Big Ten teams continued to have success in Week 2 of the college football season. Here’s where they all stand in the latest power rankings.
Week 2 is generally one of the most uneventful weeks in the college football season. For the most part, it consists of ranked teams beating up on lesser opponents, while fans count down the days until the conference schedule starts.
Central Michigan, Nicholls, and Troy reminded Power Five teams not to take any game for granted. But for the Big Ten, they mostly went about their business. It wasn’t as successful a week as Week 1 but on the whole, 9-4 is still pretty good. It was also a big week for Big Ten favorites Ohio State and Michigan, as they jumped to No. 3 and No. 4 in the AP Poll, respectively.
With some monumental non-conference games awaiting in Week 3, here are the latest Power Rankings for the Big Ten:
Before the season started, I declared Northwestern a dark horse to win the Big Ten. I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong because and I am because they look awful so far. As things stand, they’re the only winless team in the Big Ten.
Their non-conference schedule consisted of three winnable home games. It’s one thing to fall victim to MACtion in Week 1, but it’s another to only muster a single touchdown against an FCS team.
After Justin Jackson scored three touchdowns in Week 1, he finished with 39 yards on 11 carries. Clayton Thorson is generally hit and miss, but with a final 17-for-41 stat line, he was very much a “miss” in this game.
Even if Northwestern beats Duke next week, their conference schedule starts with Nebraska, Iowa, and Michigan State. That could result in a possible 1-5 start to the season. After they faced Tennessee in the Outback Bowl last year, the Wildcats might face an uphill battle to be bowl eligible.
You don’t normally see a quarterback throw 401 yards and lose, but that’s exactly what happened to David Blough. His 401 passing yards was a career high, but he also cost his team the game by throwing five interceptions, three of which led to Cincinnati touchdowns. Ultimately, that’s the stat that everyone’s going to remember.
But Purdue’s defense let them down as well. After a strong showing in Week 1, where they forced four turnovers, they forced none this week, while Cincinnati converted 12 of 14 third-down situations.
Purdue won’t get the chance to rebound from this right away, as they’re off in Week 3. But this loss left a bad taste in their fans’ mouths.
Rutgers vs. Howard was a tale of two halves. In the first, Rutgers found themselves down 14-0 to a one-win FCS team. But in the second, Janarion Grant was balling out when he scored rushing touchdowns of 58 and 21 yards. He already had an 84-yard kickoff return, which might be the Big Ten play of the week.
"Knock. Knock. Who’s there? It’s @RFootball‘s Janarion Grant. He’s got reservations for 6! TD Return = #BTNStandout https://t.co/RaNsAFD74j — Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 10, 2016"
It was a much-needed win for Rutgers after Washington ran right through them in Week 1. But while they won convincingly, there are still areas that need to be addressed, particularly in their sloppy first half.
Next: Nos. 11-9