CBS college football analyst Gary Danielson remembers the moment when playing Big Ten football became his dream – and it clicked by watching a game on the West Coast.
The Detroit native grew up watching the NFL. The Lions and Packers were the priority. College football was an afterthought until New Year's Day in 1963.
"The only college game I ever saw (to that point) – it kind of changed my life," Danielson told The Sporting News. "I saw the '63 Rose Bowl game. We didn't have a color TV, but I went over to my uncle's house and he had one. I saw Wisconsin play USC."
Imagine the sensory overload at the time. The Pasadena pageantry at the Rose Bowl. The uniforms. The quarterback duel between USC's Pete Beathard and Wisconsin's Ron Vander Kelen. Danielson recalled what he said to his father after the game.
"That's what I want to do someday," Danielson said. "I want to play in the Big Ten and I want to go to the Rose Bowl."
Danielson – who played at Purdue before 13 seasons in the NFL – lives that dream every Saturday. He's one week removed from being at the Rose Bowl – where UCLA shocked Penn State 42-37. Brad Nessler and Danielson will call the top-10 matchup between No. 7 Indiana and No. 3 Oregon at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS – another visually-stunning treat. Think about those uniforms on high-definition television.
Two of the Big Ten's best games this weekend are on the West Coast, and it's not even close to Jan. 1. No. 1 Ohio State (5-0) plays No. 17 Illinois (5-1) at 12 p.m. ET. No. 15 Michigan (4-1) plays at USC (4-1) at 7:30 p.m. ET. Yet the matchup between the Ducks and Hoosiers – a Pac-12 addition from 2024 and a traditional Big Ten doormat – is the matchup between unbeaten teams.
"It's been crazy, I have to admit," Danielson said.
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Danielson arrived at Purdue in 1970 – when Ohio State's Woody Hayes and Michigan's Bo Schembechler were in the first half of the Ten-Year War. He remembers Hayes speaking at his high-school banquet and Schembechler on the sidelines at his basketball games.
"It was dominated then by those two schools, and they had the deepest bench and best players," Danielson said. "They were better than the rest of the league. It's been like that most of the time with the 'Big Two and the Little Eight.'"
That nickname resurfaced during the College Football Playoff era. From 2014-23, Ohio State and Michigan won eight of 10 Big Ten championships. Oregon changed that dynamic in its first season in the conference in 2024. The Ducks swept Ohio State and Michigan in the regular season and won a Big Ten championship. Of course, the Buckeyes won the Rose Bowl rematch in a 41-21 blowout en route to the national championship.
Still, Oregon is 18-1 since the start of the 2024 season – the best record among any FBS school. Ohio State (19-2) is second, and Indiana (16-2) is fifth. That creates an interesting dynamic for Week 7.
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Oregon and Indiana are two of three teams in the FBS that rank in the top 10 in scoring offense and scoring defense. Texas Tech is the other one.
That's great for the Big Ten.
"For all the uncomfortableness with the NIL and the transfer portal and the additions in the conferences and the playoff instead of traditional bowl games, I do believe in the long run it has helped the Big Ten, especially lately," Danielson said. "The transfer portal and NIL has spread the talent out a little more, and teams like IU and Ole Miss and Texas Tech – name a bunch of them – Virginia is making a run. It's giving more hope to more teams."
Gary Danielson on Indiana's rise in the Big Ten
When asked about Indiana's rise under second-year coach Curt Cignetti, Danielson takes a long pause: "It's hard to put into words."
It really is. Danielson said Cignetti has done a masterful job of working the transfer portal each of the last two seasons. That included bringing 13 players from James Madison – where Cignetti compiled a 52-9 record from 2009-13. Running back Kaelon Black, receiver Elijah Sarratt and linebacker Aiden Fisher have all been instant-impact players for the Hoosiers.
"I don't think anyone would have believed that you could grab eight, 10 or 12 players from James Madison, walk into Indiana and change the whole culture overnight," Danielson said. "For a coach to go 10 for 10 basically like Curt did and to be the ego of a football team, it doesn't happen very often."
Danielson compared it to Hayden Fry, who arrived at Iowa in 1979 wearing "cowboy boots and sunglasses" after coaching at North Texas and SMU; and Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin. Cignetti is sort of a combination of those two coaches. Now, the Hoosiers are eyeing their first Big Ten championship since 1967.
"It's been done," Danielson said. "It's hard to stay there. It's been a while – 1967 – had it been one year and all those guys left you could say, 'Well, they got lucky as a fifth-year class' But back-to-back like this? It's really something, and he's attracting really good players to go to IU."
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Gary Danielson on Oregon's Big Ten evolution
Oregon was an established program before arriving in the Big Ten last season. The connections to Nike in the pre-NIL world helped, but there was still a question worth asking.
"They have been a player in college football, but the question was whether they could take the Big Ten pounding game after game,” Danielson said.
Dan Lanning – who is 40-6 since taking over at Oregon in 2022 – has blended the Chip Kelly era with the Mario Cristobal era for the Ducks, and the combination has worked.
Danielson is impressed with the defense – which allows 12.2 points per game. Edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei and linebacker Bryce Boettger have been complimented by USC transfer defensive tackle Bear Alexander and Purdue safety Dillon Thieneman, who had the game-ending interception in a 30-24 victory at Penn State on Sept. 27.
"Dan Lanning has brought his influence of coaching with (Nick) Saban at Alabama and also at Georgia," Danielson said. "They are a really difficult team to deal with because they have three defensive tackles that go at 330. They stop the run inside and they fly around."
Dante Moore, Fernando Mendoza and the Heisman Trophy
Like that 1963 Rose Bowl between USC and Wisconsin, Danielson is excited about what should be a memorable quarterback matchup between Oregon's Dante Moore and Indiana's Fernando Mendoza.
Moore is the current leader in the Heisman Trophy odds. He has 1,210 passing yards, a 74.6% completion percentage, 14 TDs and one interception. Moore, a UCLA transfer, was the backup for Dillon Gabriel in 2024. Gabriel made his debut as the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns last week.
"Watching Dante Moore play is like watching Joe Burrow with the calmness in his face," Danielson said. "It's just amazing to watch this guy play. He put in two years of hard work, and he just is an incredible looking prospect."
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Mendoza – a Cal transfer – has 1,208 passing yards, a 73% completion percentage, 16 TDs and one interception for the Hoosiers. He had 267 yards, five TDs and no interceptions in the 63-10 blowout against Illinois on Sept. 20. This is a chance to make another huge statement – this time on the road.
"I believe the winner of this game will be the front-runner for the Heisman after this game," Danielson said. "If Fernando walks in there and IU is undefeated beating Oregon in Oregon – then I think his name will vault right up to the top."