Big 10 Football Power Rankings
18- UCLA
They squeaked by Hawaii and got hammered 42-13 to an Indiana team that's played nobody. Yeah, you're 18.
17 - Purdue
Purdue fans are hoping that they didn't show their worth in a horrendous 66-7 loss to Notre Dame.
16 - Northwestern
I'd have had Northwestern at 17, but there's at least some buzz about new starting quarterback Jack Lausch.
15 - Washington
After an embarrassing 24-19 loss to Washington State, what do they expect. I'd anticipate them moving up from here, but in the Big 10, never say never.
14 - Minnesota
The Golden Gopher have rebounded pretty nicely with 2 straight wins after a tough opening loss to North Carolina.
13 - Wisconsin
Wisconsin looked "Eh" the first 2 games, then got pummeled 42-10 by Alabama and lost their starting QB, Tyler Van Dyke for the season. This may start a roll down the power rankings.
12 - Maryland
Maryland is doing Maryland things. Looking bad 1 week and pretty darn good the next. The Virginia win last week was a solid one.
11 - Indiana
Let's not let the Indiana train roll out of control. They haven't played a significant half of football yet with wins over FIU, Western Illinois and UCLA.
10 - Iowa
Their 1 loss isn't a terrible one against Iowa State, but questions about their offense are still unanswered.
9 - Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights are 2-0 with wins over Howard and Akron. We literally know nothing about this team. Right in the middle of the rankings seems appropriate.
8 - Michigan State
New coach and seems like a new attitude. The win against Maryland was a big one and the Spartans followed it up winning easily against Prairie View.
7 - Michigan
It's not the same Michigan as last year. But Texas, as of right now, is 1 of the 2 or 3 best teams in the country. Alex Orji is taking the reigns at QB so this weekend against USC should speak volumes.
6 - Nebraska
They're off to a hot start and look like they've got the QB needed with Dylan Raiola to continue the run.
5 - Illinois
This is Illinois' best start in almost a decade and a half. The Kansas win was impressive and the Illini fans are hopeful.
4 - Oregon
To be honest, Oregon has looked better than I thought they would. They trounced their rival Oregon State 49-14.
3 - USC
Speaking of better than I thought, USC has also fit that bill. They have a chance to knock off LSU and Michigan in a 3 week span. That's a nice start to a playoff resume.
2 - Penn State
The Nittany Lions struggled against Bowling Green, but I'm putting that off to a blip on the radar. They may have the deepest RB room in the B1G and probably have the most experienced QB.
1 - Ohio State
This was the easiest choice in the power rankings. Most had them at the top even before we all realized that Jeremiah Smith might be the best freshman WR in the country.