Now that every team in the Big Ten has played at least one conference game, three teams have emerged as the early frontrunners to win the conference this season.
Ohio State held strong as the conference and the nation’s No. 1 team with its 24-6 win over Washington to begin Big Ten play, but Oregon also stamped itself as a major contender to defend its Big Ten title and compete for a national championship with its road win at Penn State. Indiana faced some adversity in its 20-15 road win over Iowa, but the Hoosiers also remain unbeaten, keeping them at the forefront of the Big Ten championship race.
Following a weekend of six Big Ten games that also included Illinois upsetting USC (34-32), Minnesota edging Rutgers by three points (31-28) and Northwestern beating UCLA by three points (17-14), we’ve updated our Big Ten Power Rankings for a look at how the conference stacks up from top to bottom based on what we’ve seen from each team so far this season.
1. Ohio State (4-0, 1-0)
Wins: Texas (14-7), Grambling State (70-0), Ohio (37-9), at Washington (24-6)
Losses: None
Last Week: 1
Ohio State did what it needed to do to retain the top spot in both the Big Ten and national rankings, pulling away from Washington for a 24-6 road win in its conference-play opener. The Buckeyes enter their second trimester of the season with two notable wins already under their belt, adding their road win over the Huskies to their season-opening triumph over Texas.
2. Oregon (5-0, 2-0)
Wins: Montana State (59-13), Oklahoma State (69-3), at Northwestern (34-14), Oregon State (41-7), at Penn State (30-24)
Losses: None
Last Week: 2
Oregon has a valid argument for the top spot in the power rankings after following up its dominant first four games of the season with a road win at Penn State, which now rivals Ohio State’s win over Texas for the best win in the Big Ten this season. The Buckeyes retain the No. 1 spot because their win over Washington carries more weight than any of Oregon’s other four wins, the utter dominance of Ohio State’s defense so far this year and because the Ducks needed two overtimes to beat Penn State after letting a 14-point fourth-quarter lead slip away.
3. Indiana (5-0, 2-0)
Wins: Old Dominion (27-14), Kennesaw State (56-9), Indiana State (73-0), Illinois (63-10), at Iowa (20-15)
Losses: None
Last Week: 3
The Hoosiers weren’t nearly as dominant against Iowa as they were one week earlier against Illinois, but they came away from Kinnick Stadium with a road win to improve to 5-0 for a second straight season for the first time in program history. The Hoosiers’ status as a Big Ten title contender will be put to the test in their next game when they face Oregon after a week off, but they’ve done everything they need to do so far to put themselves in the College Football Playoff conversation for the second year in a row.
4. Penn State (3-1, 0-1)
Wins: Nevada (46-11), Florida International (34-0), Villanova (52-6)
Losses: Oregon (24-30)
Last Week: 4
Taking Oregon to double overtime showed Penn State is capable of competing with the nation’s best teams, but can it beat them? James Franklin’s squad remains best known for repeatedly coming up short in big games, and the Nittany Lions have yet to beat an opponent of consequence this season. I’d still take Penn State to beat any team in the conference other than Ohio State, Oregon and maybe Indiana, but the blue and white have a lot to prove if they’re going to live up to the preseason hype.
5. Michigan (3-1, 1-0)
Wins: New Mexico (34-17), Central Michigan (63-3), at Nebraska (30-27)
Losses: at Oklahoma (13-24)
Last Week: 7
Like Penn State, Michigan’s only loss is to one of the nation’s best teams, but it hasn’t beaten a marquee opponent yet. The Wolverines will likely be favored in every game they play until the regular-season finale against Ohio State, giving them a real path to the CFP, but they must continue to improve after beating Nebraska by just three in their Big Ten opener.
6. Washington (3-1, 0-1)
Wins: Colorado State (38-21), UC Davis (70-10), at Washington State (59-24)
Losses: Ohio State (6-24)
Last Week: 6
The Huskies weren’t good enough to beat Ohio State, but they made things challenging for the Buckeyes for much of the game, which bodes well for their chances for competing with the rest of the conference. Like Penn State, they have yet to beat a Power 4 opponent this season, but they hold their ranking after this past weekend’s loss because their loss came to a top-two team in the nation and because they’ve shown the potential to be one of the Big Ten’s better teams this season.
7. Maryland (4-0, 1-0)
Wins: FAU (39-7), Northern Illinois (20-9), Towson (44-17), at Wisconsin (27-10)
Losses: None
Last Week: 8
The Terps certainly could be ranked higher as one of only four remaining unbeaten teams in the Big Ten, but they have a history of beating up on weak competition in September only to fade in October and November. A win over Washington this upcoming weekend would validate their strong start and move them up the rankings.
8. Illinois (4-1, 1-1)
Wins: Western Illinois (52-3), at Duke (45-19), Western Michigan (38-0), USC (34-32)
Losses: at Indiana (10-63)
Last Week: 11
Illinois’ upset win over USC was exactly the response it needed one week after getting blown out by Indiana. It’ll likely need to upset Ohio State in two weeks to get itself back in the playoff conversation, but the victory over the Trojans at least showed they wouldn’t let their 53-point loss in Bloomington derail their season.
9. USC (4-1, 1-1)
Wins: Missouri State (73-13), Georgia Southern (59-20), at Purdue (33-17), Michigan State (45-31)
Losses: at Illinois (32-34)
Last Week: 5
It’s not easy traveling across two time zones to play a game that kicks off at 9 a.m. in your home time zone, but that doesn’t excuse USC’s loss to the Illini (especially when compared to Ohio State and Oregon beating better opponents after cross-country road trips). The Trojans weren’t able to beat top Big Ten teams in their first year in the conference, and their loss to Illinois leaves serious questions about their ability to do so once again.
Illinois moves up three spots and USC falls four spots in this week’s Big Ten Power Rankings. (Photo: Ron Johnson – Imagn Images)
10. Iowa (3-2, 1-1)
Wins: Albany (34-7), UMass (47-7), at Rutgers (38-28)
Losses: at Iowa State (14-17), Indiana (15-20)
Last Week: 9
The Hawkeyes could arguably be a couple of spots higher, seeing as they lost by only one score to the team that blew out Illinois one week earlier, but the fact remains that the Hawkeyes have lost to the only two good teams they’ve played so far this season. Their competitive loss to Indiana showed they won’t be an easy out for anyone on their home field, but close losses only count for so much. An injury to starting quarterback Mark Gronowski also won’t help their passing offense, which ranks dead last among Power 4 teams in passing yards per game.
11. Nebraska (3-1, 0-1)
Wins: Cincinnati (20-17), Akron (68-0), Houston Christian (59-7)
Losses: Michigan (27-30)
Last Week: 10
The Cornhuskers had to wait a week for their chance to bounce back from their first loss of the season vs. Michigan. Their lack of a big win they can hang their hat on, paired with a home loss in a winnable game, knocks them outside of the top 10 of the rankings.
12. Michigan State (3-1, 0-1)
Wins: Western Michigan (23-6), Boston College (42-40), Youngstown State (41-24)
Losses: at USC (31-45)
Last Week: 12
Like Nebraska, Michigan State had to wait a week for the chance to bounce back from its loss to open Big Ten play. The Spartans stay put in the 12th spot in the rankings, though, because each of the bottom six teams has at least one worse loss than their road loss to USC.
13. Minnesota (3-1, 1-0)
Wins: Buffalo (23-10), Northwestern State (66-0), Rutgers (31-28)
Losses: at California (14-27)
Last Week: 14
A three-point home win over Rutgers does little to change appearances that the Golden Gophers are a bottom-half Big Ten team. Their loss to Cal is a black mark on their résumé, and they don’t yet have any big wins to offset it.
14. Rutgers (3-2, 0-2)
Wins: Ohio (34-31), Miami-Ohio (45-17), Norfolk State (60-10)
Losses: Iowa (28-38), at Minnesota (28-31)
Last Week: 13
The Scarlet Knights have already lost two of their most winnable games in Big Ten play, leaving Greg Schiano’s squad with an uphill path to bowl eligibility. They maintain their spot in the rankings only because they still have more wins than the four teams behind them in the rankings, none of whom have beaten any opponents of note this season.
15. Wisconsin (2-2, 0-1)
Wins: Miami-Ohio (17-0), Middle Tennessee State (42-10)
Losses: at Alabama (14-38), Maryland (10-27)
Last Week: 15
Luke Fickell’s squad had an extra week to dwell on their embarrassing home loss to Maryland, and the path in front of them remains one full of games that they won’t be favored to win. A road trip to Michigan this week projects as a big challenge for the Badgers with how they played in the first month of the season.
16. Purdue (2-2, 0-1)
Wins: Ball State (31-0), Southern Illinois (34-17)
Losses: at USC (17-33), at Notre Dame (30-56)
Last Week: 16
Like Nebraska, Michigan State and Wisconsin, Purdue had no ability to improve its standing this week with a bye week following a loss to open conference play. It would come as a surprise if the Boilermakers win more than one or two more games this season, though they have three winnable October games against Minnesota, Northwestern and Rutgers.
17. Northwestern (2-2, 1-1)
Wins: Western Illinois (42-7), UCLA (17-14)
Losses: at Tulane (3-23), Oregon (14-34)
Last Week: 17
Northwestern earned a Big Ten win over the weekend, but the Wildcats don’t get much credit for a three-point home win over UCLA. Their loss to Tulane remains the worst loss that any non-Bruin team has in the conference, so they’ll have to beat someone other than the Big Ten’s worst team (or upcoming opponent UL Monroe) to move up the rankings.
18. UCLA (0-4, 0-1)
Wins: None
Losses: Utah (10-43), at UNLV (23-30), New Mexico (10-35), at Northwestern (14-17)
Last Week: 18
The Bruins are staring squarely down the barrel of a potential 0-12 season after Saturday’s loss to Northwestern. The Wildcats were easily their most beatable conference opponent, and UCLA has shown nothing to suggest it’s likely to pull off an upset in the final two months of the season.
