Big Ten football power rankings after Week 5 | Buckeyes Wire
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Five weeks are now in the rearview mirror for this year's college football season, and we are beginning to learn more and more about the Big Ten and which teams look like pretenders and those that have some work to do in order to even be considered pretenders.
We still feel pretty good about Ohio State and Indiana, but we might want to keep an eye on teams like Nebraska and UCLA. Purdue got its first conference win in forever, while the Iowa Hawkeyes got a dose of medicine courtesy of Ohio State. The rest, well – we'll have to let it all sort out.
It's our weekly Big Ten football power rankings, and what we think we know now will likely change drastically as teams figure out their identities and improve, or give up on the season (yes, it does happen).
Here's a look at our Week 5 Big Ten football power rankings. We start from No. 18 and make our way down to No. 1.
No. 18 – Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-4, 0-2) | No. 18 last week⇔
LastGame Result: Lost 47-15 vs. Indiana
Next Game: Off
Why the ranking
After looking much better last week, Rutgers took a step backwards in a game against Indiana. It's the last team the Scarlet Knights needed to try and build things off of, and it's now back to the drawing board. If Greg Schiano's crew can just chop enough wood to take a bite out of the Big Ten record, that would be a start. Beating an undefeated Nebraska next week would be a major lift.
No. 17 – Illinois Fighting Illini (2-3, 0-2) | No. 13 last week⇩
LastGame Result: Lost 24-17 vs. Purdue
Next Game: at Michigan State
What goes into the ranking
Injuries are starting to pile up in Champaign, and that was on a team with some holes already. Losing to a Purdue team that hasn't had a Big Ten win since 2023 is a low of lows for the Illini. Can Bret Bielema get his club up off the mat against Michigan State next week?
No. 16 – Purdue Boilermakers (2-3, 1-1) | No. 17 last week⇧
LastGame Result: Won 24-17 at Illinois
Next Game: vs. Minnesota
What goes into the ranking
Put a pause on the birthdays, weddings, and bar mitzvahs because congratulations are in order in West Lafayette. Purdue's defense actually played better than its offense and found a way to get the Boilers their first conference win since Nov. 25, 2023. Yes, 2023. Winning two in a row hasn't occurred since 2022, but we won't get all crazy expecting that to happen.
No. 15 – Maryland Terrapins (2-3, 0-2) | No. 14 last week⇧
LastGame Result: Lost 48-23 vs. at Nebraska
Next Game: at Ohio State
What goes into the ranking
Maryland actually looked somewhat interested in playing Big Ten football Saturday until it looked at the front of its jersey and remembered who it is. Nebraska took control, pulled away, and you have to wonder how long the leash is for head coach Mike Locksley at this point.
No. 14 – Michigan State Spartans (2-3, 0-2) | No. 15 last week⇧
LastGame Result: Lost 31-3 at Wisconsin
Next Game: vs. Illinois
What goes into the ranking
I have to be honest. I'm not really sure what to do with Michigan State, and this part of the power rankings has a lot of teams just not playing well. It's clear at this point, though, that new head coach Pat Fitzgerald has a longer rebuild on his hands than the quick turnaround I think everyone in East Lansing hoped for.
No. 13 – Penn State Nittany Lions (3-2, 0-2) | No. 10 last week⇩
LastGame Result: lost 34-13 at Northwestern
Next Game: vs. USC
What goes into the ranking
What a difference two weeks and two straight losses make. There was a big opportunity with the comparatively easy schedule Penn State was staring down, but now you have to wonder if this is even a bowl team after an embarrassing loss to Northwestern after choking the game away vs. Wisconsin. A win against USC is much needed or the honeymoon period is officially over for new head coach Matt Campbell.
No. 12 – Michigan Wolverines (3-2, 0-2)* | No. 9 last week⇩
LastGame Result: Lost 20-14 at Minnesota
Next Game: Off
What goes into the ranking
Well, well, what do we have here? All of the optimism and excuses we heard coming out of Ann Arbor have been silenced. Michigan is just not a good football team right now, and a lot of it has to do with how inept the offense has been behind quarterback Bryce Underwood. There's a hard look that will need to take place during the off week, and the Wolverines are flat-out lucky to even have a winning record. Maybe it's time to try and bring back Connor Stalions to work his black magic.
No. 11 – Washington Huskies (3-1, 0-2) | No. 11 last week⇔
LastGame Result: Lost 25-21 at USC
Next Game: vs. Iowa
Washington looked pretty good on the road at USC but couldn't make the one more play needed to pull out a victory. It's now two losses in a row for the Huskies, and it's a huge matchup for both Iowa and Washington when they meet in Seattle next Saturday.
No. 10 – Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-1, 2-0) | No. 14 last week⇧
LastGame Result: Won 20-14 vs. Michigan
Next Game: at Purdue
What goes into the ranking
The Golden Gophers have looked like a much better team since that embarrassing loss to Mississippi State, but just how good is Michigan? We'll still have to wait to see how Minnesota measures up against one of the big boys of the League, but this at least looks like a team that's headed to a very good bowl game.
No. 9 – Wisconsin Badgers (3-1, 2-0) | No. 9 last week⇔
LastGame Result: Won 31-3 vs. Michigan State
Next Game: Off
What goes into the ranking
I could have moved Wisconsin up this week, but all of the teams below feel like they belong where they are. Are the Badgers really that much better than what we saw against Notre Dame, or are they just a product of who they've played? This is a better team than last year, that we seem to know, but we'll have to wait for a couple of weeks when Luke Fickell takes his team to L.A. to play UCLA.
No. 8 – Northwestern Wildcats (3-1, 1-1) | No. 12 last week⇧
LastGame Result: Won 34-13 vs. Penn State
Next Game: vs. Ball State
What goes into the ranking
We couldn't keep Northwestern in the bottom half of these rankings any longer, and it's possible this team is even better than this. After giving Indiana all it could handle, the Wildcats followed that up by blowing the doors off Penn State to open their new stadium in the Chicagoland area. There are going to be some very, very intriguing and exciting matchups for Northwestern coming up (ahem — but not this upcoming week).
No. 7 – UCLA Bruins (4-0, 2-0) | No. 10 last week⇧
LastGame Result: Off
Next Game: at Oregon
What goes into the ranking
How good is this team, really? The Bruins have looked fantastic, but there's much bigger fish to fry coming up. It's clear that new head coach Bob Chesney has made a difference, but how much? The jury is out until — well, this coming weekend, maybe with a trip to Eugene looming.
No. 6 – USC Trojans (5-1, 2-1) | No. 6 last week⇔
LastGame Result: Won 25-21 vs. Washington
Next Game: at Penn State
What goes into the ranking
It's quite clear that USC isn't as good as we initially thought, but after escaping with a win against Washington, there are still a lot of goals on the table. If the defense can play better, the offense is good enough to score against almost anyone. The Trojans will have to win more games on the margin as shootouts, but … "so you're saying there's a chance?"
No. 5 – Iowa Hawkeyes (4-1, 1-1) | No. 3 last week⇩
LastGame Result: Lost 31-14 vs. Ohio State
Next Game: at Washington
Iowa got a dose of reality on Saturday against an Ohio State team that seems to be getting better. The offense is still a mess and really doesn't have anything to hang its hat on right now. We know the defense will play well, but if the Hawkeyes can't score consistently against Power 4 teams, more losses are going to mount.
No. 4 – Oregon Ducks (3-1, 1-0) | No. 5 last week⇧
LastGame Result: Off
Next Game: vs. UCLA
What goes into the ranking
Last time we saw Oregon, it was looking like the Oregon we thought we'd see at the start of the year. Can the Ducks put that type of performance together consistently, or will we see the old form after a week off against a very good UCLA team? The Ducks vs. Bruins might be the game of the week in the Big Ten coming up, and we'll know a lot more about both squads.
No. 3 – Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-0, 2-0) | No. 4 last week⇧
LastGame Result: Won 48-23 vs. Maryland
Next Game: vs. Indiana
What goes into the ranking
Who had Nebraska being undefeated at this point? Well, honestly, for all the excitement surrounding the start to the season, the Cornhuskers should have won each game on the schedule so far. Now, however, it's time to test things against Indiana Saturday, and we have a feeling that won't go as well, especially after Nebraska struggled against Maryland for a large portion of this week's game.
No. 2 – Ohio State Buckeyes (4-1, 2-0) | No. 2 last week ⇔
LastGame Result: Won 34-14 at Iowa
Next Game: vs. Maryland
What went into the ranking
Ohio State put together its best game of the season on the road in a hostile environment against Iowa, and now it's time to continue to get better. The running game and defense showed up in a physical way Saturday, and that's a good sign for the development of a program that's still oozing with talent. The Buckeyes get the potential of a little breather with the Terps coming to town, but then it's time for a big, big one.
No. 1 – Indiana Hoosiers (5-0, 2-0) | No. 1 last week ⇔
LastGame Result: Won 47-15 at Rutgers
Next Game: at Nebraska
What went into the ranking
Indiana did what it was supposed to against Rutgers and has yet to get into the meat of its schedule. That changes next week with a road trip to undefeated Nebraska, followed up by a home game against an Ohio State team that is rounding into form. Can Nebraska be a trap game? Are the Huskers really that good? That'll be a fun one next Saturday.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Big Ten football power rankings after Week 5 | Buckeyes Wire
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