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Big Ten Power Rankings, Week 3: The book is out on Ohio State

By David Rouben

COLUMBUS, OH - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners shakes hands with head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes after the Sooners defeated the Buckeyes 31-16 at Ohio Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners shakes hands with head coach Urban Meyer of the Ohio State Buckeyes after the Sooners defeated the Buckeyes 31-16 at Ohio Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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CORVALLIS, OR – SEPTEMBER 09: Head Coach P.J. Fleck of the Minnesota Golden Gophers watches the game against the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
CORVALLIS, OR – SEPTEMBER 09: Head Coach P.J. Fleck of the Minnesota Golden Gophers watches the game against the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Corvallis, Oregon. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
8

Michigan State Spartans (2-0)

Last week: 1-0 record
Last rank: 9th

After Western Michigan made life difficult for USC, they probably came into East Lansing with an upset on their mind. But through two games, Michigan State has yet to give up an offensive touchdown.

Brian Lewerke coughed the ball up twice, but he still had a steady game. He accumulated 161 yards through the air and an additional 81 on the ground where he also scored two touchdowns. LJ Scott also had a bounce-back performance, accounting for 111 total yards and two touchdowns.

In the end, Michigan State capitalized on Western Michigan’s inexperience at quarterback. Their defense held the Broncos to 195 total yards and 1-of-15 on third downs. While the quality of their opposition’s been nothing to write home about, Mark Dantonio has to like what he’s seeing on the defensive side.

7

Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-0)

Last week: 1-0 record
Last rank: 10th

After Minnesota started the season with an uninspiring win over Buffalo, they turned in a much better showing against Oregon State. Granted, Oregon State is downright awful, so it would’ve been a shock if this game wasn’t a blowout. But Minnesota appeared to answer some of the questions lingering around the team after Week 1.

The biggest question was who would start under center. P.J. Fleck ditched the “play two quarterbacks” approach and let Conor Rhoda play for four quarters. While they continued to pound the rock into the ground, Rhoda was a steady 7-for-8 with 158 yards and a touchdown pass. Those are good numbers, but not enough to convince Fleck that he can play well against a good team.

But it won’t matter if he’s simply going to rely on his tailbacks. Rodney Smith had 30 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown while Shannon Brooks got three scores on 17 carries. You have to be concerned about Smith’s 3.1 yards per carry, as well as his extremely high usage rate against a team this bad. You don’t want to wear out the most important part of your offense this early on in the season.

Minnesota will get another easy test in Middle Tennessee, but playing Maryland to open up their conference schedule is one of the more intriguing games of Week 5.

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