Big Ten Power Rankings: Where Does Iowa Football Stand After Minnesota Loss?

The 2026 college football season feels very similar to the wild and unpredictable 2007 campaign. 

Upsets are happening at a ridiculous rate, and that has resulted in the Big Ten sporting a unique supporting cast of contenders. 

But where does Iowa stand after a disappointing loss to Minnesota on Saturday? The Hawkeyes entered the week ranked in the top five of my Big Ten power rankings last week, but it's safe to say they won't be there on Monday. 

Without further adieu, here are my Big Ten power rankings for Week 8: 

Injuries haven't helped, but Pat Fitzgerald never had a good roster to begin with in East Lansing. It's hard to see Michigan State winning a Big Ten game this year. 

Mike Locksley did some decent things in College Park, but it was clear that it was more than time for a change. The Terrapins will now have plenty of time to find a new coach, but I don't think their football team is going to win another game. 

Rutgers is very lucky it found a way to win at Maryland a few weeks ago because Greg Schiano might not have a job right now. The Scarlet Knights will probably go in a different direction at season's end, but we'll see if their longtime coach has one last upset in him. 

Until Iowa State East finds a way to win its first conference game of the season, it's probably going to live in the bottom four of these power rankings. Maybe the bye week helped Matt Campbell iron out Rocco Becht's struggles? 

Iowa was incredibly lucky to escape Ann Arbor with that miraculous win a month ago because this Michigan team is not very good. The defense will keep the Wolverines in games, but the offense remains putrid. 

Washington was on a bye last week, so we'll see if Jedd Fisch has the quarterback situation sorted out. He may need a strong second half of the season to keep his job. 

You can blame Dante Moore's injury all you want, but there's absolutely no reason why Oregon should be scoring 10 points against one of the worst defenses in the Big Ten in Illinois. The Ducks were right to fire their offensive coordinator, but there was too much money invested in this roster for it to have a lost season by October. 

It's games like that that should make Illinois fans never call for Bret Bielema's firing. The former Hawkeye player has done an incredible job with this team over the last few weeks and beat Oregon a day after saying his final goodbye to his father. Condolences to Bielema and his family. 

Purdue was on a bye last weekend, but you have to give this team credit for playing pretty solid football as of late. 

Nebraska had a week off to gather itself after a pair of gut-wrenching defeats. 

Is it over for Lincoln Riley? The Trojans got pushed around against Wisconsin and barring an upset win over Ohio State next weekend will miss the College Football Playoff again. It doesn't help that crosstown rival UCLA is firmly in the playoff picture, too. 

Just when we thought the quarterback saga was over in Iowa City, it happened again. Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski were both unplayable against Minnesota and it resulted in Iowa losing Floyd of Rosedale. A lot of tough internal questions need to be asked this week. 

The Gophers move ahead of Iowa because of the head-to-head victory, but this team has a brutal back end of the schedule. It wouldn't surprise me if P.J. Fleck slept with Floyd of Rosedale, though. 

Luke Fickell finally has a signature win in Madison. Wisconsin's offense still isn't great, but as long as it can be serviceable, that defense is going to carry the Badgers to a late-season run. If Wisconsin can win in Kinnick Stadium, watch out. 

Who had Northwestern being a CFP contender in late October? I don't think even Wildcat fans imagined their team would be in this spot, but if Northwestern can navigate a tough back end of the schedule and get to 10 wins, the 'Cats have a good case to get in. This is a fun team. 

I nearly considered bumping Northwestern over Indiana, but head-to-head always trumps out in these rankings. The Hoosiers really need to figure out their offense, though. Josh Hoover just doesn't look right. That was almost a disaster at Michigan. 

Bob Chesney has a very realistic path to an undefeated regular season in year one and he's doing it with a backup quarterback under center. UCLA fans need to pack into the Rose Bowl and support this team. 

Ohio State had a week off, but it definitely enjoyed watching the Big Ten beat itself up yet again. The Buckeyes are the clear favorite to win this league until proven otherwise, but we'll see how they can handle the loss of quarterback Julian Sayin.