Big Ten power rankings, Week 1: Is this Michigan’s year, who is the best in the West?

Big Ten power rankings for Week 1 looks at who will come out of a wide-open Big Ten West and if this is finally the year for Michigan to beat Ohio State.

The biggest storyline heading into 2019 for the Big Ten involves two teams: Michigan and Ohio State. They’re the best teams in the conference, and it really isn’t all that close, but Michigan has failed time and time again over the past few seasons to find a way to overcome Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes.

Jim Harbaugh was hired by Michigan to win titles, not to watch his rival win titles.

But Urban Meyer is gone now. The Buckeyes are turning to Ryan Day to run things. He’s familiar with the program. He’s got plenty of talent to coach. He should be able to keep the machine moving forward. But if there was ever a year for Michigan to overcome Ohio State, this would be it.

So, which Big Ten football team sits at the top of our Week 1 power rankings?

Well, this shouldn’t shock anyone at all. Rutgers was bad last year. They’ll be bad again this year. The Scarlet Knights went 1-11 in 2018, which, is impressive given that they actually found a way to win a game last season. Things are, uh, bleak for Rutgers football fans right now.

Illinois not good. However, the Fighting Illini actually showed some life in 2018 and won four games, which is a decent step forward for Lovie Smith’s program. If Smith is given plenty of time, he might be able to turn this team into a bowl contender, but that’s probably not happening just yet. It might take a few more seasons, Illini fans.

Indiana can’t seem to sustain success on a week-by-week basis. It doesn’t help that the Hoosiers don’t exactly have a wealth of depth of talent, but there is plenty of experience returning on offense this season for this team. That could provide Indiana with a path back to a bowl game this year.

The Maryland Terrapins have turned to a new coach to lead them in the future and he did a pretty good job of coaching offense in 2018. Of course, Mike Locksley also had the benefit of coaching all of the talent that Alabama had accumulated, which certainly helps make things easier for a coach. He won’t have that talent available to him at Maryland. The Terps might be explosive, but they might also explode some this season as well.

P.J. Fleck and the Minnesota Golden Gophers didn’t know if they wanted to be good or bad last season, so they were somehow both at varying times and it changed on a week-by-week basis. If Fleck’s team can remain consistent and carry positive momentum forward, this team could contend for the Big Ten West. But that remains to be seen.

The Purdue Boilermakers are explosive, quick, and capable of scoring at seemingly any given moment. Unfortunately, Purdue’s defense allows most other teams to be able to make those same sorts of claims. But, wide receiver Rondale Moore will be fun to watch as Jeff Brohm tries to catch even more teams off guard this year.

The Wisconsin Badgers entered 2018 with a whole load of hype and ended 2018 at just 8-5. The Badgers are going to rely on their running game this season, as Jonathan Taylor tries to lead Wisconsin to win after win, and maybe some Heisman attention, in 2019. A strong running game alone won’t push Wisconsin to the top of the Big Ten West, but it’ll certainly help if the Badgers are any decent on defense this season.

Northwestern was a remarkable team in 2018. The Wildcats weren’t necessarily good, per say, but they won games in some of the weirdest ways. And wins are really the only stat that matters at the end of the day, right? The Wildcats previously brought in a five-star transfer at quarterback from Clemson and he’s eligible for this season, which could be what they need to help keep them at the top of the Big Ten West. 12 returning starters from last season won’t hurt either.

As Scott Frost and the Cornhuskers enter into their second year together, Nebraska fans are hopeful that the Huskers have a significant improvement in year two. The Huskers finished 2018 at 4-8, so really anything is a notable improvement over last season. However, Frost might be able to guide this team to the top of the Big Ten West, which is a relatively wide-open division.

Mark Dantonio and Michigan State didn’t meet their expectations in 2018. The Spartans were non-existent on offense and the defense could only do so much to make up for that. In 2019, there’s hope that quarterback Brian Lewerke will overcome the regression he experienced last season and help guide Michigan State to a solid season. MSU’s defense will keep this team in most games. The Spartans need more output on offense to climb in the Big Ten though.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have some momentum headed into the 2019 college football season. Iowa knocked off Mississippi State in the Outback Bowl (Iowa seemingly always wins the Outback Bowl), but Kirk Ferentz’s offense lost key pieces that must be replaced this year. T.J. Hockensen and Noah Fant were both picked up in the first round of the NFL Draft and both tight ends were crucial to Iowa’s success in 2018.

James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions have hit their heads on their ceiling the past couple of seasons. Is this the year that Franklin and Penn State can elevate that ceiling even higher? Last year, Penn State took a slight step back after losing offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead. This season, Franklin and his team are tasked with sustaining their success as they lose another key piece of their offense: Trace McSorley. The Nittany Lions are a talented team, but they’ll need to take things up a notch in every aspect if they want to maintain momentum in the Big Ten East.

If there is a year for Michigan to overcome Ohio State, this should be it. That doesn’t necessarily mean this will be it, but the Wolverines will have their chances to win the Big Ten East, and ultimately the Big Ten. If Shea Patterson and new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis can get on the same page, then maybe Michigan does come out on top of the Big Ten this season. The Wolverines are already pretty much set on defense. Utilizing Patterson’s skillset in an offense built around him could be a difference-maker for this team.

Ohio State is still on top, at least for the moment. The Buckeyes were the best team the Big Ten had to offer a season ago and, although they’ve got a brand new head coach, and a brand new quarterback, the pieces are in place for Ohio State to be able to come out on top of Michigan in the Big Ten East again. Ryan Day knows his team, its strengths and weaknesses, and he’s familiar with all of its opponents. Day, previously being an assistant on Urban Meyer’s staff, isn’t brand new to Ohio State. That familiarity should help with any transition that this team needs to go through.