Big Ten Power Rankings, Week 4: Michigan’s offense sputters again

2

Wisconsin Badgers (3-0)

Last week: W vs. BYU, 40-6
Last rank: 2nd

Even after Wisconsin started the season with two dominant wins, questions remained regarding how good Alex Hornibrook could be. He didn’t prove that he could be an effective starter last year, when he completed 58.6 percent of his passes for nine touchdowns and seven interceptions. But against BYU, he had the best game of his career.

Hornibrook was near perfect, throwing 18-of-19 for 256 yards and four touchdowns. Six of the Badgers’ eight offensive possessions also resulted in points. He also set the single-game completion percentage record, and for the second straight week, a Wisconsin player was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.

Of course, last week’s winner had a great game as well. Like Dobbins, Jonathan Taylor has seized control of the backfield in his first year. He followed up his performance against FAU with 128 rushing yards and a score. All told, Wisconsin put up 500 yards on offense and didn’t even get Troy Fumagalli involved that much.

After Wisconsin made a case for having the toughest schedule in the country last year, and still made it to the Championship Game, it’s much easier this time around. Michigan is likely the only ranked opponent they’ll face, and even so, they should have a stranglehold on the West division. Because it’s college football, anything can happen, but it’s hard to bet against this Wisconsin team making it back to Indianapolis.

1

Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0)

Last week: W vs. Georgia State, 56-0
Last rank: 1st

Penn State has been at the top of the rankings since the start of the season. Even though none of their opponents have been first-rate, they’re still doing what a team like them should be doing to lower-level teams – blowing them out of the water.

Although the Heisman race projects to be extremely tight this year, it’s getting increasingly harder to leave Saquon Barkley off that list. He added another 189 yards to his resume, with 85 of them coming on a first-quarter touchdown. Trace McSorley also rose to the occasion, throwing for 309 yards and four touchdowns, while his offensive line has contributed greatly to his success – when kept clean from pressure, he had a 158.3 passer rating against Georgia State.

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This is also the first time since 2007 that Penn State has recorded two shutouts, and they’ve done it in their first three games. They will face challenges during their conference schedule since that’s how tough the East division is. In that sense, it would’ve been good for them to face some adversity during the first three weeks. But they should still be regarded as the favorites until someone can prove they can knock them off.