A look at Week 4 SP+ projections for Big Ten football

Photos from IU football's 38-0 win against Western Kentucky at Memorial Stadium.

The 2026 Big Ten football schedule shifts into high gear this weekend with eight conference games.

Last weekend, conference play kicked off with USC beating Rutgers 42-35 in Piscataway and UCLA defeating Purdue 52-38 in Los Angeles.

All 18 Big Ten programs are in action this weekend, which includes a pair of non-conference matchups as Purdue hosts Notre Dame and Rutgers wraps up non-conference play against Howard.

Here’s a look at SP+ projections for Week 4 games featuring Big Ten programs:

(All final score projections are rounded.)

Howard at Rutgers (Friday, 7 p.m. ET, BTN)

Projected score: Rutgers 48, Howard 6
Projected margin: Rutgers by 41.7
Win probability: 100 percent

Northwestern at Indiana (Friday, 8 p.m. ET, FOX)

Projected score: Indiana 35, Northwestern 14
Projected margin: Indiana by 20.6
Win probability: 90 percent

Illinois at Ohio State (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, FOX)

Projected score: Ohio State 37, Illinois 16
Projected margin: Ohio State by 21.1
Win probability: 91 percent

UCLA at Maryland (Saturday, 1:30 p.m. ET, BTN)

Projected score: Maryland 28, UCLA 26
Projected margin: Maryland by 1.4
Win probability: 53 percent

Notre Dame at Purdue (Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, Peacock)

Projected score: Notre Dame 41, Purdue 15
Projected margin: Notre Dame by 26.3
Win probability: 95 percent

Iowa at Michigan (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)

Projected score: Toss-up
Projected margin: Michigan by 0.3
Win probability: 51 percent

Wisconsin at Penn State (Saturday, 5 p.m. ET, Peacock)

Projected score: Penn State 32, Wisconsin 15
Projected margin: Penn State by 16.5
Win probability: 85 percent

Nebraska at Michigan State (Saturday, 5 p.m. ET, BTN)

Projected score: Nebraska 31, Michigan State 21
Projected margin: Nebraska by 9.7
Win probability: 73 percent

Oregon at USC (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)

Projected score: Oregon 30, USC 29
Projected margin: Oregon by 0.3
Win probability: 51 percent

Minnesota at Washington (Saturday, 11 p.m. ET, FOX)

Projected score: Washington 28, Minnesota 19
Projected margin: Washington by 9.4
Win probability: 72 percent

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