Big Ten Sports updates | Sports

Welcome to Around the Big Ten, where we break down each Big Ten game across the conference.

No. 1 Ohio State at No. 4 Texas

Ohio State looked dominant in three quarters against junior quarterback Arch Manning and No. 4 Texas. The Buckeyes led 23-3 to start the fourth quarter, and junior wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was unstoppable, bringing in eight catches for 164 yards and a touchdown. Then, Manning flipped a switch.

Texas closed the gap to 23-17 by the middle of the fourth behind Manning’s arm and junior running back Hollywood Smothers’ legs. Ohio State looked to put the game on ice with a 45-yard field goal near the four-minute mark, but Connor Hawkins pulled it wide left.

Texas then drove down the field, and Smothers punched it in from the one-yard line to give Texas the win, 24-23. The 20-point comeback is the second-largest against Ohio State behind Nebraska’s 21-point comeback against the Buckeyes in 2011.

NEXT: vs. Kent State | Saturday, Sept. 19, 11:00 a.m. CT

No. 11 Oklahoma at Michigan

The controversy around Michigan’s finish against Western Michigan last week pinned a majority of college football fans against the Wolverines in their matchup against Oklahoma, and they responded. Michigan’s elite defense dominated Oklahoma senior quarterback John Mateer, and the Sooners fell 17-10.

Michigan sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood followed up a questionable performance last week with one of resolve. He threw for just 111 yards, but was the Wolverines’ leading rusher, toting the rock an astonishing 18 times for 87 yards and a touchdown. Michigan appears to have found their formula to win: pound the rock and play suffocating defense.

NEXT: UTEP | Saturday, Sept. 19, 2:30 p.m. CT

No. 6 Oregon at Oklahoma State

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning is known for his locker room antics, especially his speeches. It would be interesting to see what was said at halftime of this one. Oklahoma State looked like a completely different team coming out of an hour-and-a-half weather delay compared to the one that was vanquished by Tulsa 24-10 just last weekend. Cowboys’ sophomore quarterback Drew Mestemaker put his life on the line to carry Oklahoma State over Oregon 39-31, totaling 426 total yards and three touchdowns. Oregon trailed for a majority of the game, with senior quarterback Dante Moore being relatively inefficient, completing less than 50% of his passes.

NEXT: vs. Portland State | Friday, Sept. 18, 9:30 p.m. CT

No. 16 Penn State at Temple

If you were just flipping through channels on Saturday, you may have had to stop and think for a little bit after seeing Penn State take on Temple on the road at Lincoln Financial Field. The Owls gave Matt Campbell’s team all they could handle defensively too, as they fell just 27-9. Penn State looked dysfunctional at times on offense. Senior quarterback Rocco Becht was efficient, going 21-for-27, 268 yards and three scores, finding senior tight end Ben Brahmer for two of those.

NEXT: vs. Buffalo | Saturday, Sept. 19, 11:00 a.m. CT

Utah State at No. 19 Washington

Washington was given the benefit of the doubt last week after surviving against Washington State in the Apple Cup. There is truly no explanation for this week’s 16-14 win over Utah State. If it weren’t for Aggies’ senior quarterback Grady Brosterhous’ three-interception outing, the Aggies may have actually pulled off the upset.

Washington needs to find a way to run the football with a traditional ground game. If junior quarterback Demond Williams continues to be their leading passer and rusher as he has been in Weeks 1 and 2, things will be even more difficult for them going forward.

NEXT: vs. Eastern Washington | Saturday, Sept. 19, 6:15 p.m. CT

Iowa State at No. 21 Iowa

It seems as if the Cy-Hawk game always comes down to the wire, no matter what either team looks like. Iowa State lost a majority of their 2025 roster to the transfer portal after head coach Matt Campbell’s departure for Penn State, but still pushed the Hawkeyes to the brink.

In pure Iowa fashion, sophomore kicker Caden Buhr was the star of the game. Buhr nailed three field goals from 32 yards out, 45 yards and a game-winning 42-yarder to take down the Cyclones 16-13.

NEXT: vs. Northern Iowa | Saturday, Sept. 19, 3:00 p.m. CT

Duke at Illinois

Illinois was looked at as a team that could potentially be ranked in the weeks to come. That will not be the case after their 31-27 loss to Duke at home on Saturday. Bret Bielema’s teams are known for their physicality, but were out-rushed by the Blue Devils 170-111.

The Illini took two different 10-point leads in the first half, but Duke managed to hang around and take advantage. Duke looks as if they could contend for an ACC title once again behind the legs of sophomore running back Nate Sheppard, who totaled 188 yards and three touchdowns.

NEXT: vs. Southern Illinois | Saturday, Sept. 19, 1:00 p.m. CT

Mississippi State at Minnesota

Minnesota was severely outmatched in their 38-13 blowout home loss to Mississippi State. Bulldogs’ quarterback Kamario Taylor did nothing to hamper the Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III comparisons, as the 6-foot-4, 230-pound sophomore torched Minnesota’s secondary, going 16-for-22, 227 yards and three touchdowns while also carrying it 13 times for 86 yards.

Mississippi State passes the eye test so far this season, as they look to compete in the SEC under third-year head coach Jeff Lebby. As for Minnesota, PJ Fleck’s teams are pound-the-rock oriented, but they lack the skill to keep up with high-powered offensive regimes.

NEXT: vs. Akron | Saturday, Sept. 19, 11:00 a.m. CT

Rutgers at Boston College

There are fewer starts to the season more unfortunate than the one Rutgers is having. After one of the most embarrassing defeats in college football history at the hands of UMass last week, Rutgers followed it up by losing 28-21 to a Boston College squad that went 2-10 in 2025. Time is ticking for Greg Schiano in Piscataway.

NEXT: vs. USC | Saturday, Sept. 19, 2:30 p.m. CT

Wake Forest at Purdue

To finish off the ACC’s 3-0 weekend against the Big Ten, we had a thriller between Purdue and Wake Forest that ended in a 38-36 double-overtime finish in favor of the Demon Deacons. One thing you cannot say about the Boilermakers, though, is that they didn’t fight. Barry Odom’s team wanted this one badly.

Down 23-13 in the fourth quarter with under four minutes to go, Purdue clawed back to force overtime and converted on a miracle fourth-and-goal to force overtime number two later on. Purdue has some skilled players, led by sophomore Minnesota transfer running back Fame Ijeboi, who carried the football 27 times for 114 yards and three touchdowns.

NEXT: at UCLA | Saturday, Sept. 19, 10:00 p.m. CT

San Diego State at UCLA

UCLA struggled early on against a scrappy San Diego State team. The game was scoreless until the 11-minute mark of the third quarter, when senior running back Wayne Knight’s eight-yard rushing touchdown put the Bruins ahead. Knight was the headliner for Bob Chesney’s squad, as he punched it in two more times later in the night as UCLA pulled away to win, 28-10.

NEXT: vs. Purdue | Saturday, Sept. 19, 10:00 p.m. CT

Louisiana at No. 14 USC

USC was never truly in trouble against Louisiana in their 49-30 victory on Saturday night, but it wasn’t all pretty. Jayden Maiava got his night started with an interception on the opening drive, which he then followed up with five straight touchdown passes.

USC’s offense is certainly elite, but the defense looked a lot more questionable than it did the previous two weeks for the Trojans. Gary Patterson’s unit, while playing depth pieces for a majority of the late third and fourth quarters, still gave up those 30 points. USC will need to clean up those defensive missteps if they want to take advantage of what appears to be a weaker Big Ten in 2026.

NEXT: at Rutgers | Saturday, Sept. 19, 2:30 p.m. CT

Howard at No. 5 Indiana

Indiana will have to wait a bit to be truly tested. Their 55-0 win over Howard probably won’t be something pundits review in the winter months when the College Football Playoff rolls around. The Hoosiers could easily look ahead to their week 6 test at Nebraska and still be 5-0 before entering Lincoln.

NEXT: vs. Western Kentucky | Saturday, Sept. 19, 3:00 p.m. CT

Maryland at UConn

There was some intrigue around this matchup earlier in the week when Maryland head coach Mike Locksley referred to the team that the Terrapins would be playing as “Toledo” rather than their actual opponent, UConn. The game was interesting for a bit with the Terps on the road, but sophomore quarterback Malik Washington left no doubt with his level of play, going 34-for-41 for 347 yards and two touchdowns in the 38-14 win.

NEXT: vs. Virginia Tech | Saturday, Sept. 19, 6:30 p.m. CT

Eastern Michigan at Michigan State

Michigan State’s 35-7 win looked a lot more like the vintage Pat Fitzgerald that we’re used to. The Spartans dominated the contest in the trenches, outrushing Eastern Michigan 258-101, headlined by senior running back Cam Edwards’ 21 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns.

NEXT: at No. 3 Notre Dame | Saturday, Sept. 19, 6:30 p.m. CT

Western Illinois at Wisconsin

Luke Fickell’s team rebounded after the 41-13 loss to Notre Dame last week, beating Western Illinois, 36-9. Senior running back Abu Sama III broke out for 107 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. It’s still a lackluster score, but one would hope that Wisconsin can turn the positive energy into momentum before it begins Big Ten play in two weeks.

GALLERY: Nebraska Football vs Bowling Green

Nebraska Football vs Bowling Green Photo No. 1
Updated Sep 12, 2026

Nebraska’s paratroopers display the American flag before the game against Bowling Green in the Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, in Lincoln.

Photo By Eli College

Nebraska Football vs Bowling Green Photo No. 2
Updated Sep 12, 2026

Nebraska runs out of the tunnel before the game against Bowling Green at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, in Lincoln.