This week’s Big Ten power rankings see Nebraska continue to tumble after a disappointing choke job vs. Colorado and Michigan escapes Army.
Week 2 was a rather eventful one for the Big Ten. Nebraska, a team that was supposed to look notably better than it did a season ago, fell flat on its face in the second half of its game against the Colorado Buffaloes.
However, Maryland, a team that was mired in controversy a season ago, came out and squashed Syracuse, a team that was previously considered the second-best in the ACC, with ease.
Add that with the fact that Penn State struggled with Buffalo for a couple of quarters before putting the Bulls away and that Michigan looked lost against Army, and it’s safe to say that the conference certainly experienced a little bit of everything on Saturday.
So here’s how all of that chaos and fun impacted the Big Ten power rankings for this week:
Look, Rutgers fans, it was fun to say that the Scarlet Knights were undefeated while it lasted, right? After winning its season opener in solid fashion, Rutgers went and got run over by the Iowa Hawkeyes, losing 30-0. That defeat certainly secured Rutgers’ spot at the bottom of the Big Ten for another week.
Illinois is still undefeated and sits at 2-0 on the season after taking a win on the road against a non-conference foe. Normally, that would actually move Illinois up in rankings, but what other teams in the Big Ten around the Fighting Illini did was notably more impressive than only beating the UConn Huskies by 8 points. Congrats on the win, Illinois! But, next time, maybe try to win by more points when facing bad teams.
On the road in double overtime, against a solidly decent Fresno State team, the Golden Gophers got a fairly respectable win. The Bulldogs aren’t what they were a season ago, but Minnesota still took care of them after traveling across the country for this game. Should Minnesota have won by more? Maybe, but the Golden Gophers won, and that’s what matters. This win certainly looks better than that win over South Dakota State.
Indiana, like Illinois, moved down after a win. And that’s only because they were leapfrogged by a team that actually accomplished something a little more impressive this week. The Hoosiers looked solid, winning 52-0, on Saturday. Unfortunately for Indiana’s sake here, the Hoosiers beat Eastern Illinois while playing at home. That’s not a win that many would hang their hats on.
The Cornhuskers had their game against Colorado seemingly locked up at halftime. Nebraska, up 17-0, hadn’t been challenged at all by what the Buffaloes were doing in the first half. Adrian Martinez was able to move the ball downfield with ease and the Huskers were locking Colorado’s offense up. But, things changed in the second half.
The Buffs mounted a comeback that will be one of the most entertaining games of the season and knocked Nebraska off in overtime after a missed field goal. Nebraska, despite all of its success early on in the game, fell flat in the second half and in overtime.
Purdue, just one week after falling to Nevada in a game that the Boilermakers probably should have won, responded perfectly! The Boilermakers welcomed the Vanderbilt Commodores to town and then sent them back to Nashville with a 42-24 defeat. That win helped Purdue get back on track and moved the Boilermakers back up a bit here, even if Vanderbilt isn’t all that great of a team.
Nothing happened over the weekend to Northwestern as the Wildcats were set up with an early bye week. Following that loss to Stanford to start the season, that bye might be what Northwestern needs to restart the season and move forward as if that game never happened. The Wildcats will face UNLV next.
Maryland had one of the most impressive offensive displays of the young season when the Terrapins took on the Syracuse Orange. The Terps boat raced Syracuse, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back en route to a 63-20 victory. Josh Jackson is thriving in Mike Locksley’s offense and the Terps proved to have plenty of potential as they dispatched of what is currently one of the ACC’s best teams with ease.
But Jackson wasn’t the main reason for Maryland’s success against Syracuse. The Terps ran for 354 yards and 6 touchdowns, gaining an average of 7.9 yards per run. There’s no guarantee that Maryland can sustain this sort of offensive success for the entire season. If the Terps can find a way to put up points on the better teams in the Big Ten, this season could be a thrilling one for Maryland fans.
Michigan State dropped a spot, but it’s only because Wisconsin wound up moving up a bit. The Spartans didn’t do anything wrong on the gridiron on Saturday and they cruised to an easy 51-17 win over Western Michigan. Michigan State’s offense came alive and if it can consistently do that, then this team might threaten to create some chaos in the Big Ten East. If MSU beats Arizona State, then there’s a realistic path for the Spartans to be 5-0 before meeting up with Ohio State.
Iowa cruised to victory over Rutgers, which isn’t all that much of an accomplishment. But the Hawkeyes are solid and continue to prove that, beating the Scarlet Knights 30-0. If Iowa’s defense can have a performance like this against an offense that actually has a pulse, then a score like this will definitely be impressive and the Hawkeyes will move up a few spots in the Big Ten power rankings. Iowa is 2-0 and looks capable of challenging for and potentially winning the Big Ten West.
Wisconsin’s offense looked explosive and dynamic while its defense totally shut down its opponent. But it probably helps that the Badgers played against Central Michigan this past week. Still, winning 61-0 is something worth noting. That’s especially true when one considers the fact that Wisconsin has outscored its two opponents 110-0. The Badgers haven’t faced a tough test yet, so its game against No. 10 Michigan next week will be one to watch. Wisconsin heads into a bye week this week.
Army appeared to be more than plenty to challenge the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday. The Black Knights worked to slow the game down and ran the ball well, but it was Michigan’s relative inability to create a big, explosive play on offense that truly hurt the Wolverines. Shea Patterson posted pedestrian numbers, only throwing for 207 yards on 19 completions and 29 attempts. If Jim Harbaugh’s team is actually going to contend for a Big Ten title this season, Michigan’s offense will need to have more life to it when the Wolverines start taking on conference opponents.
Penn State struggled with Buffalo for a half and it briefly looked as if the Nittany Lions might struggle with the Bulls in the second half as well. That is until Penn State put 28 points up on the scoreboard in the third quarter and effectively put their problems away. The Nittany Lions were unable to run the ball successfully, and that could come back to bite them later, but for now, they need to be happy with a 45-13 win and move on to prepare for Pitt.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are still at the top of the Big Ten. Ohio State’s defense blanked Cincinnati, Justin Fields operated with ease, and the Buckeyes won 42-0. Ryan Day has picked up where Urban Meyer left off and Ohio State is still a force to be reckoned with. If they continue to execute at this level, they should be favored in each and every game for the remainder of the season.
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