College Football: Big Ten Power Rankings

These are the College Football power rankings in the Big Ten:

1. Ohio State

The Buckeyes cruised to a 37-9 victory over Ohio in Week 3. Jeremiah Smith looked the part of the best WR in the country, catching 9 passes for 153 yards and scoring twice. Ohio State opens conference play a week from now with a cross-country trip to Washington, which is a trickier spot than it is being given credit for, and we’ll see if the Huskies can provide a test.

2. Oregon

In Oregon’s 34-14 win at Northwestern, the views were immaculate but the Ducks were underwhelming. Cross-country travel is never easy, but beating Northwestern should be. Dante Moore only threw for 178 yards. The Civil War game awaits Oregon in Week 4, before the huge matchup against Penn State in Week 5.

3. Penn State

The Nittany Lions’ embarrassingly easy non-conference schedule is finally over after a 52-6 win over Villanova on Saturday. The low difficulty of their opponents have allowed James Franklin to load-manage his starters, and now they even draw a BYE Week right before their matchup with Oregon. No excuses for not coming into that game fresh.

4. USC

The Trojans didn’t look great against Purdue, but I am willing to forgive that performance as they travelled across the country, had a 3-hour weather delay, and gave up one of the flukiest touchdowns I have ever seen. They also got a “thick six” from 300+ pound defensive tackle Jamal Jarrett in the win.

5. Illinois

The Illini did nothing to change my opinion of them in a 38-0 win over Western Michigan. Luke Altmyer continued his efficient ways, Kaden Feagin is a nightmare to tackle in short yardage, and Hank Beatty is the confirmed WR1. A huge matchup looms against Indiana, that will turn the tide of Illinois’ season, win or loss.

6. Indiana

Like Penn State, the embarrassingly easy non-conference schedule is over after Indiana won 73-0 over the Fighting Larry Birds of Indiana State. But the conference schedule is much tougher this year for Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers, with 3 ranked opponents upcoming – beginning with the trip to Illinois this week.

7. Michigan

No Sherrone Moore, no problem against Central Michigan. With former Charlotte HC Biff Poggi leading the Wolverines, they pulverized Central Michigan. Justice Haynes continues to look like one of the best running backs in the conference, and Bryce Underwood finally got to cut it loose a little bit against a bad defense.

8. Nebraska

We didn’t really learn a lot about Nebraska in their 59-7 win over Houston Christian. This was the first I had heard of their football team – normally I think of Houston Christian as a Quad-4 opponent that college basketball teams schedule in November and December. In any event, Dylan Raiola and the Huskers start conference play against Michigan on Saturday, and we will quickly learn a lot about the new Dana Holgorsen offense when it goes up against actual god competition.

9. Washington

It feels weird that the Apple Cup game is being played in September, when it used to be a staple of Rivalry Weekend in College Football. But that’s just a byproduct of conference realignment, I guess. Either way, Demond Williams and crew had a nice little bye week before their trip to Pullman, a game that I expect them to win by a wide margin against an overmatched Wazzu squad.

10. Iowa

The bottom of the Big Ten is really bad. Really, really bad. That’s how Iowa gets back into the top ten after a 47-7 win over UMass, who may be the worst team in FBS football. If Mark Gronowski can play every week like he’s up against UMass, this team will get to its usual 8-win mark this season.