Things to watch this week in the Big Ten:
No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State, Saturday, noon ET (Fox)
Ohio State begins its national title defense with a rematch of its 28-14 Cotton Bowl semifinal victory over Texas. The last time Texas visited Columbus, the Longhorns defeated the Buckeyes 25-22 in their 2005 championship season.
This game marks the third career start for Texas quarterback Arch Manning, who backed up Quinn Ewers last season. It’s the first start for Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, who won a preseason competition with Lincoln Keinholz.
BetMGM has Ohio State as a 2 ½-point favorite.
Utah at UCLA, Saturday, 11 p.m. ET (Fox)
These former Pac-12 rivals tangle in a nonconference game with UCLA now in the Big Ten and Utah in the Big 12. This game marks the UCLA debut for quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who transferred after helping Tennessee earn a College Football Playoff berth last season.
BetMGM has Utah as a 6 ½-point favorite.
Penn State RB Nicholas Singleton: He teams up with Kaytron Allen to give No. 2 Penn State a pair of returning 1,000-yard rushers. Singleton is one of three Penn State players on the preseason Associated Press All-America team along with OG Olaivavega Ioane and DT Zane Durant.
Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith: He capped his fabulous freshman season with a 56-yard catch on third-and-11 that essentially clinched the Buckeyes’ CFP championship game victory over Notre Dame. Smith starts his sophomore season by facing a Texas team that limited him to one catch for 3 yards in a Cotton Bowl semifinal.
Oregon S Dillon Thieneman: After earning AP All-America third-team honors as a freshman at Purdue in 2023, Thieneman collected 104 tackles last season to lead all Big Ten defensive backs. Thieneman will make his Oregon debut Saturday when the seventh-ranked Ducks host Montana State.
The Big Ten has six teams in the AP Top 25: No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 7 Oregon, No. 12 Illinois, No. 14 Michigan and No. 20 Indiana. … This is Illinois’ highest preseason ranking since 1990, when the Illini started out at No. 11. The Illini went 8-4 and finished that season at No. 25. … The Big Ten has each of the last two national champions in Michigan (2023) and Ohio State (2024). It’s the first time the Big Ten has won back-to-back national titles since winning three in a row from 1940-42 with Minnesota (1940-41) and Ohio State (1942). … The Big Ten has three of the five active Football Bowl Subdivision coaches with the highest career winning percentages. Ohio State’s Ryan Day (.870) is first, Oregon’s Dan Lanning (.854) is second and Indiana’s Curt Cignetti (.812) is fifth. … Illinois and Indiana each have 29 players in their final year of eligibility, tied for the fifth-highest total of any FBS team. Big 12 program Colorado ranks first with 38 players in their final year of eligibility.
Michigan QB Bryce Underwood makes his highly anticipated college debut Saturday when the 14th-ranked Wolverines host New Mexico. The freshman from Detroit starred at Belleville High School and was the nation's top-rated prospect in his class.
Underwood might not be the only Big Ten freshman quarterback who starts immediately. Maryland hit midweek without announcing a starting quarterback for its Saturday opener with Florida Atlantic, but freshman Malik Washington is a strong candidate to get the job.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football.
FILE - Penn State's Nicholas Singleton (10) carries the ball during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Wisconsin, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal officers in the Minneapolis-area participating in its largest recent U.S. immigration enforcement operation can’t detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who aren't obstructing authorities, including when these people are observing the agents, a judge in Minnesota ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez's ruling addresses a case filed in December on behalf of six Minnesota activists. The six are among the thousands who have been observing the activities of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol officers enforcing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area since last month.
Federal agents and demonstrators have repeatedly clashed since the crackdown began. The confrontations escalated after an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7 as she drove away from a scene in Minneapolis, an incident that was captured on video from several angles. Agents have arrested or briefly detained many people in the Twin Cities.
The activists in the case are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, which says government officers are violating the constitutional rights of Twin Cities residents.
Government attorneys argued that the officers have been acting within their legal authority to enforce immigration laws and protect themselves. They said Homeland Security officers have been subject to violence across the country and in Minnesota, and that they have responded lawfully and appropriately.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the ACLU didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Friday night.
The ruling prohibits the officers from detaining drivers and passengers in vehicles when there is no reasonable suspicion they are obstructing or interfering with the officers.
Safely following agents “at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop,” the ruling said.
Menendez said the agents would not be allowed to arrest people without probable cause or reasonable suspicion the person has committed a crime or was obstructing or interfering with the activities of officers.
Menendez is also presiding over a lawsuit filed Monday by the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul seeking to suspend the enforcement crackdown, and some of the legal issues are similar. She declined at a hearing Wednesday to grant the state’s request for an immediate temporary restraining order in that case.
“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered,” state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter told her.
Menendez said the issues raised by the state and cities in that case are “enormously important.” But she said it raises high-level constitutional and other legal issues, and for some of those issues there are few on-point precedents. So she ordered both sides to file more briefs next week.
McAvoy reported from Honolulu. Associated Press writer Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.
A woman covers her face from tear gas as federal immigration officers confront protesters outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People cover tear gas deployed by federal immigration officers outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Federal immigration officers stand outside Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building as tear gas is deployed Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
An FBI officer works the scene during operations on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
