Big Ten power rankings after Week 1: New No. 1 to start the season

The 2024 college football season isn’t just officially underway, it’s in full swing, with all 18 teams in the extended Big Ten having played their first games over the course from Thursday to Sunday.

For most teams, it was a slow start, but some started to look to be in midseason form by the end of the game. Ohio State and Penn State impressed, Oregon and Michigan held on, USC found itself in a thriller with LSU, MSU struggled against FAU, Rutgers and Maryland impressed, UCLA by Hawaii, Minnesota lost after missing a walk-off field goal against North Carolina, Indiana and Purdue looked improved, and the rest of the conference simply won.

Now that we have a game under our belt, here is how we’re ranking the state of the Big Ten as of current. Note that our ratings are based on data points and these rankings will change dramatically over the course of the season.

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 1/2

Biggest win: vs. Akron, 52-6

Ohio State got off to a real slow start and transfer quarterback Will Howard struggled in the early going, but eventually both the offense and defense settled in to make this one look like a vintage Buckeye season opener. Freshman wideout Jeremiah Smith is a beast and the defense continues to look dominant. This will be the team to beat until we see OSU clash with Oregon in October.

Record: 3-9

Hi/Lo: 2/4

Biggest win: at West Virginia, 34-12

The defense was dominant, the offense suddenly had a dynamic look under offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, and the Nittany Lions left Morgantown looking like they have maybe turned the corner. James Franklin still made some his usual bonehead decisions, but this win on Saturday was as impressive as they come.

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 3/8

Biggest win: vs. No. 13 LSU, 27-20

The defense was the surprise for USC in D’Anton Lynn’s defensive coordinator debut. And now this Trojans team looks like it very well could play with anyone in the Big Ten. The offense doesn’t look quite as dynamic as it has, but Miller Moss has been very good at quarterback taking over for former Heisman winner, Caleb Williams. Don’t look now, but USC has the best win thus far in the 2024 college football season.

15. Iowa Hawkeyes

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 4/5

Biggest win: vs. Illinois State, 40-0

The start of the game looked like vintage Iowa — a strong defense with a moribund offense. But suddenly, the offense woke up. Cade McNamara threw with purpose en route to 251 yards passing and three touchdowns. The Hawkeyes got over 200 yards rushing, as well — both things we’ve seen Iowa struggle with as of late. Yes, it was a meager opponent, but in recent years, Iowa couldn’t move the ball against air, so this was a huge improvement.

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 3/5

Biggest win: vs. Fresno State, 30-10

Were the Wolverines vanilla on Saturday or are there real problems offensively for Michigan football? The maize and blue didn’t ask new starting quarterback Davis Warren to do much, which may have been by design. The defense was still dominant, holding Fresno State to just nine yards rushing, but over 200 yards through the air. We’ll find out more next week when the Wolverines host Texas.

13. Oregon Ducks

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 1/6

Biggest win: vs. Idaho, 24-14

Excuse me, but what was that, Oregon? The Ducks are our national championship favorite and yet they struggled mightily against an FCS team. Statistically, Dillon Gabriel was amazing, but the run game didn’t help him out much. The defense was good, and turnovers forced it to be even better. But this game was too close for comfort and it was not a good showing for Oregon.

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 6/7

Biggest win: vs. UTEP, 40-7

Dylan Raiola had a solid college football debut and Nebraska looked legit, albeit against a bad UTEP team. The only reason we have the Huskers falling from the preseason ranking is due to USC’s performance against ranked LSU. But fans in Lincoln should be very happy with the trajectory of this team.

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 7/8

Biggest win: vs. Howard, 44-7

Howard isn’t exactly a tough opponent but this game wouldn’t have been a gimme just a few short years ago. Minnesota transfer quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis is precisely what the Scarlet Knights needed on offense and this is clearly a team on the rise.

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 9/9

Biggest win: vs. UConn, 50-7

UConn isn’t a great team but it’s on the rise with Jim Mora Jr. at the helm. And Maryland beat the brakes off the Huskies. The defense was humming, the offense hasn’t skipped a beat with Billy Edwards taking over for Taulia Tagovailoa. This could be a very good season for the Terps.

9. Washington Huskies

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 10/10

Biggest win: vs. Weber State, 35-3

Weber State is a weak opponent but considering Jedd Fisch’s debut was better than Jimmy Lake’s 2021 season-opening loss to Montana, this was a breath of fresh air in Seattle. Will Rogers was solid at quarterback and the pass defense was stellar. It will interesting to see if this team can make some noise this year.

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 11/11

Biggest win: vs. Western Michigan, 28-14

Kind of a ho-hum win over an OK MAC team, the run game was excellent and former Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke was fine in his Badger debut. Not sure if this is a team that will make noise in Luke Fickell’s second season but there’s something to build upon.

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 12/13

Biggest win: vs. Eastern Illinois, 45-0

Luke Altmeyer was electric in his season debut, tossing four touchdowns, but even better is that he didn’t turn the ball over. The defense was excellent and Bret Bielema will have this team closer to what it was in 2022 than in 2023.

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 13/16

Biggest win: vs. FIU, 31-7

Blowout wins over mediocre Group of Five teams was no gimme under Tom Allen’s IU, but Curt Cignetti’s team impressed in his debut. It will be interesting to see what the confident head coach can do with his new-look Hoosiers. The game featured a dominant run game and incredible defensive play.

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 12/14

Biggest win: vs. Miami (Ohio), 13-6

The big mojo from David Braun’s interim year have worn off and Northwestern looked pretty much even with a MAC team. A touchdown was the difference and though the defense was OK, the offense isn’t much to write home about.

Record: 0-1

Hi/Lo: 14/15

Biggest win: none

Minnesota actually looked OK, mostly on defense, but threw away a golden opportunity to beat a Power Four team in UNC. There was some questionable decision-making by PJ Fleck late in the game, settling for a long field goal after his kicker had already missed from the same place on the field on the same hashmark. This team is a work in progress.

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 16/18

Biggest win: vs. Indiana State, 49-0

Indiana State isn’t exactly a formidable foe but Purdue showed marked improvement year over year. Hudson Card missed only one throw and the run game was excellent in the season opener. The defense has really come around so it will be interesting to see if this team rises.

2. Michigan State Spartans

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 15/17

Biggest win: vs. FAU, 16-10

Oh boy. OK, the good is that the defense was very good — something that had been lacking under Mel Tucker. But everything else was bad. Aidan Chiles struggled at quarterback and the offensive line looked like a low Group of Five squad. Keeping in mind that FAU is not a good team, this was a troubling start for the Spartans.

Record: 1-0

Hi/Lo: 17/18

Biggest win: at Hawaii, 16-13

For most of the game, it looked as if UCLA was going to lose to Hawaii. The same Hawaii that’s a doormat for even the worst of teams. The run game was terrible but the rushing defense was actually pretty good. But this was a bad showing to start the year. Welcome to the Big Ten!

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Big Ten power rankings after Week 1: New No. 1 to start the season