It was another topsy-turvy week for Big Ten football, with both highs and lows for some of the conference’s top teams. Ohio State, Michigan State and Nebraska all picked up impressive non-conference wins, while Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin made asses of themselves on national television. As a result, we have a little shifting around in this week’s power rankings.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes, 58 points
Prior to the start of the season, there were probably more than a few college football fans that would’ve had a tough time naming three Ohio State players other than J.T. Barrett. But here we are three weeks into the season, and the underclassmen-laden Buckeyes are looking like a legitimate national title contender. Just more proof that Urban Meyer is a literal demigod. Ohio State’s latest victory was a 45-24 rout of No. 14 Oklahoma. Thanks to the win, the Buckeyes are now 19-0 in true road games under Meyer, a stat that doesn’t become any less mind-boggling no matter how long you stare at it.
2. Michigan Wolverines, 52 points
Things were looking a little dicey for the Wolverines in the early going against Colorado, but then Buffaloes’ punter Alex Kinney sent a kick into one of his own offensive linemen and everything was suddenly OK. In fact, Colorado’s punting unit looked like something out of a bad comedy sketch: The Buffaloes allowed a punt to be blocked and returned for a touchdown, gave up a 54-yard punt return touchdown to Jabrill Peppers and had a punt of -7 yards on the aforementioned kick into a lineman. As a result, Michigan turned a 21-7 deficit into a 45-28 win. It was far from pretty at times, but the Wolverines enter Big Ten play with a 3-0 record.
3. Michigan State Spartans, 39 points
After an underwhelming win against FCS opponent Furman to start the season, many people, myself included, wondered how good Michigan State actually was. Well it’s that kind of disrespect that Mark Dantonio craves. It nourishes him. It gives him life. If he could, he would personally drill a chip onto each of his players’ shoulders. No coach in the country can turn perceived slights and disrespect into wins with the efficiency of Dantonio, whose Spartans impressed in a 36-28 win over Notre Dame. Michigan State now heads into conference play overshadowed in its own division by Ohio State and Michigan, which is all the fuel that its coach will need over the next few months.
4. Wisconsin Badgers, 29 points
Well, the Badgers didn’t end up losing to Georgia State, so I suppose that technically is a plus. Wisconsin owns a 3-0 record for the first time since 2011 as it enters Big Ten play, but it now faces a daunting stretch of games to start its conference slate and, just for kicks, has a full-fledged quarterback controversy between Bart Houston and Alex Hornibrook. First up is a road game against Michigan State. Coincidentally, 2011 is also the last time the Badgers traveled to East Lansing, a game that may or may not have ended with a last-second, soul-obliterating Hail Mary. Fun times.
5. Nebraska Cornhuskers, 20 points
Given how rocky his first season in Lincoln went, Nebraska head coach Mike Riley was in major need of a win over a solid non-conference opponent. That opportunity came in the form of No. 22 Oregon, a team Riley went 4-10 against during his two tenures at Oregon State. And on Saturday, his Cornhuskers delivered, pulling off a dramatic 35-32 win over the Ducks before a raucous crowd at Memorial Stadium, which celebrated its 350th consecutive sellout. From quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. — who was hooked up to an IV at one point in the fourth quarter to deal with major cramping — helping orchestrate the game-winning drive, to Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich being blissfully unaware to the existence of extra points, it was a highly entertaining game and a big win for Nebraska. In fact, it was the program’s first win over a ranked non-conference foe since it beat No. 17 Notre Dame in 2001. The Cornhuskers now face a favorable four-game stretch to open Big Ten play (at Northwestern, vs. Illinois, at Indiana, vs. Purdue) and could very well be 7-0 when they come to Madison on Halloween weekend—though I said the same thing about Iowa last week, so you’re welcome in advance for the jinx, Nebraska fans.
6. Iowa Hawkeyes, 12 points
State of the Big Ten: A team that was just beaten by an FCS opponent doesn’t fall out of the top six of these rankings. Though in fairness, that FCS opponent was North Dakota State, who has won five consecutive national championships and now holds a six-game winning streak against FBS teams* (*two of those teams were Kansas and Iowa State, which feels like cheating). Yet for some reason, Power Five teams keep giving the Bison hundreds of thousands of dollars to come to their stadium and crush their dreams. But on the bright side for the Hawkeyes, they did just sign head coach Kirk Ferentz to a 50-year contract extension with a buyout higher than the GDP of several countries. Wouldn’t want LSU to whisk him away from Iowa City after they fire Les Miles at the end of the season, after all.
Honorable mention: Western Michigan Broncos
The Broncos have now defeated both Northwestern and Illinois this season, giving head coach P.J. Fleck as many wins over Big Ten teams this year as Purdue has during the Darrell Hazell era. Seriously, just swap them with the Boilermakers or Rutgers for the remainder of the year and see what happens. No one will notice.
