Big Ten Football Power Poll: Week Three

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Week three pretty much went as expected. The Big Ten was favorited big in a majority of the non-conference games, and they won those games. The other power conference teams were favorited in two of those games, and won both handily. The two Big Ten conference games had the winners we expected, but it sure was more drama filled than we might have thought. So the rankings will be largely similar, with a few jumps or drops here and there. We get interesting in Week Four with eight Big Ten conference games including several very intriguing matchups—and then a couple of expected non-conference blowouts in the other two games.

#1 Indiana Hoosiers 3-0 (1)

Win 38-0 vs Western Kentucky

Three games, three blowout wins over cupcakes for Indiana to open the season. But, something to note is that this defense might be for real. They have not allowed a single point in their past two games. They host a suddenly surging Northwestern team on Friday night as 21.5 point favorites. I’m guessing the shutout streak comes to an end, but we will have a much clearer picture of both teams after this game.

#2 Ohio State Buckeyes 2-1 (3)

Win 59-3 vs Kent State

The Buckeyes jump back up one spot after demolishing Kent State—but more so due to USC’s interesting game than the expected win. They did cover a massive 52.5 point spread after all. OSU opens conference play by hosting Illinois for the Ilibuck Trophy. Illinois has not won since 2007 and I don’t love their chances Saturday as 27.5 point underdogs to Ohio State.

#3 USC Trojans 4-0 (2)

Win 42-35 @ Rutgers

USC your offense is deadly. But man, that defense is a liability. I know you had to go cross country and Rutgers had nothing to lose, but to need a 90 yard pick six to come out of New Jersey as a seven point winners against THAT team….that’s concerning. Giving up 460 yards of offense to that Rutgers team is….eeek. We will get a very interesting test to see just how that USC defense is this week when Oregon comes to LA for the 6:30 NBC game. Oregon is favored by three with a 62.5 point under/under. This one should be a scorefest and should be very entertaining.

#4 Penn State Nittany Lions 3-0 (4)

Win 55-13 vs Buffalo

Penn State easily took care of Buffalo to finish the non-conference undefeated. I don’t think we really know how good this team is just yet. They could be quite good, or another paper tiger. They host Wisconsin as 10 point favorites on Peacock at 4 PM Saturday and that line seems about right.

#5 Michigan Wolverines (3-0) (5)

Win 52-17 vs UTEP

If you just looked at the score, you would say yeah that seems about right. But the Miners gave Michigan a scare in the first 30 minutes. Michigan only led 17-14 at halftime before blowing UTEP out in the second half, but it just shows how Jekyll and Hyde this Wolverine team can be. Which team shows up for 60 minutes when they host Iowa at 2:30 On CBS on Saturday. Michigan is a 5.5 point favorite, and I think that’s a bit high. This feels like a 3 point game either way, and I could see either team winning.

#6 Oregon Ducks 2-1 (8)

Win 84-0 vs Portland State

Well that’s one way to bounce back from two disappointing performances. Yes, it was Portland State, so lets not get excited, but the most points scored by the Big Ten team since 1939 is kind of a big deal. We know Dante Moore and the offense can be good, and they should and will need to be good against a meh USC defense Saturday night. Can the defense that was praised as being one of the nation’s best show up as well? We will just need to wait and find out.

#7 Iowa Hawkeyes 3-0 (7)

Win 55-0 vs Northern Iowa

Iowa won in a laugher over their in-state opponent. No surprise there. They have a very tough task this week headed into Ann Arbor. If Iowa plays their best, they have a chance, but that Michigan defense is no joke. The over/under is 38.5 this week, and frankly, if both defenses show up, I’d hammer the under. This feels like a 17-14 game to me. But for who?

#8 Washington Huskies 3-0 (6)

Win 48-16 vs Eastern Washington

Did the Huskies really deserve to drop two spots? Well probably not after a 32 point win over a FCS school. But with the injuries adding up for the Huskies, the danger is there. Vegas still feels comfortable of then taking care of business at home against a Minnesota team that flopped in their only serious test, but if the Gophers can show up and at least play even in the trenches, it could be mighty interesting. Huskies are 10 point favorites for the Big Ten VERY after dark game.

#9 Nebraska Cornhuskers 3-0 (9)

Win 34-7 vs North Dakota

A ho-hum game for the Huskers as they weren’t tested but didn’t fully blow out North Dakota. Regardless it’s a 3-0 start for Nebraska as they open conference play as 5.5 point favorites at Michigan State. That’s an interesting line which seems that Vegas is saying that they don’t fully know enough about either team yet. We shall learn more.

#10 UCLA Bruins 3-0 (10)

Win 52-38 over Purdue

Defense, who needs defense. Nobody saw the second half as it took place mostly after Midnight on the eastern portion of the country, but the Bruins puled away outscoring Purdue 28-17 in the second half to move to 1-0 in Big Ten play. UCLA put up 645 yards of offense including rushing for 369 yards! Is the Bruins that good offensively, or is Purdue that bad defensively? Again it might be too early to tell. UCLA now has to travel across the country for a 10:30 pacific game at Maryland Saturday. Can they get up for this one, or will they sleep trough it a bit like their cross-town rivals did a week ago at Rutgers?

#11 Minnesota Golden Gophers 2-1 (11)

Win 41-7 vs Akron

Akron is not good. Minnesota still struggled to run against them for a half until they switched a few things around and magically the running game came back. Will Greg Harbaugh and PJ Fleck be smart enough to mix it up and keep Washington off balance on Saturday? Who knows! Minnesota gets a Huskies team down RB’s q and 2 and WR’s 1 and 2, which helps, but they still need to stop Desmond Williams which won’t be easy. If Minnesota can pull off a win here at 10 point underdogs, it would be one of the biggest of the PJ Fleck era and reshape views of this team headed into October. A loss here, and the Gophers are the 5-7/6-6/7-5 team we all expected.

#12 Northwestern Wildcats 2-0 (13)

Win 41-7 vs Colorado

Northwestern closed out their small lakefront stadium in style absolutely demolishing Colorado so badly Deion Sanders kicked some kids off the Buffaloes team when they got back to Boulder. Now, how bad is Colorado and how good is Northwestern? Again questions we don’t really know. So it’s a nice win, but things will be much harder as Northwestern heads into Bloomington to face Indiana on Friday night.

#13 Illinois Fighting Illini 2-1 (12)

Win 48-10 vs Southern Illinois

The Illini bounce back from a tough loss and beat up on Southern Illinois in no surprise. Do they dereve to drop—probably not but hey, got to give Northwestern a bit of credit. Illinois is one of those middling middle Big Ten teams, so any win is key for them to sneak higher up the pecking order. But nobody expects them to go into Columbus and beat the Buckeyes for the first time in 19 years. It’s just a matter of how close can they keep it. Northwestern Wildcats 2-0 (13)

#14 Wisconsin Badgers 2-1 (14)

Win 54-10 vs Eastern Michigan

Another blowout win over a directional Midwest school for the Badgers moves them to 2-1 on the season. If the badgers can upset Penn State in happy Valley, well then we can really talk. It won’t be that easy though.

#15 Michigan State Spartans 2-1 (15)

Loss 27-10 @ Notre Dame

The Spartans played Notre Dame tough for a half before the Irish pulled away in a very respectable effort. No shame is losing to them. They open conference play hosting Nebraska as 5.5 point underdogs Saturday in a game that will be interesting to see how the teams stack up against one another.

#16 Maryland Terrapins 2-1 (16)

Loss 35-26 vs Virginia tech

September Maryland crashed and burned last week as the Hokies came to down and took down the Terps. Malik Washington had another huge game for Maryland and he looks like a star. But Evan Grunkemeyer was even better for Virginia Tech going 31-39 for 319 and three TDs. Can Maryland find a way to squeak out one more September win when UCLA has to fly all the way across three time zones for an early game on Saturday? They might need to if there is any chance of a bowl at the end of the season.

#17 Purdue Boilermakers 1-2 (17)

Loss 52-38 @ UCLA

Purdue can score some points, but man that defense is bad bad. Giving up nearly 650 yards to UCLA? Getting ran on for over 360? Yuck. They host Notre Dame in their final non-conference game of the year on Saturday, and something tells me it won’t be quite as close as the first halves of the Irish’s game against the other two Big Ten schools they have faced this season.

#18 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 0-3 (18)

Loss 42-35 vs USC

You have to give Rutgers credit for shoeing up and playing a heck of a game. Nobody saw them keeping that game that close after the first two weeks, but they had a legitimate chance to show USC into the fourth quarter. KJ Duff had a “slow” game with seven catches for 86 yards and a TD. Still way too many turnovers from their quarterbacks though. They should get their first win of the season Saturday when they host Howard who lost 55-0 to Indiana two weekends ago.

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