CBS, FOX and NBC have all banked on Big Ten football to generate enough viewers to justify a combined $7 billion in broadcast rights. The networks’ return on investment may still be being determined, but Week 7 highlighted that in terms of pure entertainment value, the Big Ten is exceeding expectations.
Underdog stories, thrillers and feel-good adventures with friends are just part of B1G’s must-see programming on any given Saturday. Here’s what aired in Week 7 on the Coast-to-Coast Conference.
“Unhappy Halley”
College football doesn’t have a soap opera more packed with jaw-dropping twists and turns than the Penn State drama. The Nittany Lions are at a crossroads after Week 7 with an injured quarterback and an increasingly beleaguered head coach.
For every marquee game Penn State lost under James Franklin, there was reassurance that came from the consistency of the program. A loss to a top-10 opponent like Oregon, which the Nittany Lions endured on Sept. 27 in overtime, may be predictable but is no less heartbreaking.
Two weeks later, it looks more like a backbreaker.
A totally confusing October 4 loss at previously winless UCLA could realistically have been considered the nadir of the Franklin era, but lasted only a week. Losing a third straight and struggling Northwestern, the season became a total disaster, made worse by the loss of quarterback Drew Allar.
From the Big Ten’s preseason favorite and popular national championship pick to a potentially losing season, the future is uncertain for Penn State and Franklin.
“Skipper and Jerry”
Michigan State’s Wayne Matthews III, right, tackles UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava during the second quarter on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. PHOTO USA TODAY SPORTS IMAGES A modern take on the classic action vehicle like Starsky and HutchUCLA interim head coach Tim Skipper and offensive coordinator Jerry Neuheisel burst onto the scene in Los Angeles with understated brilliance.
Skipper left a subtle message for the Bruins after their 42-37 win over Penn State, shared by Ben Bolch of Los Angeles Times. They answered emphatically no in a 38-13 rout of Michigan State.
With Skipper at the helm and a fresh-faced young Neuheisel running an offense that went from moribund to prolific virtually overnight, UCLA is playing its most inspired football in its two seasons of Big Ten membership.
“I don’t like boredom, so if I don’t feel the juice, then we’ll start the day again,” Skipper said after the Week 7 antics. “We didn’t have to do this or anything, but energy and passion is how you’re supposed to play football. That’s how we’re going to practice, that’s how we meet, that’s how we play.”
Not only is it Skipper and Jerry college football’s most entertaining midseason replacement, it’s also a feel-good comeback story. Co-star and quarterback Nico Iamaleava flipped the script on his own narrative with five touchdown passes and eight total scores in the two wins.
“Make lemonade with lemon”
If you miss a second of USC football, you might miss wide receiver Makai Lemon doing something incredible.
Lemon proved to be the most exciting pass catcher in the game this season, adding even more to his sizzle in the Trojans’ 31-13 win over No. 15 Michigan.
First, he walked the tightrope to land a key reception as USC led late in the second quarter in a 7-7 tie. Then, quarterback Jayden Maiava finished the drive with just 18 seconds before intermission to find Lemon.
With three white, blue and maize jerseys nearby, Maiava fired a pass into a narrow window. Lemon prepared for the catch, scoring a crucial touchdown that sparked a 17-0 run. The win was a huge rebound for USC after its last-second loss two weeks prior to Illinois – a game in which Lemon caught two fourth-quarter touchdowns – and also the Trojans’ most important victory of their brief stint in the Big Ten.
“Champion plus hoosier? »
November 9, 2024; Bloomington, Indiana, United States; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti reacts during the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images No matter how much college football evolves under the influence of network television, fans always come back with the promise of seeing something they’ve never witnessed before.
And literally, no one had ever seen an Indiana team beat a top-five ranked opponent on the road before Saturday’s 30-20 loss to Oregon. Just when you think football can’t do something new…
The Hoosiers reached the College Football Playoff last season without winning a regular season game of any significance. The same can’t be said for the 2025 team, which has now completely destroyed a then-top-10 opponent in Illinois and prevailed in one of the most hostile environments in sports, Autzen Stadium.
Fernando Mendoza coming back from a game-tying pick-six to lead Indiana’s offense on two crucial late-game scores is the kind of subplot that just hasn’t happened for Hoosiers of the past.
Then again, there has never been a figure like Curt Cignetti at the helm.
Cignetti could be described as the Rodney Dangerfield of college football, and not just for the one-liners that have become his trademark in television interviews. At 64 years old and after a coaching journey through Div. II Indiana (Pa.), FCS program Elon and leader James Madison in his transition to FBS, Cignetti reached his career peak late in games as Dangerfield.
And, as Dangerfield once joked, Indiana received no respect. This is no longer the case after week 7.
