Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 3

This was an awful week for the Big Ten as most of the teams in the league wrapped up nonconference play. There were several bad losses, which really hurt the reputation of the league.

Nationally ranked teams Michigan State and Maryland lost to unranked opponents, and Purdue and Illinois also lost at home to unranked foes. Iowa and Minnesota both barely escaped as favorites.

There are no changes at the top — oh my, Ohio State really looks good — but there’s some juggling in the middle and bottom.

Here are my rankings after the games of Sept. 14, with last week’s ranking and this week’s opponent included:

1. Ohio State (3-0) *** Last week: 1

Last week: Beat Indiana 51-10

This week: Miami-Ohio (1-2) at Ohio State, 3:30 p.m. ET (TV: BTN)

The skinny: There is no doubt that Ohio State is the best team in the league right now, and it certainly showed that in an impressive win at Indiana. Justin Fields looks very comfortable at quarterback and J.K. Dobbins is a beast in the backfield. And that defense is special. After seeing them with my own eyes on Saturday, this looks like a legitimate College Football Playoff team to me.

2. Wisconsin (2-0) *** Last week: 2

Last week: Bye week

This week: Michigan (2-0) at Wisconsin, Noon ET (TV: FOX)

The skinny: The Badgers outscored their first two opponents (South Florida and Central Michigan) by a combined total of 110-0, which is crazy impressive. They’ve moved from No. 8 to No. 5 to No. 2 in our rankings and now have had an extra week to prepare for a visit from Michigan in the best September game on the Big Ten schedule. We’ll learn a lot about the Badgers this week, and I’m excited to see it because I wasn’t a believer in the preseason before those two opening wins changed my mind.

3. Michigan (2-0) *** Last week's ranking: 3

Last week: Bye week

This week: Michigan at Wisconsin (2-0), Noon ET (TV: FOX)

The skinny: Let’s hope Michigan figured a few things out and got some people healthy during the bye week because this is going to be a heck of a test at Wisconsin. The Badgers have been impressive and the Wolverines, quite frankly, have been a bit of a concern. Quarterback Shea Patterson seemed a little beat up in the Army win, so hopefully he’s close to 100 percent again after the week off.

4. Penn State (3-0) *** Last week: 4

Last week: Beat Pittsburgh 17-10

This week: Bye week

The skinny: Penn State got the win in this bitter rivalry to finish its nonconference schedule with a perfect mark. This defense still looks like it might be James Franklin’s best, and we’ll find out a lot quickly when they return to conference play in two weeks against Maryland. The Lions will move up a notch next week — I almost bumped them out one this week — and I’m a firm believer they can still contend in the Big Ten East.

5. Iowa (3-0) *** Last week: 5

Last week: Beat Iowa State 18-17

This week: Bye week

The skinny: Iowa got past Iowa State in this huge rivalry game, and what a bizarre day this was with all the weather issues. It could be easy to pick at the Hawkeyes for the narrow win, but you know they’ll always take ANY win over the Cyclones. I’ve still got them in an excellent position to contend in the Big Ten West and this bye is well-timed.

6. Nebraska (2-1) *** Last week: 10

Last week: Beat Northern Illinois 44-8

This week: Nebraska at Illinois (2-1), 8 p.m. ET (BTN)

The skinny: The Cornhuskers take the biggest leap in the rankings this week, moving up four spots after an impressive 44-8 win over Northern Illinois. The carnage around them — losses by Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue and Maryland — helped with the bump, but the Huskers also seemed to find some answers on Saturday.

7. Michigan State (2-1) *** Last week: 6

Last week: Lost to Arizona State 10-7

This week: Michigan State at Northwestern (1-1), Noon ET (TV: ABC)

The skinny: The Spartans fall a notch after another ugly loss where they got absolutely nothing out of their offense in the defeat at home to Arizona State. Just when we thought this offense was going to be better, they laid another egg. With Big Ten play starting, the Spartans need to fix things in a hurry.

8. Minnesota (3-0) *** Last week: 9

Last week: Beat Georgia Southern 35-32

This week: Bye week

The skinny: The Gophers seem like the Big Ten’s most fraudulent team at the moment, but that probably seems a little harsh for a team with a 3-0 record. They’ve played South Dakota State, Fresno State and Georgia Southern — not exactly Murderer’s Row — and have barely won all three. A win is a win, I know, but I still am not hopping on that “Big Ten West champs’’ bandwagon.

INLIN

9. Northwestern (1-1) *** Last week: 12

Last week: Beat UNLV 30-14

This week: Michigan State (2-1) at Northwestern, Noon ET (TV: ABC)

The skinny: I pondered moving up the Wildcats even more after the win over UNLV, but I figured it might be best to take the conservative approach and see how it goes with Hunter Johnson now at quarterback. He still threw for only 165 yards and the Wildcats aren’t going to run for 276 against Michigan State like they did against UNLV. Not against that No. 1-ranked rush defense. So, No. 9 seems right for the Wildcats for now.

10. Indiana (2-0) *** Last week: 7

Last week: Lost to Ohio State 51-10

This week: Connecticut (1-1) at Indiana, Noon ET (TV: BTN)

The skinny: Indiana fell flat on its face in the blowout loss to Ohio State, struggling in every phase of the game. The offense really struggled with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. unable to go with an apparent shoulder injury and former starter Peyton Ramsey didn’t play well. There’s lots to fix here, most notably the running game and tackling on defense. There are special teams issues, as well, that cropped up for the first time on Saturday.

11. Maryland (2-0) *** Last week: 8

Last week: Lost to Temple 20-17

This week: Bye week

The skinny: We warned you in this very spot last week that Maryland was prone to trip up in games like this, losing on the road after a big home win over Syracuse. That’s exactly what happened as Maryland’s offense struggled against Temple after leading the nation in scoring the first two weeks. The bye week comes at a perfect time so the Terps can regroup.

12. Purdue (1-2) *** Last week: 11

Last week: Lost to TCU 34-13

This week: Bye week

The skinny: It was blatantly obvious that Purdue really missed quarterback Elijah Sindelar in the loss to TCU. Hopefully he’ll be able to return after the bye week once conference play starts. Purdue can still contend in the Big Ten West with him at QB. They’re the only two-loss team in the league, which puts them at No. 12 for now, but they’ll have plenty of opportunity to move up.

13. Illinois (2-1) *** Last week: 13

Last week: Lost to Eastern Michigan 34-31

This week: Nebraska (2-1) at Illinois, 8 p.m. ET (BTN)

The skinny: I hesitated to move the Illini up after opening with two wins, and the bad loss at home to Eastern Michigan verified my concerns. The Illini are getting better, but there’s still a long way to go. With the Big Ten schedule starting now, wins are going to be hard to come by.

14. Rutgers (1-1) *** Last week 14

Last week: Bye week.

This week: Boston College (2-1) at Rutgers, Noon ET. TV: BTN

The skinny: This looked like a spot for a sure loss for Rutgers after Boston College started out 2-0. But a loss to Kansas last week changed everything, because Kansas had lost 48 straight road games to Power 5 teams. That gives the Knights a glimmer of hope that they can do the same thing. Hopefully the bye week helped Rutgers clean up some of its offensive woes.

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