Episode October 5, 2026 1 hr 34 min

Big Ten Panic Meter: Who Is Actually In Trouble After Week 5?

From The Big Ten Huddle Podcast JR, Bleav

Absolute panic has taken over Big Ten football after Week 5. We are breaking down the winners, losers, and the rankings drama.

The Big Ten football landscape looks drastically different following the latest results. We are measuring the temperature across the conference using our Big Ten panic meter to see which programs have reason to worry and which fanbases can actually breathe easy. While Ohio State remains content with their recent performance, other teams are facing significant questions after a chaotic weekend of play.

Beyond the immediate reactions, we are updating our college football power rankings and reacting to the latest AP Poll shakeups. It is rare to hear from the happy teams since most of the media cycle focuses on the anxiety, so we are balancing the conversation to reflect the true state of the conference heading into the next slate of games.

Subscribe for weekly Big Ten football breakdowns, and let us know in the comments which team has your panic meter running highest.

0:00 Big Ten Week 5 Has Everyone Panicking
6:57 Big Ten Panic Meter Begins
7:58 MELTDOWN: Penn State, Michigan, Maryland & Rutgers
18:27 PANICKING: Washington, Illinois & Michigan State
22:35 USC Is 5-1 — So Why Aren't Fans Happy?
24:35 Purdue Is Finally Showing Progress
30:01 NO PANIC: Big Ten's Biggest Risers
32:19 Is 5-0 Nebraska Actually That Good?
39:47 Big Ten Power Rankings
42:32 Zack's Big Ten Power Rankings
50:05 Our Biggest Power Ranking Disagreements
1:00:35 AP Poll Reaction Begins
1:02:13 Why Northwestern SHOULD Be Ranked
1:07:49 The SEC “Quality Loss” Problem
1:11:33 Is Ohio State Ranked Too Low?
1:24:12 Which Unranked Big Ten Team Deserves In?
1:24:51 The INSANE Nebraska 5-0 AP Poll Stat
1:30:46 Final AP Poll Rant