Big Ten football power rankings after Week 1 of college football
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After a long offseason, Week 1 is finally in the books for college football, and that means we watched the product on the field instead of listening and guessing how good the teams are. Still, one week does not make a season. The teams we see now will be entirely different than what we see at the end of the year, and even toward the middle of the season.
But, hey, we have something to go by now, so that means we can kick off our weekly tradition of trying to rank all of the Big Ten football teams based on how each is playing at the moment. It's not a look at where we believe teams should be, or even where they will be, but rather, who is playing the best (and worst) at this point.
It's our weekly Big Ten football power rankings, and we're kicking it off after a solid weekend from the conference. What we thought ahead of time that Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana would be the top three teams in the league hasn't changed, but we might have to reorder those three based on what we saw in just one week of play. What about Michigan after escaping with a controversial win? How about teams like USC, Washington, and Nebraska?
Here's a look at our Week 1 Big Ten football power rankings. We start from No. 18 and make our way down to No. 1. All of the caveats about going too knee-jerk after just one game apply, and we're sure this will change next week.
No. 18 – Rutgers Scarlet Knights
LastGame Result: Lost 37-21 vs. UMass
Next Game: at Boston College
Why the ranking
Rutgers is the only Big Ten team that lost, but it was more than that. The Scarlet Knights got outplayed by a UMass team that was on a 16-game losing streak coming into the contest. Rutgers was a 29-point favorite at home, and five turnovers later, got embarrassed.
No. 17 – Purdue Boilermakers
LastGame Result: Won 44-19 vs. Indiana State
Next Game: vs. Wake Forest
What goes into the ranking
I think Purdue will be an improved team this year (how can it not after losing every conference game last season), and the Boilermakers sure looked better. However, it's hard to really know with a win over FCS Indiana State, so we'll pump the brakes on the Boiler locomotive for now.
No. 16 – Michigan State Spartans
LastGame Result: Won 30-20 vs. Toledo
Next Game: vs. Eastern Michigan
What goes into the ranking
The Spartans got new head coach Pat Fitzgerald his first win in the Green and White, but it wasn't pretty against a MAC school. This team will need to improve, especially on offense, to be taken seriously in making a bowl game, let alone finish in the upper half of the Big Ten.
No. 15 – Northwestern Wildcats
LastGame Result: Won 34-18 vs. South Dakota State
Next Game: vs. Colorado (Off next week)
What goes into the ranking
The Wildcats play on the margins a lot because of the lack of elite talent, but the win over FCS opponent South Dakota State should have been more impressive. Knowing Northwestern, though, it'll play to the level of its competition, and we'll hold off further judgment for now.
No. 14 – Maryland Terrapins
LastGame Result: Won 62-0 vs. Hampton
Next Game: at UConn
What goes into the ranking
Haven't we seen this before? Maryland beats up on inferior opponents in the nonconference, then can't get out of its own way in the Big Ten. It's as if the turtle goes back in its shell once real competition hits. Putting up 62 points is impressive, but it was against an FCS opponent.
No. 13 – Wisconsin Badgers
LastGame Result: Lost 41-13 vs. Notre Dame
Next Game: vs. Western Illinois
What goes into the ranking
Yes, Wisconsin lost, but the Badgers looked like a much improved team, especially in the first half against Notre Dame. It's so hard to figure things out after just one game, but finishing the game very poorly doesn't say much about being able to finish a physical contest, which used to be the staple of the Wisconsin program. We'll see if that changes and how good the Fighting Irish end up being.
No. 12 – UCLA Bruins
LastGame Result: Won 45-24 at Cal
Next Game: vs. San Diego State
What goes into the ranking
It was a pretty good win on the road at Cal, and the Bruins are the only conference school that got a road away from home, so bonus points there. The Bears aren't expected to do much this year, so we'll wait to see how things go down the road.
No. 11 – Minnesota Golden Gophers
LastGame Result: Won 59-7 vs. Eastern Illinois
Next Game: vs. Mississippi State
What goes into the ranking
P.J. Fleck had his crew looking ready to start the season against a MAC opponent, and that's more than we can say for other conference teams — ahem. In a rare feat, an SEC squad comes north to Minneapolis next week, so we'll see if the Gophers are up for the challenge.
No. 10 – Michigan Wolverines
LastGame Result: Won 13-12 vs. Western Michigan (sort of)
Next Game: vs. Oklahoma
What goes into the ranking
Michigan didn't look like anything close to a contender against a MAC opponent (but a very good one), but quarterback Bryce Underwood somehow got his hands on the time stone to get two Hail Mary attempts, the last of which found the hands of JJ Buchanan for a very improbable win. There are major concerns to address, and it would have been very easy to drop Michigan further than this.
No. 9 – Illinois Fighting Illini
LastGame Result: Won 42-23 vs. UAB
Next Game: vs. Duke
What goes into the ranking
It was an underwhelming ho-hum performance for Illinois. The good news is that the Illini won the game by a fairly convincing score. The bad news is that UAB won the time of possession by more than a 2-to-1 margin, outgained the Illini in total yardage, including a better rushing attack. If not for penalties, maybe this one goes the other way. Illinois will need to play better beginning next week against Duke.
No. 8 – Nebraska Cornhuskers
LastGame Result: Won 49-21 vs. Ohio
Next Game: vs. Bowling Green
What goes into the ranking
Nebraska had a very solid performance against the Bobcats, even if it did go a little under the radar, dominating almost every metric in the game. The problem for the Cornhuskers has been getting over the hump from average to good, to great again. Let's see if this is the year Matt Rhule can get things going that way. We won't find out much more next week with another MAC opponent from the state of Ohio.
No. 7 – Washington Huskies
LastGame Result: Won 24-10 vs. Washington State
Next Game: vs. Utah State
What goes into the ranking
Washington didn't look great in the Apple Cup, but it is a rivalry game. The defense still forced two turnovers and was lights out on third down, and quarterback Demond Williams had a very good game. The explosive plays need to be much better as the season gets longer in the tooth.
No. 6 – Penn State Nittany Lions
LastGame Result: Won 45-0 vs. Marshall
Next Game: at Temple
What goes into the ranking
Is it possible Matt Campbell can get Penn State among the best teams in the Big Ten during his first year in Happy Valley? Week 1 was a good showing with what looked like a very good roster, but there will be bigger game to hunt for the Nittany Lions in weeks to come.
No. 5 – Iowa Hawkeyes
LastGame Result: Won 40-0 vs. Northern Illinois
Next Game: vs. Iowa State
What goes into the ranking
I'm still picking my jaw off the floor from watching an Iowa offense score 40 points without the benefit of a handful of safeties. If the Hawkeyes can field a real, live offense to go with a defense that's always great, this could be a dark horse in the Big Ten and nationally. We won't get ahead of the forward pass being embraced just yet in Iowa City.
No. 4 – USC Trojans
LastGame Result: Won 39-0 vs. Fresno State
Next Game: vs. Louisiana
What goes into the ranking
We've seen two games already for USC, and the team clearly has some fast-twitch athletes all over the field. The offense was way ahead of the defense in Week 1, but things were much better on the side of the ball responsible for stopping teams against Fresno. We'll have to wait until the Trojans get into League play before we know if its secondary can hold up against some of the best offenses. Sept. 26 vs. Oregon seems like a good litmus test.
No. 3 – Oregon Ducks
LastGame Result: Won 34-27 vs. Boise State
Next Game: at Oklahoma State
What goes into the ranking
Let's call Oregon's game what it was: a struggle. I had Oregon as the top team in the Big Ten in the preseason, but based on what we saw, there's no reason to put the Ducks that high just yet. I like the chances of Oregon improving in Week 2 and beyond, but right now the rushing game and discipline (10 penalties for 90 yards) have to be where that starts.
No. 2 – Indiana Hoosiers
LastGame Result: Won 52-16 vs. North Texas
Next Game: vs. Howard
What went into the ranking
It's just one week (it seems like we keep saying that), but you could make the argument for ranking Indiana or Ohio State at the top based on what we saw. The Hoosiers looked dominant but took a little while to get going and actually got out-possessed and outgained by the Mean Green. However, the talent and ability on the field look to be really good again in Bloomington, and it feels like coach Curt Cignetti is once again building things.
No. 1 – Ohio State Buckeyes
LastGame Result: Won 56-3 vs. Ball State
Next Game: at Texas
What went into the ranking
The difference between Ohio State and Indiana for the top spot is the total domination the Buckeyes showed. The stats, score, skill, and depth were the best of any conference team that we saw play in Week 1. There are playmakers galore on offense, and we'll see how the defense performs next week against a very, very good Texas team.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Big Ten football power rankings after Week 1 of college football
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