The Big Ten this season is full of teams that are competitive this season and have the loads of talent on their roster. However at the bottom of the conference there is a couple of teams that are just waiting for the 2026 college football season to begin already.
In our Southern California Football Roundtable, we take a look at the matchup between UCLA and Northwestern. We break down whether or not these two teams will finish as the worst teams in the Big Ten. Here are each of our answers on the subject:
Editor Matt Zemek
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.
Trojans Wire Writer Micah Huff
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 (unwelcome) competition. With how the Badgers’ schedule looks for the rest of the season, it is not out of the realm of possibility that UW will not win another game.
Trojans Wire Writer Adam Bradford
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.
UCLA Wire Writer Ryan Lorenz
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.
UCLA Wire Writer Dylan McNeill
UCLA and Northwestern have absolutely been the two worst teams in the Big Ten Conference to begin the season. 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.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: UCLA and Northwestern play in a new Big Ten version of the ‘Toilet Bowl’
Reporting by Micah Huff, Adam Bradford and Matt Zemek, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
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