Week 2 Big Ten Football Power Rankings: Michigan On Top, Rutgers Slowly Rising
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Two weeks of the 2023 college football season are in the books, and already the Big Ten is shaking out as an extremely confusing conference.
Ohio State might not be one of the two best teams in the conference for the first time in a decade. Iowa has emerged as the favorite in the West almost by default. Northwestern somehow does not look like the biggest disaster in the conference in spite of all that's happened in Evanston the past few months.
Here's where I have every team in the Big Ten ranked following Week 2:
1. Michigan (2-0)
Week 2 Result: W, 35-7 vs UNLV
Week 3 Matchup: Vs Bowling Green
The most talked about thing during Michigan's Saturday game was Jim Harbaugh manning the chains at his son's football game. That's how boring the Wolverines' non-conference slate is.
We've yet to learn anything of consequence about this Michigan football team, and that will likely be the case until they travel to Happy Valley to play Penn State.
2. Penn State (2-0)
Week 2 Result: W, 63-7 vs Delaware
Week 3 Matchup: @ Illinois
Speaking of coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions, they vault up to No. 2 in this week's power rankings following a shellacking of Delaware. This ranking really doesn't have as much to do with Penn State as it does the No. 3 team on this list, but fair is fair. Penn State entered as one of the three major contenders in the Big Ten this year, and have done exactly what they were supposed to do. Unlike ...
3. Ohio State (2-0, 1-0 B1G)
Week 2 Result: W, 35-7 vs Youngstown State
Week 3 Matchup: Vs Western Kentucky
Things are not great in Columbus. Ryan Day is blaming the new clock rules for the Ohio State offense slowing down as compared to what it's been in the past. The quarterback situation quickly turned from "they're both good enough to be starters," to "Kyle McCord is okay, but Devin Brown is definitely not ready yet." The Buckeyes even struggled to score on Youngstown State in the second half, and play Notre Dame in two weeks.
Not great.
4. Iowa (2-0)
Week 2 Result: W, 20-13 vs Iowa State
Week 3 Matchup: Vs Western Michigan
Similar to Penn State, Iowa moved up more because Wisconsin face planted on Saturday night than anything the Hawkeyes did, though a road win over a rival is always impressive. No, the Brian Ferentz-designed offense does not look better than it did before, and quarterback Cade McNamara's stats through two weeks are not inspiring.
But still, this has the look of a classic Kirk Ferentz Iowa team. The defense is lights out, and is plenty good enough for the Hawkeyes to march to another West title despite not having an even average offense. I can think of no more "Big Ten West way" for the Big Ten West to go out then with 10-2 Iowa averaging 20 points per game and winning the division easily.
5. Maryland (2-0)
Week 2 Result: W, 38-20 vs Charlotte
Week 3 Matchup: Vs Virginia (Game is at 7 p.m. ET on Friday)
Trailing Charlotte by 14 at home is very concerning, though 49ers' coach Biff Poggi has good vibes, and has built a frisky team out there. It's a real sharp drop off from Iowa to Maryland in terms of contender potential. But with 547 passing yards and a 68 percent completion rate, Taulia Tagovailoa still looks like one of the conference's best quarterbacks. That alone is enough for coach Mike Locksley and the Terrapins to rank as the fifth-best team in a conference that does not have many elite teams.
6. Wisconsin (1-1)
Week 2 Result: L, 22-31 vs Washington State
Week 3 Matchup: Vs Georgia Southern
Speaking of teams that are not elite — Wisconsin! Oh man, that was bad.
For the second year in a row, Wisconsin outgained Washington State in total yards, and lost. Though, this season's result was more convincing on the Cougars' side than it was in 2022. In extremely non-Wisconsin fashion, the Badgers only totaled 90 rushing yards on 29 total carries.
Coach Luke Fickell and the team won't drop too far for now (mainly because the rest of the Big Ten is pretty middling too), but the Badgers certainly don't appear to be the conference contender many predicted they would be in 2023.
7. Illinois (1-1)
Week 2 Result: L, 23-34 vs Kansas
Week 3 Matchup: Vs Penn State
Another Big Ten team that lost in a road game against a Power 5 opponent, though this one was a bit more predictable. Kansas has things rolling under coach Lance Leipold, and jumped on Illinois early with a 28-7 halftime lead.
Coach Bret Bielema and the Illini clearly don't have the unrelenting defense they leaned on in 2022, but the offense might have more life than it did in years past. Quarterback Luke Altmyer has exciting dual-threat ability, and Illinois is still perfectly capable of achieving all of the goals it had entering this third season of the Bielama era.
8. Minnesota (2-0, 1-0 B1G)
Week 2 Result: W, 25-6 vs Eastern Michigan
Week 3 Matchup: @ North Carolina
Why is Minnesota behind two teams that lost? First off, the miraculous comeback win against Nebraska took a big hit with Deion Sanders and Colorado essentially beating the Huskers over the head with a steel chair on Saturday. Second, the Gophers were only up 10-6 on their MAC visitors at half, as the Athan Kaliakmanis-led offense continues to operate at a subpar standard.
9. Rutgers (2-0, 1-0 B1G)
Week 2 Result: W, 36-7 vs Temple
Week 3 Matchup: vs Virginia Tech
I know it's just Temple, but Rutgers did not mess around in that game at all. The Scarlet Knights had an overmatched opponent, and they destroyed an overmatched opponent. Additionally, Northwestern established itself as at least above average team in Conference USA level on Saturday, which made Rutgers' utter domination of them on Sept. 3 look all the more impressive.
Quarterback Gavin Wimsatt had a pretty dismal passing line (10-for-21 for 198 yards), but the defense in Piscataway has only surrendered 419 total yards in two games. There's a chance that the Rutgers vs Indiana game this season ends with a 7-6 final score.
10. Michigan State (2-0)
Week 2 Result: W, 45-14 vs Richmond
Week 3 Matchup: vs Washington
The Spartans played football on Saturday, but what happened in that game does not matter compared to what's recently been reported on coach Mel Tucker.
You can read about that in the Big Ten Roundup, CLICK HERE.
11. Indiana (1-1, 0-1 B1G)
Week 2 Result: W, 41-7 vs Indiana State
Week 3 Matchup: vs Louisville (Game is taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium)
Why does Indiana move up two spots after beating a pretty dreadful Indiana State team? Mainly because the IU offense proved it won't look like a dead on arrival triple option unit all year, while the Hoosiers' defense continued its surprisingly awesome start to the season.
Quarterback Tayven Jackson is *seemingly* the guy in Bloomington now, finishing with the fourth-best PFF passing grade in the Big Ten from Week 2. If Jackson can lift the Indiana offense to basic competence, this defense is good enough to make the Hoosiers a quality Big Ten team.
12. Purdue (1-1)
Week 2 Result: W, 24-17 vs Virginia Tech
Week 3 Matchup: vs Syracuse
Again, I admit it feels strange to move Indiana past Purdue from where I had them in Week 1 after IU beat up on an FCS team, while coach Ryan Walters' team beat an ACC opponent on the road.
My counters: Virginia Tech is a very bad team (and one that I think will lose to Rutgers in Week 3), and Indiana's defense looks better than Purdue's offense, the strength of the Boilermakers. Still, good win for Walters and Co. that was much needed after the loss to Fresno State.
13. Northwestern (1-1, 0-1 B1G)
Week 2 Result: W, 38-7 vs UTEP
Week 3 Matchup: @ Duke
No one should be saying that Northwestern is a good football team, but the Wildcats at least appear to not be the worst team ever. Coach David Braun has a real Big Ten squad that will be more than cannon fodder for every game this season, and should be expected to at least win one or two mores games in 2023.
14. Nebraska (0-2)
Week 2 Result: L, 14-36 vs Nebraska
Week 3 Matchup: vs Northern Illinois
To any Nebraska fans reading this right now — I'm sorry.
The program is in a very bad place. Seeing Jeff Simms' placement on this PFF grade vs QBR chart is alarming.
I fear for what might happen to both coach Matt Rhule and/or the collective psyche of Nebraska fans if the Cornhuskers lose to Northern Illinois next Saturday.
Related Stories on Big Ten Football
- MEL TUCKER UNDER INVESTIGATION: News broke on Sunday morning that the football coach of the Michigan State Spartans is under investigation for sexual harassment. CLICK HERE
- WOULD B1G EVER KICK A TEAM OUT OF CONFERENCE: With Stanford, Cal and SMU joining the ACC in 2024, conference realignment has truly gotten out of hand. With all the movement up into new conferences coming, we ask the question — would the Big Ten ever forcibly remove a team from its own conference? CLICK HERE
- KANSAS 34, ILLINOIS 23: Coach Bret Bielema and the Illinois Fighting Illini fell to the Kansas Jayhawks 34-23 on Friday night, despite getting an impressive second half performance from quarterback Luke Altmyer. CLICK HERE