Big Ten Power Rankings – Week 1

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Hello there and welcome to the Big Ten Power Rankings! Each week we’ll rank how the teams across the conference are playing, in the hopes of seeing just who is a contender, and who is a pretender over the course of the season.

The rules are few, but resolute:

Teams are ranked by how they’re playing at that time. Not body of work, not rankings in the polls, but simply how each team is playing at that point in the season.

The approach to the rankings is not necessarily on the field results (though those do count, as an obvious, tangible data point), but more generally if the two teams played at a neutral site 100 times, which team would win 51 times (or more).

These rankings are subjective. As the author I get to follow the rules as closely or loosely as I want to, and if you don’t like the rankings, you’re wrong.

Week 1 is in the books, and we’ve already got some pretty drastic movement in the rankings. Let’s get to it!

Tier 1: Playoff Locks

Teams that are all but guaranteed to make the playoffs, if they continue to play the way they have played thus far.

1. Ohio State

OSU got back into the swing of things, beating Balls Tate 56-3 in a rather run-of-the-mill affair. Next up, they’ll head to play #5 Texas in an early-season showdown of two national title hopefuls.

2. Oregon

The Ducks squeaked out a 34-27 win over Boise State, which on the one hand might be grounds to lower them in these rankings. On the other hand, Boise State may not lose another game this season en route to the playoffs, so I’m going to cut Oregon a little slack. Up next is Oklahoma State.

3. Indiana

The Hoosiers handled North Texas 52-16, not much else to say about that. They’ll take on Howard next, not much else to say about that.

Tier 2: Playoff Hopefuls

Teams that could very well end up in the playoffs, but need to continue to improve their resume and move up the rankings before they can make it.

4. USC

The Trojans are off to a 2-0 start after beating Fresno State 39-0. Not the stiffest competition to start the season, but good enough to hang out just on the periphery of the playoffs. Louisiana comes to town next.

5. Penn State

While I don’t want to overreact, Penn State looked much better in its 45-0 win over Marshall than I had expected. There will be additional tests later in the year, but Penn State has put itself in this secondary tier pretty firmly with how well they played. They’ll head on the road to play Temple next.

Tier 3: High-Level Bowl Teams

Teams that likely won’t make the playoffs, but will represent the conference in quality bowls, including the Citrus Bowl and the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

6. Iowa

The Hawkeyes took down Northern Illinois 40-0, and take a step up in these rankings. The annual ¡El Ássico! game is up next against Iowa State.

7. Washington

It was a Week 1 rivalry game against Wazzu, which the Huskies did win 24-10, but overall I thought Washington did not look great. Still a solid team and will get some things sorted out over the course of the season, but a little underwhelming to start things off. Utah State comes to town next.

8. Minnesota

The Gophers dismantled Eastern Illinois 59-7. They’ll take on Mississippi State next in one of the more entertaining Week 2 matchups.

Tier 4: Low-Level Bowl Teams

Teams that will end up making it to a bowl game, but likely the bowls that aren’t quite as prestigious, including the Pinstripe Bowl and the Music City Bowl.

9. Michigan

What the hell was that? First of all, Michigan barely beat Western Michigan 13-12. Second of all, they needed more shithousery from the Big Ten to gift them 1 additional second so they could complete a Hail Mary to actually win the game. Third of all, the fans then rushed the field? Just literally, what the hell? #10 Oklahoma is next, and the entire country – if not the world – is rooting for the Sooners.

10. Illinois

The Illini beat UAB 42-23 in a closer game than many expected. They’ll take on Duke next, which should be a pretty entertaining game.

11. Northwestern

The Wildcats beat South Dakota State 34-18 in another underwhelming game. They’ve got an early-season bye up next.

12. Nebraska

At one point the Cornhuskers were losing to Ohio before sorting things out and finishing with a 49-21 win. Once again, not really anything here to move them up the rankings. Bowling Green comes to visit next.

Tier 5: Bowl-Ineligible Teams

Teams that are on a trajectory to end the season below .500 and miss out on a post-season bowl game.

13. Michigan State

The Spartans took down Toledo 30-20 in yet another blah game. Eastern Michigan comes to town next.

14. Maryland

The Terrapins throttled Hampton 62-0. They’ll play UConn next, on the road.

15. UCLA

The Bruins pulled out a 45-24 win over Cal after rattling of 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. San Diego State is up next on the schedule.

16. Purdue

The mighty phoenix has risen from the ashes once more! The Boilermakers defeated Indiana State 44-19 in what would normally be grounds for the basement, but a win is a win, which not everyone in the conference can say. Wake Forest is next.

17. Wisconsin

The Badgers actually showed some heart against Notre Dame before the wheels fell off and ultimately losing 41-13. Still not 100% sure what to make of Wisconsin, but for now, as one of only two teams to lose in Week 1, they’re down here.

Tier 6: The Basement™

The worst of the worst, teams whose fans wear paper bags over their heads and count down the days until they have a new head coach.

18. Rutgers

Holy hell. What is there to say about Rutgers’ historic 37-21 loss to UMass that hasn’t been said yet? Greg Schiano should be fired, but due to contractual obligations, he likely survives for another year or two until the buyout becomes more palatable. But good lord, this was embarrassing to watch. A primetime Friday night game against another Massachusetts team – Boston College this time – will surely help the Scarlet Knights sort things out, right?

At long last, the squiggles have returned!

Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, and USC all stay put at the top. Penn State and Iowa move up, while Washington drops. Minnesota is also on the rise, while Michigan plummets. Illinois, Northwestern, and Nebraska all stay put in the middle. Michigan State, Maryland, UCLA, and Purdue (!) all climb, while Wisconsin drops. Rutgers takes up residence in the basement and I may just leave them down there for the rest of the season.

On to Week 2!

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos