UCLA fans will get their first look at Tim Skipper as the Bruins’ interim head coach this Saturday. The team heads east to Northwestern. Are Bruin fans also getting a look at the two worst teams in the Big Ten Conference?
Both Northwestern and UCLA have underwhelmed so far in the 2025 season, but someone will have to win on Saturday, even if it’s the team’s lone Big Ten win of the season. The Southern California Football Roundtable discussed if the Wildcats and the Bruins are the two worst teams in the Big Ten.
Matt Zemek, Editor
Purdue can move the ball. Maryland is decent. Wisconsin might be — incredibly — the one team which might fall to NU’s and UCLA’s level. It’s unlikely that both the Wildcats and Bruins will both escape the bottom two spots in the Big Ten. At least one of them will occupy a bottom-two position. What makes it hard for these teams to escape the Big Ten basement is that there just aren’t many alternative options. Wisconsin might be the only one. Maybe Michigan State. Purdue seems okay. UCLA and Northwestern appear to be the worst of the worst heading into their Week 5 game.
Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire
No, I think Wisconsin finishes winless in Big Ten play. The Luke Fickell era in Madison has been a massive disappointment, and their schedule is ridiculously difficult. If the Badgers can’t even be competitive with Maryland, I don’t see a conference win on there.
Micah Huff, Trojans Wire
This matchup is very interesting because it is a game for which both sides will be trying their hardest to get a victory and not be the worst team in the Big Ten. Both teams have been horrible and that makes this game all the more exciting to see who will get the victory. I would not be surprised if Wisconsin enters this competition. With how the Badgers’ schedule looks for the rest of the season, it is not out of the realm of possibility that they will not win another game.
Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire
UCLA and Northwestern have absolutely been the two worst teams in the Big Ten Conference to begin the season and looking at their conference schedules, there’s no reason to expect that to change. With that being said, I’m looking forward to Saturday’s game, as it’s both teams’ best chance to get a conference win this year. I don’t believe Purdue or Wisconsin to be very competitive in Big Ten play, but I think they’re both better than UCLA and Northwestern.
Ryan Lorenz, UCLA Wire
Probably. Both the Wildcats and Bruins look absolutely awful to start the regular season and there is no reason to think that would change as their schedule gets more difficult. This week’s matchup should be interesting because we can see if the Tim Skipper Bruins will have any sort of fight to try and surpass the sinking Wildcats.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: SoCal Football Roundtable–Are UCLA and Northwestern the two worst teams in the Big Ten?
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, Ryan Lorenz and Matt Zemek, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
