Big Ten’s Top Contenders Fail to Dominate in Underwhelming Week 1

As part of Senior Day recognition, Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day hugs wide receiver Brandon Inniss (0) during the NCAA football game against the Ball State Cardinals at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Sept. 5, 2026. Ohio State won 56-3. The Big 10 spent all offseason claiming to be the best in the country, and for good reason. The conference had won its third straight national title and was consistently outperforming all other power conferences in bowl season. Because of this dominance, the conference earned three preseason top-10 rankings from Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana. All three teams moved into week two at 2-0, but it wasn’t as dominant as each team hoped.Ohio State can’t be too upset with a 56-3 victory, but the lunatic fringe of that fan base made it seem like Ball State actually pulled off the upset of the century. That section of the Buckeye faithful might be crazy, but they weren’t 100% wrong.The defense looked sloppy. Up front, the defensive line generated consistent pressure on Ball State (as they should), but they struggled to tackle quarterback Keldric Luster. Still, the secondary that many felt might be the best in the country looked the part, and overall it wasn’t a bad day out. A real area of concern was the offensive line.That position group was Ohio State’s weakness last season, and they might be an issue again this year. Thankfully, Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith looked like Heisman candidates, so they should hopefully be able to make up for the weak run game they might be dealing with.Indiana kicked off their national title defense with a bit of a slow first three quarters. The Hoosiers did pull away late, but the final score doesn’t tell the whole story. Let’s start with some positives first.Josh Hoover looked phenomenal in his first start in crimson and played a very clean game. He might not be Fernando Mendoza, but he’s going to be just as gritty as the guy he’s replacing. Nick Marsh was quiet in his first appearance since transferring from Michigan State, but made the catch of the day on his 15-yard touchdown to start the scoring.The passing game shined for Indiana, but Turbo Richards looked a little rough in the run game. I’m not sure he’s entirely to blame for this one, though. Across the board, Indiana seemed worse in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Last season they just crushed teams at the line of scrimmage, and I’m not sure they can do that this time around. However, I’m willing to give both Ohio State and Indiana some grace as they brush off the rust in week one.Last but certainly not least, Oregon can finally breathe again after escaping Boise State at Autzen Stadium. The Ducks are seen as the most experienced contender coming out of the Big 10, but you wouldn’t have known that after watching them on Saturday.Boise can be a historically tricky opponent, especially in week one, but this was still a pretty disappointing performance from Oregon. Maddux Madsen was one of my least favorite players to watch last year, and he nearly took down an Oregon defense that was supposed to be one of the best in the country.On the bright side, just like the two other main contenders in the Big 10, Dante Moore looked like a future first-round pick when the NFL draft rolls around this spring. Five different receivers had at least three receptions, and once they got going in the second quarter, it looked like Boise had no chance of slowing down that passing attack.A win is a win when it comes to college football, but I will be keeping a very close eye on Oregon’s defense with Oklahoma State and USC on the schedule in two out of their next three weeks.For the conference that spent all offseason puffing out its chest like a big bully in high school, it was quite an underwhelming set of performances from the top down in the Big 10.