Big Ten powerhouses Ohio State, Indiana roll, but Nebraska, Michigan State, Rutgers get rocked by surprises

Top-ranked Ohio State and defending national champion Indiana came out swinging in Week 1 of the college football season.

The Buckeyes are favorites to win the Big Ten and a national title, and their stars were in midseason form in the opener against Ball State. Quarterback Julian Sayin connected with Heisman Trophy hopeful Jeremiah Smith (who is projected as a high first-round pick in the NFL Draft) on an early 48-yard touchdown, and Ohio State jumped out to a 28-3 halftime lead as Sayin threw three TD passes and rushed for another.

Even without Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, Indiana picked up where it left off in its College Football Playoff championship victory over Miami in January. The Hoosiers rolled out to a 21-6 lead over North Texas behind new quarterback Josh Hoover, a transfer from TCU who played through a bloody nose from a facemask penalty.

But there have been some distressing signs beyond the conference's powerhouses.

After Rutgers opened its season on Thursday night with a stunning upset defeat to UMass after being favored by 30 points, Michigan State (a 10-point favorite) struggled to beat Toldeo 30-20 in its home opener Friday with new coach Pat Fitzgerald.

On Saturday, Nebraska was on the ropes early at home against Ohio, falling behind twice before managing a 14-13 lead over a 23-point underdog at halftime.

The lackluster performances can be written off as early season rust, but they take on new significance in the context of the Big Ten-SEC rivalry that has become one of the dominant narratives of the offseason (beyond what's transpiring in courtrooms across America).

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti threw down the gauntlet at Big Ten Media Day with a subtle shot at the SEC while declaring his own league's supremacy

"The Big Ten is the best league in football," Cignetti said. "We don't have a hype machine up here in the Midwest; we believe everything's earned, not given. When we fall short, we say, 'We fell short.' We don't cry a river and whine and complain. And that's why we're the best."

The head-to-head stats also have been clear: Aside from seeking its fourth consecutive national title, the Big Ten is 8-2 vs. the SEC in the postseason over the past two years.

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The plaudits were pouring in on the pregame shows Saturday morning with Urban Meyer, who won national titles as a coach in the Big Ten and SEC, among those proclaiming that the Big Ten "now is the strongest conference in college football."

That's an easy case to make if Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon and Michigan somehow were to advance to the semfinals of this year's College Football Playoff.

But it gets trickier during the regular season if the bottom half of the conference is laboring to defeat schools on the lower end of the FBS.