Matt McMaster has released his next set of Big Ten Football Power Rankings.
After an underwhelming performance against Hawaii, Bruins fans were hoping the bye week would give UCLA the rest they needed to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers. They were brutally disappointed after UCLA not only got beat by Indiana, but was dominated by them.
I wasn’t shocked that Notre Dame won the way they did, I’m just shocked at how badly Purdue looked. They couldn’t do anything in the trenches. If they don’t improve their play, they won’t win another game all year.
Good bounce-back win over Eastern Illinois. It doesn’t count for much, but new starting QB Jack Lausch was able to get his feet under him and beating a bad team by a lot won’t hurt you.
They got their tails kicked wire to wire and to add insult to injury lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke for the rest of the season. It’s going be a long year for the Badgers.
I’ll cut them a little slack because this is a rivalry game but the Huskies were a 6-point favorite at home and sputtered in the second half against a beatable opponent.
After stumbling out of the gate vs. Michigan State, the Terps bounced back, knocking off Virginia. Power 5 wins are always a positive in these rankings, hence the jump up for Maryland.
The Gophers dominated against Nevada on both sides of the ball. The Wolfpack had just 172 total yards of offense and Darius Taylor recorded 124 yards with two touchdowns on just 11 carries. Minnesota will welcome the Iowa Hawkeyes to Minneapolis for their biggest test of the young season this week.
The Hoosiers went to LA and did their job against the Bruins. The only way they were going to move the rankings was not only if they won but if they won handily. They did exactly that.
I had honestly never heard of Prairie View until the Spartans played them this week but it was a good win for Michigan State, who are surprisingly 3-0 with a Power 5 win to start the season. They will have a tough test this week when they go on the road to take on a good Boston College squad.
Things got scary for a second for the Hawkeyes but they found their footing in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Troy Trojans. Iowa saw much better quarterback play from Cade McNamara but this offense is still far from being dynamic enough to compete for a championship this year.
Illinois handled their business against CMU with a three possession win. The Illini defense bent but never broke against the Chippewas, holding the MAC squad to three field goals. Quarterback Luke Altmeyer continues to improve for the Illini which will be massive for their postseason hopes.
The Scarlet Knights enter Virginia as a 3.5-point underdog. It will be Rutgers’ first real test of the season but if they play with the same physicality they have from the first two weeks they should be fine against the Hokies.
The first half of the Wolverines’ game against the Red Wolves looked like last year’s Michigan team. The second-half Wolverines looked like the team that got curb-stomped against the Longhorns. First-half Michigan beats USC. Second-half Michigan gets run out of their own building for the second time this season.
Nebraska showed nothing new in their win against Northern Iowa. The defense was great, Dylan Raiola looked his best, and they played at a high level throughout the game. They’ll have a prime time matchup this Friday against No. 24 Illinois at home to prove that the hype is real.
Finally, a blowout for the Ducks. They played a lesser opponent and dominated from bell to bell, closing out strong with a 17-point fourth quarter. This is the type of win Oregon needed heading into conference play.
Penn State is a good team who won’t be an underdog until they go on the road to USC in October. They could be sitting in this three spot for a bit.
I am so excited for the Trojans game against Michigan on the road. A win and a less than stellar showing from Ohio State could launch USC to the top spot in next week’s power rankings.
Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs (2) celebrates after sacking Akron Zips quarterback Ben Finley (10) during the first half of Saturday’s NCAA Division I football game at Ohio Stadium. / Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
No game last week and no reason to move them down from the top spot.
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