Oregon wins at Ohio State as UCLA stays perfect and the Big Ten title race narrows

Oregon went into Columbus on Saturday and beat Ohio State 41-28. The loss was the Buckeyes' second in a row, and the win kept the three-loss Ducks alive in a playoff race that had looked closed to them a few weeks ago. In Minneapolis, No. 8 UCLA moved to 9-0. The Big Ten is now heading toward a championship game that almost nobody predicted in August.

In his Week 10 wrap for ESPN, Kyle Bonagura argues that a weekend with seven matchups between ranked teams settled very little. For the Big Ten, he calls UCLA against Indiana the most likely title-game pairing. The Bruins clinch a trip to Indianapolis if they win two of their last three games: Illinois, at Michigan and USC. Indiana is 8-1 and has less room for error. The Hoosiers have to beat USC, Washington on the road and Purdue to lock up their spot, because Oregon, Ohio State, Wisconsin, USC and Illinois all have two conference losses.

UCLA's 34-20 win at Minnesota came with an unusual stat line. Quarterback Ty Dieffenbach threw for 303 yards on only eight completions. Every UCLA win except the 17-15 game at Oregon has come by double digits. The loss dropped Minnesota to 5-4. Ohio State is 6-3, with losses to Texas by one point, to USC and now to Oregon. A separate ESPN piece counted 5,467 days since the Buckeyes last lost back-to-back games.

Bonagura's closing notes were bearish on two other league teams. Nebraska started 5-0 and has now lost four straight, so bowl eligibility is in doubt with Rutgers, Ohio State and Iowa left. Northwestern started 6-1, then lost 24-10 to Iowa without starting quarterback Aidan Chiles, and its offense stalled badly.

What it means for Week 11

UCLA opens the weekend on Friday at home against Illinois on Fox. At Novig, the Bruins are favored at -308 on the moneyline and by 9.5 points. Novig has Illinois at +277, and the best price anywhere is Polymarket's +286. The spread numbers sit close together. UCLA -9.5 is -115 at Novig and -110 at Fanatics, and the total ranges from 46.5 to 47.5. The full board is on the game page.

Ohio State returns home to face Northwestern on Fox. The Buckeyes are favored at -365 at Novig, and the best price is -360 at Kalshi. Northwestern is +300 at Novig and +320 at FanDuel, and the spread is 10.5 to 11 points. Whether Chiles plays is the open question for the Wildcats. Prices are on the matchup page.

Indiana hosts USC on CBS in a game with real title-race stakes. The Trojans beat Ohio State 30-18 two weeks ago. Indiana is favored at -228 at Novig, and the spread is 7 to 7.5 points. USC is +203 at Novig and +220 at DraftKings. See the USC-Indiana board.

Oregon is home against a 5-4 Michigan team coming off a 15-6 loss to Michigan State. The Ducks are favored at -365 at Novig and by 9.5 to 10.5 points. Michigan's moneyline has the widest spread between venues this week: +270 at Novig and +320 at FanDuel. The listings are on the game page.

Nebraska visits Rutgers on BTN, and Minnesota goes to Penn State on FS1.