UCLA Leads the Big Ten After Week 8 as Ohio State, Indiana Chase and USC, Iowa Slip

Eight weeks in, UCLA sits alone at the top of the Big Ten. The Bruins beat Michigan State 28-10 at the Rose Bowl to reach 7-0, and they are 5-0 in league play. As of the Week 8 standings compiled by CFB-HQ On SI, that makes them the only team in the conference without a loss of any kind. UCLA won its first four games last season. It has already won three more than that.

The win over Michigan State didn't start well. According to Yahoo Sports, the Bruins trailed 7-0 after a sloppy first quarter, then scored 28 straight points across the middle two quarters. Ohio State is right behind at 4-0 in the league. Its only loss came out of conference, 24-23 at Texas. Defending national champion Indiana is next at 4-1 after a 13-6 overtime win at Michigan. As OutKick reported, Josh Hoover's 4-yard touchdown run in overtime gave the Hoosiers their first win at Michigan Stadium since 1967. They did not score in the second half of regulation.

Two hopefuls lost ground. USC lost 24-7 at Wisconsin and fell to 3-2 in the league. Iowa lost 13-10 at Minnesota and dropped to 2-2. Those wins moved Wisconsin and Minnesota to 3-1, level with Northwestern. That leaves six teams with one conference loss or fewer heading into November.

What it means for Saturday

The leader gets a week off from league play. UCLA hosts Nevada on BTN and is favored at -1329 on Novig. Novig has the Bruins at -22.5. Spreads across the 11 venues run from 21 points at BetRivers to 23 at Pinnacle. A UCLA win would make the Bruins 8-0, but it would not change the conference table.

The game with the most at stake is Ohio State at USC on NBC. The Buckeyes are 6-1 and have won five straight since the Texas loss, the most recent a 19-15 win at Indiana. USC is 6-2 and has lost two of its last five, including the defeat at Wisconsin. Ohio State is favored at -233 on Novig. Its spread there is -7.5, while Hard Rock Bet has it at -6.5. Kalshi has the best USC price on the board at +229, a little longer than Novig's +223. With two conference losses already, USC probably cannot afford a third.

Indiana hosts Minnesota on CBS, and the gap between the two teams' recent results is wide. The Hoosiers are favored at -1011 on Novig with a 19.5-point spread. Minnesota's moneyline runs from +852 on Novig to +1000 at theScore Bet. The Gophers are coming off the win over Iowa, but Indiana's defense has given up 6 and 19 points in its last two games.

Iowa hosts 25th-ranked Wisconsin on Fox. Iowa has lost two of its last three, and its last three games against Big Ten opponents were each decided by a field goal or less. Iowa is favored at -153 on Novig and at -3.5 there. BetRivers has the line at -3. Novig's total of 37.5 is close to the 36.5 at theScore Bet. Both totals point to a low-scoring game. Whoever loses likely falls out of the race for a title-game spot.