raiola than his former team. If Dante Moore isn’t healthy, the Ducks should stick with third-stringer Brock Thomas. We also suggest not fumbling five times. (Last week: 2)

6. USC (6-1/3-1)

Result: won at Penn State 31-23 Next up: idle Comment: A conference victory anywhere is worth celebrating, particularly for a program that has won so few road games in recent years. But let’s not forget, the Trojans beat a mid-level Big 12 roster in Happy Valley. (Last week: 4)

7. Minnesota (4-2/2-1)

Result: lost at Purdue 41-13 Next up: idle Comment: Not on our Big Ten bingo card for 2026: Minnesota beating Washington and Michigan in consecutive weeks and then losing badly to Purdue. (Last week: 6)

8. Wisconsin (4-1/2-0)

Result: did not play Next up: at UCLA (4:30 p.m. on NBC) Comment: Combine the bye week with UCLA’s presumptive post-Oregon hangover — plus the knee injury to quarterback Nico Iamaleava — and this is an ideal situation for the Badgers despite the long trip. (Last week: 8)

9. Michigan (3-2/0-2)

Result: did not play Next up: vs. Penn State (12:30 p.m. on CBS) Comment: The Wolverines are nine points away from being 5-0 and 10 points away from being 1-4. So their current record seems about right given all the time spent on the margins. (Last week: 9)

10. Northwestern (4-1/1-1)

Result: beat Ball State 45-14 Next up: at Michigan State (9 a.m. on Peacock) Comment: Northwestern is favored by 7.5 points in the Pat Fitzgerald Bowl in East Lansing, in case you were wondering. That’s down from the opening line of 8.5. (Last week: 10)

11. Nebraska (5-1/2-1)

Result: lost to Indiana 20-17 Next up: at Oregon (8 p.m. on Fox) Comment: There is clear evidence of improvement across the Big Ten’s middle tier … and deterioration at the top level, except, perhaps, for Ohio State. (Last week: 11)

12. Purdue (3-3/2-1)

Result: beat Minnesota 41-13 Next up: vs. Washington (Friday at 5 p.m. on Fox) Comment: The Boilermakers went two years without a conference victory and now have two in their first three games of 2026. It’s Barry Odom vs. Bob Chesney for Big Ten Coach of the Year. (Last week: 14)

13. Washington (3-3/0-3)

Result: lost to Iowa 41-24 Next up: at Purdue (Friday at 5 p.m. on Fox) Comment: How bad is the situation in Seattle? The Huskies are 3.5-point underdogs Friday to an opponent that has won two conference games in the past 34 months. (Last week: 12)

14. Penn State (3-3/0-3)

Result: lost to USC 31-23 Next up: at Michigan (12:30 p.m. on CBS) Comment: We are old enough to remember when Penn State won White Out games. (Last week: 13)

15. Illinois (3-3/1-2)

Result: won at Michigan State 38-37 (OT) Next up: idle Comment: Defining a downward trajectory, Big Ten style: The Illini, who won 10 games two years ago, are looking up at Purdue, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Minnesota. (Last week: 15)

16. Michigan State (0-3/2-4)

Result: lost to Illinois 38-37 (OT) Next up: vs. Northwestern (9 a.m. on Peacock) Comment: The Spartans are meeting expectations as well as any team in the conference. So congrats on that. (Last week: 16)

17. Rutgers (1-4/0-2)

Result: did not play Next up: at Maryland (9:30 a.m. on Big Ten Network) Comment: If the Big Ten wanted to boost ratings for a game that nobody will watch otherwise, it could declare that the loser in College Park gets expelled from the conference. (Last week: 17)

18. Maryland (2-4/0-3)

Result: lost at Ohio State 45-16 Next up: vs. Rutgers (9:30 a.m. on Big Ten Network) Comment: Frankly, we expected the score in Columbus to be far worse … far, far worse … than 45-16. The Buckeyes do that to good teams, and Maryland is not a good team. (Last week: 18)

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