After eight weeks of college football, there appears to be a stark contrast between the top and bottom teams in the Big Ten. We discuss it all in this week’s Power Rankings:
After eight weeks of college football, there appears to be a stark contrast between the top and bottom teams in the Big Ten.
Saturday showcased a few upsets, but overall, the hot Indiana Hoosiers and the Illinois Fighting Illini handled business in each of their first big tests of the season, and the Purdue Boilermakers and Northwestern Wildcats continued to lose.
However, there was a lot of movement in this week’s Power Rankings as we decide who is a true contender and who is a pretender:
18. Purdue Boilermakers (1-6, 0-4 Big Ten) — Last Week: 18
The Boilermakers hung 49 points on Illinois a week ago, battling back against one of the Conference’s top teams. Nonetheless, Purdue followed that performance up with a Goose egg on Friday night, dropping to No. 1 Oregon 35-0. Running back Reggie Love III picked up 93 yards on the ground, but the air attack was non-existent. On defense, quarterback Dillon Gabriel and running back Jordan James were too much for the Boilermakers to handle, and Purdue stayed winless in conference play.
17. Northwestern Wildcats (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) — Last Week: 14
Like Purdue, the Wildcats aimed to follow up their first Big Ten win last week with another upset against Wisconsin on Saturday. However, Northwestern couldn’t generate any offense, losing 23-3. Quarterback Jack Lausch completed just 9-of-24 passes but also led the Wildcats with just 55 yards rushing, proving that the Wildcats’ offense was no match for the Badgers. It’s a one-step forward, two-step back kind of season.
16. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
(4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) — Last Week: 13
We were talking about Rutgers as one of the dark horses in the Big Ten a month ago, but now, the Scarlet Knights are at the bottom of the stack. Rutgers has now dropped three straight games, most recently falling to UCLA, 35-32. After scoring just seven points in each of its last two contests, the offense wasn’t the issue for the Scarlet Knights on Saturday. It was their defense. Rutgers gave up 478 total yards of offense to the Bruins, including 383 yards through the air. Looking to avoid a fourth loss, the Scarlet Knights now head to the West Coast to take on USC.
15. UCLA Bruins (2-5, 1-4 Big Ten) — Last Week: 17
There are always two sides to every story, and UCLA was the victor in Piscataway. Quarterback Ethan Garbers looked legit, totaling over 400 yards of offense and 5 touchdowns on the road, and the Bruins were much more efficient on third down, completing seven-of-13 conversions. UCLA has finally notched its first conference win in program history, and it will look to regroup with a bye week.
14. USC Trojans (3-4, 1-4 Big Ten) — Last Week: 10
In each of Lincoln Riley’s four losses, USC held a fourth-quarter lead and blew it. Against Maryland on Saturday, the Trojans led 28-14 with 10 minutes left in the matchup and proceeded to allow two rushing touchdowns and a two-point conversion, costing them the win. Quarterback Miller Moss had another big day numbers-wise, throwing for 336 yards and three touchdowns, but he only completed 34-of-50 passes. The Trojans host Rutgers next week, and both teams need a win badly.
13. Maryland Terrapins
(4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) — Last Week: 16
Down by 14 in the fourth quarter, Billy Edwards Jr. and Roman Hemby locked in and produced two touchdowns on the ground against USC to escape, 29-28. Edwards Jr. finished with 373 passing yards and two touchdowns, and receiver Kaden Prather continued to shine, bringing in nine catches for 111 yards. For a team that got upset the week before, it was a nice bounceback for the Terps who are fighting for a bowl game. Next stop, Minnesota.
12. Minnesota Golden Gophers
(4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) — Last Week: 9
Minnesota was on a bye week this past weekend, and hopefully, it watched the Maryland game to prepare for Edwards Jr. and Co.
11. Iowa Hawkeyes
(4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) — Last Week: 7
Is Michigan State legitimate or is the Iowa defense not as good as advertised? The Hawkeyes fell to the Spartans on Saturday, 32-20, in what was an ugly game offensively and defensively. Iowa allowed over 460 yards of offense and 5.3 yards per carry on the ground while Kaleb Johnson was held under 100 rushing yards by the Spartans. Quarterback Cade McNamara also wasn’t good, completing under 50 percent of his passes for 150 yards. The Hawkeyes need a get-right game against Northwestern to get back on track.
10. Michigan Wolverines
(4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) — Last Week: 8
The Michigan Wolverines are unranked in the AP Poll for the first time in three years, and rightfully so. Michigan made its third quarterback change of the season, throwing in super-senior Jack Tuttle to replace junior quarterback Alex Orji. While there was much promise going into the season with Tuttle, the Wolverines offense fell completely flat, scoring just seven points. The defense did all it could to keep Michigan in the game until the fourth quarter, but it fell to Illinois, 21-7. Head coach Sherrone Moore has a lot to figure out before he takes on in-state rival, Michigan State, on Saturday.
9. Washington Huskies
(4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) — Last Week: 12
The Huskies were on a bye this past weekend and benefited greatly from the losses of those around them. The Huskies will have a tall task as they head to Bloomington to face No. 13 Indiana.
8. Michigan State Spartans (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) — Last Week: 15
Putting up 32 on Iowa’s defense is no joke, and the Spartans did so in a big way on Saturday. The MVP of the game went to kicker Jonathan Kim, whose record-setting six made field goals carried the day. In addition, Quarterback Aidan Chiles delivered his most consistent performance, throwing for 256 yards and a touchdown. Michigan State’s defense also completely shut down Iowa quarterback McNamara, putting together a complete performance. Maybe Sparty has a chance in Ann Arbor this year?
7. Nebraska Cornhuskers
(5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) — Last Week: 6
56-7. Nebraska’s “dominant defense” got pummeled for 56 points against Indiana. Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola did not have his stuff, throwing three interceptions and completing just 28-of-44 passes, and the Cornhuskers were held to 70 rushing yards as a team. Defensively, the Hoosiers carved them up, totaling 495 yards. It’s just one game, but head coach Matt Rhule needs to get his team in check before it goes into Columbus on Saturday for a date with Ohio State .
6. Wisconsin Badgers
(5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) — Last Week: 11
Running back Tawee Walker has emerged as another potential Badgers star in the backfield. Walker followed up 198 yards and three touchdowns against USC a week ago with 126 more yards on the ground against Northwestern on Saturday. Overall, Wisconsin didn’t show anything flashy against the Wildcats, but its defense held Northwestern to just 3.8 yards per play. The Badgers will host Penn State this weekend which will be a classic Big Ten matchup.
5. Illinois Fighting Illini (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) — Last Week: 5
Illinois found itself in another tight battle on Saturday but had control against Michigan from start to finish. Quarterback Luke Altmeyer wasn’t show-stopping, but he did just enough to help the Illini win. The stars of the show were on Illinois’ defense. The Illini held the Wolverines’ running backs in check, and their receivers only totaled six catches for the game. Illinois will have its hands full against Oregon in Week 9, but the November schedule lightens up soon.
4. Indiana Hoosiers (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) — Last Week: 4
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti continues to back his words up, making waves in the Big Ten and college football as a whole. The Hoosiers are 7-0, and they blew out Nebraska on Saturday. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke was extremely efficient once again, completing 17-of-21 passes before he left with an injury. The injury to Rourke is concerning, but the Hoosiers were still able to put up just shy of 500 total yards of offense against the Huskers, and they held Raiola in check, forcing three interceptions. Indiana may have to rock with Tayven Jackson for the next few weeks, but he looked serviceable in relief throughout the 2nd half.
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
(6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) — Last Week: 3
Penn State was off this past weekend and will have had two weeks to prepare for Wisconsin.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten) — Last Week: 2
Ohio State needed a week out of the spotlight after the heartbreaking loss to Oregon a week before. It will take on reeling Nebraska who wants to avenge its embarrassing loss to Indiana.
1. Oregon Ducks
(7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) — Last Week: 1
The Ducks came out of the short week with a dominant performance, defeating Purdue, 35-0, and even rising to No. 1 in the AP Poll after Texas’s loss to Georgia. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel had 290 passing yards and a touchdown, and running back Jordan James rushed for 50 yards and two scores. The Oregon defense held the Boilermakers to 93 passing yards and stopped Purdue three times on fourth down. The Ducks welcome Illinois to Eugene on Saturday.