Things are about to get serious in the Big Ten. The conference race will be shaped by these games in the second half of the college football season.

Brian Kelly and Co. are off to a 5-1 start, looking to get the offense to mesh down the stretch of the season.

Northwestern has won three straight after Saturday’s stunning win at Penn State that resulted in James Franklin getting fired. Purdue is still searching for its first Big Ten win since 2023. Ohio State has failed to cover just one this season. Wisconsin is a mess, with a 37-0 loss to Iowa the latest example. Luke Fickell’s job is in jeopardy.

Outlook the rest of the way: It's the SEC, so Texas still has plenty of time to stack some quality wins. As with other two-loss teams, though, the 'Horns are skating on thin ice. There will be a glut of 10-2 teams by season's end, so that means it will be virtually impossible for any programs beyond that bar to make the cut for a 12-team playoff.

Michigan was one of the largest fallers in the ESPN rankings. After the loss to USC, the Wolverines plummeted five spots in the rankings. Michigan sits at No. 17 in the ESPN Football Power Index. Before the matchup against the Trojans, the Wolverines were flirting with the Top 10.

Michigan football not only suffered its second loss of the season on Saturday, but it is no longer ranked. The Wolverines went from 15th to unranked after their 31-13 loss to USC, falling out of the Associated Press Top 25 and US LBM coaches’ polls this week.

The Red Raiders have asserted themselves as one of the very best teams in the country, and that doesn't seem likely to change tonight. Texas Tech has jumped all over Kansas in the early going, and its rushing attack is slicing the Jayhawks' defense.