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The Big Ten conference provided plenty of excitement in Week 8 of the 2026 college football season, with several games going down to the wire on Saturday, Oct. 24. Headlining the action was No. 6 Indiana's gritty 13-6 overtime victory at Michigan, which came just a week after the Hoosiers saw their 22-game winning streak come to an end.
Michigan, starting freshman quarterback Tommy Carr for the first time in his career, pushed the Hoosiers to the limit. Indiana managed the win despite a rough outing from an injured Josh Hoover, who completed just 8 of 18 passes for 81 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. The victory marked Indiana's first win in Ann Arbor since 1967.
With No. 2 Ohio State on a bye week, the Big Ten's only other top-10 team in action was No. 10 UCLA, which preserved its perfect record by defeating Michigan State 28-10.
In other conference matchups, No. 23 Northwestern dominated Rutgers 42-14; Minnesota upset No. 14 Iowa 13-10 on a walk-off; Wisconsin held No. 15 USC to its lowest scoring output under Lincoln Riley in a 24-7 win; and No. 25 Oregon was shut out in the second half of a 21-10 loss to Illinois.
Those results will be reflected in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25, which are set to be released Sunday afternoon. Big Ten teams are highlighted in bold in the rankings below.
Key Analysis
Indiana's overtime escape at Michigan keeps the Hoosiers in the national spotlight, but the shaky performance from an ailing Hoover raises questions about their offensive consistency moving forward. UCLA's continued success, coupled with Ohio State's bye, sets up a potential showdown of unbeatens in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Minnesota's walk-off win over Iowa and Wisconsin's defensive dominance over USC signal that the Big Ten race is far from settled.
Originally reported by yahoo.