Indiana and USC become the first Big Ten teams to clinch bowl eligibility

Indiana and USC are the first Big Ten teams to become bowl eligible this season. Both reached six wins on Saturday, the Hoosiers by beating Nebraska on the road and the Trojans by winning at Penn State in the White Out game.

The updated conference standings and postseason tracker from Nittany Lions Wire show how quickly the race is taking shape after six weeks. Nittany Lions Wire lead writer Kevin McGuire's breakdown puts No. 7 Indiana alone among the conference's unbeaten teams with six wins, at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in league play. UCLA (5-0, 3-0) and Ohio State (5-1, 3-0) are also unbeaten in conference play. Wisconsin is 2-0 in the league and 4-1 overall.

No. 19 USC moved to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten with the win in University Park. Penn State fell to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the conference, which puts the Nittany Lions in a tie at the bottom of the league standings with Washington, Maryland and Michigan State.

Nittany Lions Wire lists four teams one win away from bowl eligibility: Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio State and UCLA. Nebraska is 5-1 and 2-1 in the league after the loss to Indiana. Iowa has the same records.

Nine teams are still in contention under the outlet's "on the radar" label: Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Washington and Wisconsin. Michigan is 3-2 overall but has not won a conference game, and Oregon is 3-2 and 1-1. Both have been much less dominant than usual so far.

Maryland, Michigan State and Rutgers are listed as in danger of missing the postseason. Maryland and Michigan State are each 2-4, and Rutgers is 1-4 and 0-2 in the Big Ten. No conference team has been eliminated from bowl eligibility yet.

Indiana's six-win mark is a milestone, but next week's game matters more for the conference title. The Hoosiers host Ohio State on Oct. 17. Both teams are unbeaten in league play, so the winner will hold an early edge in the race for a spot in the Big Ten championship game. The loser will have to make up ground over the second half of the season.

The market has Indiana as the underdog at home despite its perfect record. Ohio State is favored at -178 on Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, and the spread has Indiana getting 4.5 points. Among sportsbooks, the best price on the Buckeyes is -190 at theScore Bet. Full pricing is on the Ohio State at Indiana game page.

USC can climb the standings if the top teams start losing to each other. The Trojans have already used up their one conference loss and will need help to reach the title game. Penn State has six games left and needs three more wins to reach a bowl, and it hasn't won a Big Ten game yet.