Big Ten Power Rankings — Week 1

1. Ohio State (1-0)

Indiana definitely deserves credit for the way it played, but Ohio State’s passing game does not look much better than it did last year. We’ll learn more about the Bucks this Saturday when Oklahoma strolls into the Horseshoe. One thing we do know? J.K. Dobbins is the real deal.

2. Penn State (1-0)

Offense, defense, special teams — the Nittany Lions put in a complete performance on Saturday. Now, Penn State welcomes Pitt to Happy Valley for what is the most hyped non-conference game in Beaver Stadium since Alabama in 2011.

3. Michigan (1-0)

Florida is absolutely dreadful offensively, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Wolverines have reloaded on defense. This is a good Michigan squad that shouldn’t be slept on.

4. Wisconsin (1-0)

Utah State kept it close for a half, but the Badgers exploded in the second half en route to a 59-10 victory.

5. Northwestern (1-0)

Northwestern looked incredibly average against Nevada, having to have to come from behind to win 31-20. The Wildcats will travel to Duke next week, which admittedly isn’t that tough, but will shine a little more light on if Northwestern is for real this year or not.

6. Iowa (1-0)

Super average offense, but a really solid defense — yup, Iowa is the exact same team from last season. Interested to see how the Hawkeyes handle Iowa State’s potent-ish offense.

7. Maryland (1-0)

Texas was clearly overrated, but still, quite the victory for Maryland. Ty Johnson might be the most underrated running back in the Big Ten, while DJ Moore might make the same argument at wideout. Impressive performance for DJ Durkin’s crew.

8. Indiana (0-1)

Despite the loss, I thought the Hoosiers looked pretty good. Indiana will now travel to Virginia, where they should pickup its first victory of the year.

9. Michigan State (1-0)

The Spartans took care of business against Bowling Green, beating the Falcons (I had to look up what Bowling Green’s mascot was) 35-10. Michigan State is set to host Western Michigan, who nearly knocked off USC.

10. Nebraska (1-0)

Bob Diaco’s first game as the defensive coordinator did not go too well, allowing nearly 500 yards and 36 points to Arkansas State. Nebraska will now head to Eugene for a matchup with Oregon, and folks I’ll tell you this much, the blackshirts need to play better if they want to keep it close.

11. Minnesota (1-0)

The Golden Gophers looked rather mediocre in PJ Fleck’s first game, only beating Buffalo 17-7. Fortunately, their schedule isn’t all too tough in the beginning part of the year, allowing some time to work out the kinks.

12. Purdue (0-1)

13. Rutgers (0-1)

I will take my fair share of jabs at Rutgers throughout the year, but hey, the Scarlet Knights looked competent against Washington. That’s a massive improvement.

14. Illinois (1-0)

Nothing says “Illinois football” quite like a dogfight 24-21 victory over a MAC bottom-feeder.