Big Ten Power Rankings, Week 10: Can Lincoln Riley lead USC on a late charge?

What a difference a week makes. After losing to Wisconsin, many wondered if this might be the end of the Lincoln Riley era at USC. A treacherous closing stretch of the season against three top 10 opponents created a reality where the Trojans could finish the year 7-5, which would almost certainly have spelled doom for Riley. 

However, just as Riley's eulogy at USC was being written, the Trojans put together their best performance of the season in the Halloween rain in Los Angeles to topple then-No. 1 Ohio State in a convincing 30-18 win. Now USC is 7-2 and gets a bye week to prepare for a road trip to Bloomington to play No. 4 Indiana, which has escaped in overtime in back-to-back weeks against unranked opponents. 

If USC can finally hand Indiana the second loss the Hoosiers have seemingly been trying to take for weeks, suddenly the College Football Playoff is back in sight. Maryland is the Big Ten's free space on schedules this season, and for as great as the crosstown rival Bruins have looked this year, the Trojans could certainly win against UCLA to close out the season. 

The game against Indiana will tell us everything we need to know about the Trojans. They rallied with their backs against the wall at home against Ohio State, but the road has not been kind to USC under Riley. USC is 5-7 away from home in Big Ten play over the past three years (and one of those wins was driving across L.A. to face UCLA) -- they also have a loss at Notre Dame in that span. 

This year they lost as favorites on the road at Wisconsin, narrowly dodged an embarrassing loss at Rutgers and got dragged into a one-score game late at a Penn State team that's 1-4 in conference play. Indiana may be limping into what will be a ranked battle in Bloomington, but with a bye week of their own to get either Grant Wilson more time with the starters or Josh Hoover healthier, the Hoosiers will present the stiffest test USC's faced yet on the road. 

The first batch of College Football Playoff rankings proved that the committee isn't buying a sudden USC turnaround. That makes their Nov. 14 game at Indiana (3:30 p.m. ET on CBS) the biggest game of Lincoln Riley's tenure in L.A., as he can either rewrite the narrative about his teams or they can just prove to be the same ol' Trojans. 

How high does USC climb in this week's Big Ten Power Rankings? Let's find out...

1. UCLA 

Last week: 2

The Bruins put it on cruise control against Nevada on Saturday and now face a tricky road trip to Minnesota to face a Golden Gophers team that just gave it their all in a gutting overtime defeat at Indiana. The Gophers' defense will present a real challenge to a UCLA offense that has certainly lost some juice without Nico Iamaleava at quarterback. 

Running the football will be a challenge, and Ty Dieffenbach will have to lead the way with his arm for the Bruins on offense. Defensively, UCLA has made a huge leap over the course of this season and should be able to limit a Minnesota offense that's struggled to move the ball consistently against a pair of stout defenses recently. 

All UCLA has to do is take care of business against unranked foes and get to the USC game at 11-0 to lock themselves into the CFP. As we've learned this season, that's much easier said than done, but no team in the Big Ten has been better at handling games they're supposed to win than the Bruins so far this year. 

2. Indiana 

Last week: 4

It's an indictment of the rest of the Big Ten that Indiana remains in this position, but despite their best efforts, the Hoosiers are still one of the conference's top two teams. Indiana put forth one of the worst special teams performances of all time last week against Minnesota -- until making up for it all with a 60-yarder at the buzzer to force overtime. 

The offense continues to be an anchor dragging the Hoosiers into the mud every game, but Grant Wilson did hit a few big throws that Josh Hoover has struggled to make after taking over in the second half. We'll see who gets the nod as the starter out of the bye, but Indiana will get tested in a big way in two weeks when they host USC in what will be a diamond tester game for both sides. 

3. USC

Last week: 9

I was ready to write off USC, but last week was their most complete game of the season. Jayden Maiava looked terrific; the defense wasn't great, but it was good enough when needed (especially in the red zone) and didn't make catastrophic blunders that would have given up huge plays. 

Now the Trojans get a bye week to turn the page off a huge Ohio State win and refocus for Indiana, where we'll learn exactly how real this USC team is against the most gettable version of the Hoosiers we've seen in three years. 

4. Ohio State

Last week: 1

The Buckeyes are now on the outside looking in after coming in at No. 12 in the first CFP poll, which means they have zero margin for error remaining. Oregon is in town this week (3:30 p.m. ET on CBS) coming off a big win over Northwestern, where they looked like an improved offense under new leadership. 

Luke Fahey's debut for Ohio State didn't go as hoped, but the Buckeyes moved the ball solidly -- they just couldn't finish off drives with touchdowns. That has to change against the Ducks, and we'll find out whether he can fare better at home in key situations or whether Ohio State's offense will continue to struggle to find the paint. 

5. Iowa

Last week: 7

The Hawkeyes aren't dead yet. After a brutal offensive showing against Minnesota, the Hawkeyes continued their domination of Wisconsin under Luke Fickell with a 30-0 beating that felt even more lopsided than that score suggests. 

There's still a path for Iowa to the CFP if they can run the table from here out, and we'll find out a lot about their chances this week when they play the best team remaining on their schedule in a road trip to Northwestern. 

This is a dangerous Hawkeyes squad, but the question is whether their style of play will allow another team to nip them and end their CFP dreams for good. 

6. Northwestern 

Last week: 2

The Wildcats emptied the tank in the first half at Oregon but couldn't keep pace with the Ducks over the final 30 minutes. 

Now they return home to host an Iowa squad that is miserable to deal with, and we'll find out a lot about what this Northwestern team is made of. Their physicality will be tested, and Chip Kelly will have to come up with an impressive game plan to exploit the Iowa defense. 

Aidan Chiles has been terrific this season, but the Hawkeyes will try their best to coax out the turnover tendencies from his time at Michigan State. 

7. Minnesota

Last week: 6

The Gophers are going to have nightmares about the final 15 seconds of regulation in Bloomington for a long time. PJ Fleck will have to refocus his boys quickly, though, because they get to welcome in another top team this week in undefeated UCLA with another chance to pull off a stunning upset. 

The big question for Minnesota is whether they have enough offensive juice to give UCLA a battle for four quarters -- and whether Drake Lindsey can avoid the turnovers that have plagued him all year. He did so against Indiana (although he tried to throw a back-breaker late that got overturned on review) but will need to be even sharper against the Bruins. 

8. Wisconsin

Last week: 5

Woof. Right as Luke Fickell had the vibes right in Madison, he had to deal with his personal boogeyman, Kirk Ferentz. Iowa has smacked Wisconsin by a combined score of 109-10 the last three years, and that took some air out of the Badgers' balloon heading into Week 10. 

Still, at 5-3, the Badgers have a chance at their best season of Fickell's tenure and will have a strong bounce-back opportunity with Rutgers in town, a chance to get bowl-eligible, followed by Maryland and Purdue, putting 8 wins firmly in play before closing with Minnesota. 

9. Illinois 

Last week: 12

Don't let the Illini get hot! It wasn't pretty, but Illinois avoided the indignity of losing to Maryland on Saturday and have now won three straight. The defense seems to have improved considerably since the bye week, and all of a sudden Illinois has a chance to put together a solid season. 

Nebraska limps into town this week on a three-game losing streak, and if Illinois can pinch another one, they can get bowl-eligible in Week 10, which felt impossible a month ago. The real question is whether Katin Houser is going to be healthier for this game, because he looked rough throwing the football in his return at Maryland. 

10. Oregon

Last week: 13

The Ducks looked much better offensively after firing Drew Mehringer, and Saturday saw them get the best performance from Dylan Raiola since he was suddenly inserted into the USC game. 

The defense was carved up early but made some strong halftime adjustments to corral Aidan Chiles and limit big plays, allowing Raiola to lead the comeback. With the win, the Ducks get some much-needed confidence heading into the biggest game remaining on their schedule at Ohio State. 

The Buckeyes suddenly look beatable after what we saw against USC, but Oregon still needs to produce its most complete game of the season to pull off a road upset. 

11. Washington

Last week: 10

I'm still not entirely sure how Washington won at Nebraska last week, but a win's a win, and Jedd Fisch has back-to-back victories he desperately needed to quiet the noise around his job. 

The Huskies went back to Demond Williams late, signaling he will likely return to the starting role this week against Penn State, but after rushing for just 32 yards on 19 carries, Washington has to figure out some way to get a more balanced offensive attack. Still, considering the way the season was trending for the Huskies, clawing back to 5-3 entering Week 10 is big for a team that could've gone completely off the rails. 

12. Nebraska

Last week: 8

The wheels are starting to come off for Nebraska. After a 5-0 start and leading Indiana deep into the fourth quarter, the Huskers have now lost three straight by way of demoralizing late-game collapses. 

Matt Rhule has to find a way to calm things down for his team and get them to finish out games in the fourth quarter, because the remaining schedule won't do the Huskers many favors. 

This week they travel to face an improving Illinois team on a winning streak in a game that feels like a must-win. After that, it's a breather with Rutgers before finishing with Ohio State at home and Iowa on the road, and if the Huskers don't beat the Illini, they'll be staring down a 6-6 season. 

13. Michigan

Last week: 14

The Wolverines got a win over Rutgers this week, but it wasn't as simple as Michigan fans would've liked. Up next, their in-state rivals come to Ann Arbor in a game Kyle Whittingham absolutely has to win over Michigan State. 

That's because Michigan's closing stretch is brutal: they go to Oregon, host UCLA and then head to the Horseshoe to face Ohio State. Getting to six wins this week feels like a must for Whittingham, but if they don't get one of their final three, he still might end up one-and-done in Ann Arbor. 

14. Penn State

Last week: 16

Matt Campbell finally has a Big Ten win under his belt after beating Purdue last week, and now the Nittany Lions can start to think about going on a run against as friendly a schedule as one could hope for in the final four weeks of the season. 

Up next, they host a Washington team that's figured some things out but still isn't firing on all cylinders offensively, and then they've got Minnesota, Rutgers and Maryland to close out the season. There's still a path to seven wins this year for Campbell's team, and that feels necessary to ease some of the frustration in Happy Valley. 

15. Purdue

Last week: 11

Purdue was one of the early surprises in the Big Ten, but back-to-back losses have brought the Boilermakers face-to-face with the reality that this season likely will be another without a bowl bid. 

A home game against Maryland couldn't arrive at a better time, but the Boilermakers have to take care of business against the Terps to keep this season feeling like a positive step forward. 

16. Rutgers

Last week: 15

Rutgers is doing some positive things on offense. 21 points against Michigan is proof that there's something there. The problem is, the defense is genuinely one of the worst in the entire country, as evidenced by giving up 28 points to a Michigan offense that cannot score. 

This week, the Scarlet Knights travel to Madison to take on a Wisconsin team that will be looking to let out some anger after getting blanked by Iowa. 

17. Michigan State

Last week: 17

Pat Fitzgerald has had a bye week to come up with his absolute best to try and get a win over Michigan this week. 

An awful lot would be forgiven for his first-year struggles in East Lansing if he upset the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. 

We'll see if it's Alessio Milivojevic or Kayd Coffman under center this week coming out of the bye, but the Spartans need to have a kitchen sink effort this week, or they could be staring down a scenario where their only chance for a Big Ten win is in the final week of the season at Rutgers. 

18. Maryland

Last week: 18

Maryland almost got its first Big Ten win of the season this week against Illinois, but failed to capitalize enough on early opportunities and eventually let the Illini back into the game. 

There was some life in the Terps in their first week after firing Mike Locksley, but one wonders how much longer they will stay motivated. This week presents another opportunity to get a win on the road against a scuffling Purdue team, but it'll require a full four-quarter performance Maryland hasn't shown all season.