With the conclusion of Week 9 in the Big Ten, the conference standings are beginning to take shape. A trio of contenders have separated themselves from the pack — yet the Oregon Ducks, among those three, still struggled mightily on Saturday evening against a rugged Wisconsin squad that came ready to play.

Based on records to date, the Big Ten has five options for a fourth bid: Iowa, Nebraska, Washington, USC and Michigan. They have the same number of losses (two) but different resumes. Our assessment of their CFP prospects, from best to worst:

The easy explanation for this increase in receiving talent across the Big Ten is the addition of Oregon, USC, Washington and UCLA to the conference. USC leads the nation and Washington ranks 26th in passing yards per game. Oregon annually has one of the nation’s most dynamic offenses.

Committed recruits haven't started flipping amid the Wisconsin Badgers losing streak, but a top linebacker is the latest to take an in-season visit elsewhere.

Wisconsin class of 2026 commit, linebacker Aden Reeder, is taking an official visit to Michigan on Saturday for its home game vs. Purdue

Ben Bolch of the L.A. Times posted on Monday afternoon the current odds for who will be the Bruins ' next coach, and Smith was near the top of the list. Per BetOnline, Smith has the second-best posted odds of being the next UCLA head coach at 4-1. Only Washington head coach Jedd Fisch has better odds at 3-1.

The final stretch of the season is upon us. The ACC race continues to take shape and after another weekend where a contender dropped a game, there are now only