By admin 
Week 8 of the 2026 college football season is now in the books! And while it was a disastrous one for Lincoln Riley and USC, there were numerous other Big Ten games played over the weekend as well.
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So what did we learn from the rest of the conference? Here are a few non-USC takeaways from Week 8 in the Big Ten:
Indiana has a serious quarterback problem
Indiana beat Michigan in overtime on Saturday, but it was not because of quarterback Josh Hoover, who completed just eight of his 18 pass attempts for 81 yards and an interception. The Hoosiers will need significantly better QB play if they want to have any shot at repeating as national champions.
Oregon is done
As much as some things change in college football, it is nice to see a few remain constant. Oregon’s loss to Illinois Saturday ensured that, for the 133rd consecutive year, a team other than the Ducks will win the national championship.
Iowa was never a contender
It turns out that Iowa is still the same old Iowa. With an extremely manageable schedule and a genuine path to the College Football Playoff, the Hawkeyes managed to score just ten points in a loss to Minnesota. (But hey, that is still three more than USC put up this weekend.)
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Northwestern continues to roll
Don’t look now, but Northwestern is 6-1. If the Wildcats can knock off Oregon this week, it might be time to start putting them in the playoff conversation.
The conference is wide open
It truly feels as though there is no clear favorite in the Big Ten right now. The conference appears to be wide open for anyone to take control of (okay, anyone other than Maryland).
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: What we learned from Week 8 of college football in the Big Ten
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Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published October 27, 2026 at 4:03 AM.