Big Ten championship race wide open after Week 2

Week 2 brings struggles for Oregon, Michigan, Penn State

Following an uninspiring Week 1 struggle against FCS Idaho, in which it failed to establish dominance, No. 9 Oregon barely avoided disaster against Boise State on Saturday. Led by highly touted quarterback Dillon Gabriel, the Ducks needed a last-second field goal to scrape by the Broncos, whose strong defense exposed key weaknesses in Oregon's offense.

Over at University Park, No. 8 Penn State found itself trailing Bowling Green before pulling away late while No. 17 Michigan faced one of its worst home defeats in years. The defending national champions were stunned by then No. 3 Texas, losing 31-12 in front of their home crowd.

With the season still in its early stages, it’s clear the Big Ten is going to keep us on our toes.

USC, Nebraska and Illinois emerge from the shadow

Despite some Week 2 struggles, the Big Ten also delivered some standout performances from dark-horse teams that are shaking up the conference race.

USC's big win over LSU showed it might be more than ready for its tough matchups against Michigan and Penn State. The No. 11 Trojans, led by head coach Lincoln Riley, have seriously upgraded their defense, making them legit contenders for the Big Ten title.

Meanwhile, No. 23 Nebraska and Illinois also came through with massive wins that have both teams creeping onto the Big Ten Championship radar.

Nebraska’s true freshman quarterback, Dylan Raiola, led the Cornhuskers to a commanding 28-10 victory over Colorado, earning them their first spot in the AP poll since 2019. Now, they’ll look to keep climbing the rankings with a Week 3 matchup against Northern Iowa.

Illinois, on the other hand, pulled off an upset, knocking Kansas out of the rankings with a 23-17 win. Down late in the game, the Fighting Illini lived up to their name, clawing their way back to victory and making their case as a team to watch in the Big Ten.

While it's only just two weeks of football behind us, one thing’s clear — the Big Ten is shaping up to be more unpredictable than ever this season.