Even with powerhouses Ohio State and Penn State sitting idle, the Big Ten had a solid week on the gridiron.

Indiana continued its high-scoring ways in a drubbing of UCLA, Nebraska dominated Northern Iowa, and the Oregon Ducks blew out the rival Beavers.

The lows included Wisconsin’s lop-sided loss to Alabama, Purdue’s 66-7 defeat at the hands of Notre Dame, and a narrow loss for the Washington Huskies in the Apple Cup.

Twice a week throughout the season, The Oregonian/OregonLive will check in with the Big Ten and highlight some of the stories we’re reading and watching from around the conference.

UCLA can’t compete with the Hoosiers

It was an inauspicious start to Big Ten play for UCLA, with Oregon coming to the Rose Bowl on Sept. 28 for the Ducks’ Big Ten opener. The Bruins lost, 42-13, to Indiana in their conference opener Saturday.

Indiana — fresh off dropping 77 points against Western Illinois — picked up 430 total yards against UCLA. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke was 25 of 33 for 307 yards and four touchdowns, while the Bruins’ only touchdown of the day came in the second quarter. It could be a long conference slate for DeShaun Foster’s team.

Before facing Oregon, the Bruins go on the road to LSU on Sept. 21 to wrap their non-conference schedule. No easy out.

Cougs run all over former Pac-12 pals

The Apple Cup ran concurrent with the Oregon-Oregon State game on Saturday, so some Ducks and Beavers fans might have missed a fun one. Washington State beat Washington, 24-19, led by the elusive abilities of quarterback John Mateer and a late defensie stop.

While Mateer completed just 50% of his passes and threw a pick, he was responsible for three total touchdowns including two on the ground. One of his rushing scores was for the highlight reel: a 30-yard scamper on 3rd and 20 to give the Cougars a lead at half.

Reeling after a rivalry loss, Washington opens Big Ten play on Saturday at home against Northwestern.

It ain’t easy being cheesy

The Wisconsin Badgers kept things close in the first quarter with Alabama, trailing just 7-3. But the Crimson Tide ground them into dust as the game progressed, ultimately winning 42-10.

Quarterback Jalen Milroe accounted for five total touchdowns for Alabama. Wisconsin’s varied and typically reliable rushing attack couldn’t break through, with Chez Mellusi leading the way with 66 yards on 11 carries and nobody else managing more than 39 yards.

The Badgers’ schedule doesn’t get any easier: after joining Oregon with a bye this week, Wisconsin heads to Los Angeles on Sept. 28 for a date with USC.

Keep on Huskin’

The Nebraska Cornhuskers’ winning ways continued on Saturday with a 34-3 win over Northern Iowa. Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola remained efficient beyond his years, going 17 of 23 for 247 yards and two touchdowns.

While the young signal-caller did throw a pick, it didn’t hurt Nebraska in the end. The Cornhuskers’ defense held UNI to 6 of 16 on third down and just three points despite the road team winning the time of possession battle by nearly 17 minutes.

That sort of strong defensive effort should carry over well in Big Ten play, which Nebraska opens up Friday against a fellow ranked, 3-0 team in Illinois.

–Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten Conference. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.