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The Big Ten is one big grind, an 18-team fight for survival that has already claimed one victim with Maryland firing head coach Mike Locksley in the days leading up to Week 8.
A punishing Week 7 in the conference that turned out to be Locksley’s last stand produced a slew of storylines going forward in the Big Ten, and here are 5 of the biggest ones:
1. What now for Michigan after Bryce Underwood’s benching?
Underwood’s benching almost seemed inevitable while still being unbelievable, and it all finally happened in Week 7 as Michigan trudged into the halftime locker room with 0 points against Penn State. The dream narrative for the 5-star stud from Detroit had officially been turned upside down, as Kyle Whittingham went with true freshman Tommy Carr in the second half against the Nittany Lions.
Carr is a cool legacy at Michigan as the grandson of former Wolverines head coach Lloyd Carr, but Jason Beck didn’t follow Whittingham from Utah to run the Michigan offense with Carr in mind as his starter. But Carr steadied the teetering ship, running for a touchdown while leading the Wolverines to a 21-18 win over Penn State, Michigan’s first Big Ten victory of the Whittingham era.
According to a report by CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz on Tuesday night, Carr is expected to get his first career start this Saturday against defending national champion Indiana. The noon ET kickoff on FOX would give Carr the grandest stage imaginable in front of a curious fan base at The Big House, while Underwood would have a most unfamiliar vantage point from the sidelines.
Perhaps all this adversity makes Underwood a better player and person in the long run. But after a year and a half as Michigan’s quarterback yielded almost as many interceptions (15) as touchdowns (16), it was time to hit pause on the Underwood Experiment in Ann Arbor.
2. What now for Ohio State after Julian Sayin’s shoulder injury?
The Buckeyes won the battle last Saturday at Indiana but likely lost in the long-term after their star quarterback suffered a serious shoulder injury. Ryan Day initially said Sayin would be out for “several weeks,” then updated that prognosis a few days later by saying Sayin would be “out indefinitely.”
According to a report by ESPN insider Pete Thamel, Day said there’s “a plan being put in place for Sayin not being available for both the regular season and postseason.” It looks like one of the best teams in the country won’t have its Heisman finalist quarterback from a season ago to throw to Jeremiah Smith.
Last Saturday, the short-term answer was true freshman Luke Fahey, a prized California product in the Class of 2026 who won the backup job during fall camp and now might hold the fortunes of the Buckeyes’ season in his inexperienced hands.
One silver lining is that Ohio State has a bye this week, so Day can give Fahey and sophomore Tavien St. Clair reps as he figures out who is going to lead the Buckeyes. Waiting after the bye is a 5-game Big Ten gauntlet to finish the season that starts on Halloween night at USC.
Ohio State’s new reality will be brutal to navigate, and it’ll be pure theatre to see if the Buckeyes can pull it off.
3. What now for Indiana after tasting defeat for first time in forever?
Yes, the Hoosiers finally lost for the first time since way back in the 2024 College Football Playoff against Notre Dame, and it took Nick Marsh stepping out of bounds on a potential game-winning touchdown catch against Ohio State.
IU wasn’t going to win every game until the end of civilization, and now we get to curiously watch to see how Curt Cignetti and his program handle having an “L” on their record for the first time in a really long time. AP voters gave the Hoosiers their proper respect in the new poll, dropping them just 1 spot to No. 6. Indiana is still well set up to make the Playoff, but the stakes are now even higher for Cignetti’s team starting Saturday at Michigan because that one loss exists.
This isn’t a great Michigan team, and it might not even be a good one, but it’s still Michigan, at The Big House and on FOX. We’ll see if Indiana can deal with the physical and mental scars from an agonizing home loss to Ohio State and immediately bounce back on the road.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with losing a game for the first time in about 22 months, but in Week 8 we’ll see exactly how well and how quickly Cignetti’s team can get back to the business of winning.
4. How far can UCLA take this after ascending into top 10?
It’s really getting good in Westwood. Or more precisely, in Pasadena, where Bob Chesney has some magic going. UCLA isn’t just ranked, the Bruins are in the top 10 now, sitting at No. 9 and perched atop the Big Ten with Ohio State.
The James Madison Effect that has worked so well at Indiana is, to this point at least, working at another Big Ten school. Chesney, who replaced Curt Cignetti at James Madison, is 6-0 in his first season at UCLA after the Bruins bullied their way past Wisconsin last Saturday night with a backup quarterback.
That’s right — with starting QB Nico Iamaleava done for the season, it’s up to backup-turned-starter Ty Dieffenbach to keep the train on the tracks. He was fine against the Badgers, throwing for 264 yards and overcoming 1 interception, but Dieffenbach has the benefit of a really strong running attack and a defense that’s only allowed a combined 25 points in its past 3 games.
The Bruins could very well be favored in the rest of their games this season. It’s not unheard of that we could be talking about UCLA going 12-0 in about a month from now.
5. Is Northwestern for real? We’ll find out very soon
Like UCLA, Northwestern has been a revelation this season, busting into the Top 25 under head coach David Braun. The 24th-ranked Wildcats just went to Michigan State and beat Northwestern legend Pat Fitzgerald to get to 5-1, and their only loss of 2026 was a gallant 6-point setback at Indiana on the Friday night of Week 4.
The Wildcats should be 6-1 with Rutgers coming to Evanston this Saturday, and then we’ll begin to find out how for real Northwestern really is. The following 4-game gauntlet reads like this — a trip to Oregon, back home for Iowa, a trip to Ohio State and then a matchup at Minnesota.
Three road games stacked around a home game against a ranked Iowa team, with no bye weeks to breathe. It’s a massive proving ground for a program that just opened its new $875 million stadium, so 2026 has suddenly become a momentous time for Northwestern football.
Exactly how much momentum can these Wildcats build led by their quarterback, Aidan Chiles, who has still yet to throw an interception this season? The answer will begin to be told on Halloween night in Eugene.
