USC’s Jayden Maiava is the fifth-ranked quarterback through Week 3.

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Another week of college football is in the books, and after three weeks we can start to look ahead to exciting conference matchups. Before that, however, here are some notable things to look at from around the Big Ten. Then, we’ll talk about some conference matchups in Week 4.

Week 3 recapped

Michigan State loses 27-10 to Notre Dame

Michigan State went into South Bend as underdogs by more than four touchdowns against Notre Dame. The result wasn’t an embarrassing performance, but it is quite clear that the Spartans have a long way to go in their rebuild before they can compete in games like this. 

It does seem like Pat Fitzgerald has succeeded in raising the floor of Michigan State, something that needed doing in his first year. 

USC still has a defense problem

There’s no questioning that Jayden Maiava is one of the elite quarterbacks in college football. He’s currently fifth in our quarterback rankings with a 9.11 BiteScore through four games, having been efficient and nearly turnover-free so far. Unfortunately, the big question for the Trojans this offseason was the defense, and so far it looks like more of the same. 

460 total yards of offense and 35 points to Rutgers is a rough showing from a unit that had a lot riding on their success. Thanks to Maiava, the Trojans have a shot in offensive shootouts. However, the defense needs to be better.

Northwestern routs Colorado 41-7

Northwestern looked great in a 41-7 beatdown of Colorado on Saturday night. Aidan Chiles went 17-22 for 241 yards and three touchdowns, and the offense had 423 total yards of offense.

While the Wildcats looked good, this result might have more to do with Colorado having nine penalties for 80 yards and turning the ball over four times.

Week 4 matchups to watch

#17 Iowa vs. #18 Michigan

Iowa will travel to Ann Arbor for the first ranked Big Ten matchup of the 2026 season, and this game should be some classic smash-mouth Big Ten football. A points line of 37.5 tells you pretty much everything you need to know about this one. Two Top-10 defenses and two questionable offenses should make this one interesting.

#20 Oregon vs. #12 USC

It’s unlikely you could have predicted that USC would be a higher-ranked team than Oregon when looking at this match in the preseason. This matchup has shootout potential, as both teams are allowing over 300 yards per game, despite neither having played a ranked opponent. For USC, this game will be a sign of whether this season really is different, and for Oregon, this is the perfect bounce-back opportunity after a rough start.

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