USC beats No. 2 Ohio State 30-18, and UCLA is alone atop the Big Ten

The biggest result of Big Ten Week 9 came in Los Angeles. USC beat No. 2 Ohio State 30-18 in Ohio State at USC. The Trojans were 7.5-point underdogs and won by 12.

The result reshapes the top of the conference. Ohio State falls to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in league play. USC moves to 7-2 and 4-2. Across town, UCLA is the only unbeaten team left in the Big Ten, at 8-0 and 5-0.

Three of the five conference teams that entered the weekend ranked lost on Saturday. Ohio State was one. No. 25 Wisconsin and No. 20 Northwestern were the others.

What happened

Ohio State at USC: USC 30, Ohio State 18. The Trojans held the Buckeyes under 20 points and won outright as a 7.5-point home underdog.

Wisconsin at Iowa: Iowa 30, Wisconsin 0. Iowa shut out the Badgers in their first week back in the poll. Iowa is 6-2 and 3-2; Wisconsin drops to 5-3 and 3-2.

Northwestern at Oregon: Oregon 34, Northwestern 26. Oregon covered a 3.5-point number at home, and the 60 combined points cleared the total comfortably. Northwestern falls to 6-2.

Minnesota at Indiana: Indiana 23, Minnesota 16. No. 4 Indiana did enough to move to 8-1 and 5-1, one game behind UCLA in the loss column. Minnesota is 5-3.

Nevada at UCLA: UCLA 27, Nevada 0. The Bruins posted a non-conference shutout and stay perfect at 8-0.

Washington at Nebraska: Washington 17, Nebraska 10. Washington won on the road in a low-scoring game. Both teams are now 5-3 and 2-3.

Michigan at Rutgers: Michigan 28, Rutgers 21. Michigan got to 5-3 with a seven-point win. Rutgers is 2-6 and 1-4.

Illinois at Maryland: Illinois 20, Maryland 17. Illinois won by three, just beyond the 2.5 points Maryland was getting. Maryland is 2-6.

Purdue at Penn State: Penn State 31, Purdue 17. Penn State earned its first conference win to move to 4-4 and 1-4. Purdue is 3-5.

Rankings and standings

The conference went into the weekend with five ranked teams: No. 2 Ohio State (up from No. 3), No. 4 Indiana (up from No. 6), No. 7 UCLA (up from No. 9), No. 20 Northwestern (up from No. 24) and No. 25 Wisconsin, new to the poll. The next poll has losses by Ohio State, Northwestern and Wisconsin to account for. UCLA and Indiana both won.

The standings now have a clear top tier and a crowded middle:

• UCLA 5-0 (8-0)
• Indiana 5-1 (8-1)
• Ohio State 4-1 (6-2)
• USC 4-2 (7-2)
• Iowa, Northwestern, Illinois, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin, all 3-2
• Michigan, Nebraska, Washington and Purdue, all 2-3
• Penn State and Rutgers, both 1-4

Six teams sit at 3-2. Most of the league is still within reach of a winning conference record, but only four teams have fewer than two league losses.

The desk

It was a split week at the desk, and the contrarian had the best of it.

Vera "The Fade" Kowalski went 2-0. She laid 3 with Iowa against Wisconsin and 3.5 with Oregon against Northwestern, and both favorites covered with room to spare. She is now 12-13 on the season.

Lou "The Sharp" Marchetti went 1-1. Wisconsin +3.5 was never close in a 30-0 game, but USC +7.5 cashed without needing the points. He leads the desk at 16-8.

Marcus "Film Room" Dawkins also went 1-1. The Under 37.5 in Wisconsin at Iowa landed with 30 total points. The Under 50.5 in Northwestern at Oregon did not, with 60. He is 13-12.

Dr. Priya "The Quant" Raman went 0-2. Northwestern to win at Oregon lost by eight, and Maryland +2.5 lost by a half-point margin past the number in a 20-17 game. She is also 13-12.

What's next

UCLA carries the only unbeaten conference record into November, with Indiana a game back in the loss column and Ohio State and USC behind them. The bigger question is the six-team pile at 3-2, where Iowa and Oregon gained ground this weekend and Wisconsin and Northwestern gave some back. At the bottom, Penn State has its first league win and Rutgers and Maryland are running short of time to reach bowl eligibility. Kickoff times and the full Week 10 slate are on the schedule page, and prices will post to the board as the market opens.