Ohio State wins the top-five game at Indiana as UCLA stays perfect

The biggest game of the Big Ten season so far was decided by four points and never got comfortable. No. 4 Ohio State went to Bloomington and beat No. 5 Indiana 19-15 in Ohio State at Indiana.

The result keeps the Buckeyes unbeaten in conference play at 4-0, level with UCLA at the top of the table. Indiana falls to 3-1 in the league and 6-1 overall. That is a real loss, but not a fatal one with half the conference schedule still to play.

It was also a low-scoring game, and the passing props reflected that. Unders on both Jeremiah Smith's receiving yards and Julian Sayin's passing yards cashed. On the other side, Josh Hoover went over his number in defeat.

What happened

Washington at Purdue: Washington 38, Purdue 26. The Friday game went to the road team. Washington moved to 4-3 and picked up its first conference win, while Purdue dropped to 3-4.

Ohio State 19, Indiana 15. A top-five road win for the Buckeyes, who move to 6-1. Indiana's unbeaten start is over.

Northwestern at Michigan State: Northwestern 24, Michigan State 21. No. 25 Northwestern survived by three to reach 5-1. Michigan State falls to 2-5 but covered the spread.

Rutgers at Maryland: Rutgers 37, Maryland 30. The highest-scoring game of the week went to Rutgers, now 2-4. Maryland is 2-5.

Penn State at Michigan: Michigan 21, Penn State 18. Michigan held on to get to 4-2. Penn State is 3-4 and still looking for its first conference win.

Wisconsin at UCLA: UCLA 17, Wisconsin 7. No. 12 UCLA held Wisconsin to a single touchdown and stays perfect at 6-0. The Badgers drop to 4-2.

Nebraska at Oregon: Oregon 17, Nebraska 14. Oregon won by three at home to reach 4-2. Nebraska, at 5-2, lost but beat the spread.

Rankings and standings

The conference had six teams in the AP Top 25 this week. Ohio State was No. 4, up from No. 5. Indiana was No. 5, up from No. 7. UCLA was No. 12 after a jump from No. 21, Iowa was No. 17, up from No. 20, and USC held at No. 19. Northwestern entered at No. 25.

Those rankings went into this week's games. Expect movement after Indiana's loss and UCLA's win.

The top of the table now looks like this:

• UCLA and Ohio State are both 4-0 in conference.
• Indiana and USC are 3-1.
• Iowa, Northwestern, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin are 2-1.
• Nebraska and Purdue are 2-2.
• Michigan, Illinois and Rutgers are 1-2.
• Washington is 1-3.
• Penn State is 0-4.

The 2-1 group is crowded. Its makeup will change quickly as those teams start playing each other.

The desk

It was a split week at the desk.

Lou "The Sharp" Marchetti went 3-0. He took Northwestern to win, Nebraska +6.5 and Jeremiah Smith under 124.5 receiving yards, and all three landed. He is now 13-7 and leads the desk comfortably.

Dr. Priya "The Quant" Raman also went 3-0. Her picks were Northwestern to win, Penn State +5.5 in a three-point loss, and Julian Sayin under 261.5 passing yards. She moves to 11-10.

Vera "The Fade" Kowalski went 2-1, and both of her underdog picks paid. Michigan State +7.5 covered in a three-point loss, and Washington +3.5 won outright. Her Sayin over 261.5 lost on the same number Raman won on. She is 10-11.

Marcus "Film Room" Dawkins went 0-3. Indiana +3.5 missed by half a point in a four-point loss. Purdue -3.5 lost outright, and Josh Hoover under 216.5 passing yards went over. He falls to 10-11, level with Kowalski.

What's next

Ohio State and UCLA share the conference lead at 4-0. That puts the focus on whether either one slips, and on how Indiana and USC respond from one game back. The crowded 2-1 group, from Iowa to Wisconsin, has little room left for error, while Penn State's search for a first league win continues. Full matchups, kickoff times and the latest odds are on the schedule page.