Any college football power rankings up until this point have all been what we think we know rather than what we’ve seen on the field of play. Now we have actual games to go by, and while it would be fool-hearty (just like to drop that word when I can) to have a knee-jerk reaction to where things stand, it’s still more than what we had to start.
Here’s your Big Ten football power rankings after one week. Don’t send me hate mail just yet, there’s limited data to go on and I’ve been prepping for a Hurricane, so give a man a break, eh?
14. Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights got off to a good start by winning a real football game. UMass isn’t expected to be much this year, but winning in Piscataway is always worth celebrating no matter who it’s against. We need to see more though.
13. Illinois
That was a pretty good showing by the Illini Saturday with a 42-3 thrashing of a city in the northeastern part of Ohio (Akron). Beating a whole city is not as good as beating a state. Still, Lovie Smith’s beard looks less out of place when Illinois wins, so thumbs up there. Like Rutgers though, we need to see more.
12. Purdue
Congratulations Purdue, you took some pretty high expectations and managed to flush them straight down the toilet. I know it was a road game, but if Jeff Brohm and his new contract are supposed to contend for the West division this year, you don’t lose to Nevada unless gambling is involved.
11. Minnesota
The Golden Gophers might have rowed that boat this past week, but it looked like there were a few broken oars in the water. The Golden Gophers barely got by the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State — in Minneapolis. ‘Nough said. That human energy drink better known as P.J. Fleck better get things going fast.
10. Indiana
The Hoosiers got a little MACtion action by beating the Ball State Cardinals. Indiana can be a tough out if you aren’t on top of your game, but we see the same we’ve seen from Indiana almost every year. A close talker that you run from once you get the message.
9. Maryland
The ‘Terps were mighty impressive, but they beat some man named Howard. The 79-0 score will make people take note, but we’ve seen Maryland look good in the non-conference only to trip on expectations once the Big Ten season gets going. We’ll know a lot more when the game against Syracuse happens next week.
8. Northwestern
I know, I know, the Wildcats got beat in a battle of protractors and Apple products, but it wasn’t a bad effort on the road against a Power 5 opponent in Stanford. The defense looked calculated, but the offense has some theories to work out. I’m actually surprised the spread wasn’t 3.14 in this one.
7. Nebraska
Maybe we should stop the hype train just a little for Scott Frost and the ‘Huskers. We always thought the expectations to be a little corny anyway. There will be improvement by this squad, but quarterback Adrian Martinez and the offense did not look good against South Alabama. It’s good when you can beat USA, just not that USA.
6. Iowa
The Hawkeyes looked like the Hawkeyes on Saturday. There was some good, some bad, but a fundamental type of day in Iowa City. This team will probably have a lot of close games and it’ll depend on where the 50/50 games go as to what kind of season Kirk Ferentz has. No matter what happens, he’ll probably get another contract extension for something not so noteworthy.
5. Michigan State
We kind of forgot about Sparty because it played prior to Saturday, but it was a ho-hum business-like win over Tulsa. Basically, the Spartans look like a solid club, but it’s doubtful there’s enough offense to be at the top of the league.
4. Penn State
The Nittany Lions looked like spuds, — er studs against Idaho. There’s some nice talent across the board in Happy Valley but it’ll all boil down to the quarterback spot. Sean Clifford looked good this week, but let’s wait to see what happens against stiffer competition.
3. Michigan
If you’re a Wolverine fan, you had to like what you saw at times Saturday, but the offense still looks like a work in progress. Give this team time and it could be a problem down the road. If not, we have a feeling those khakis are going to get worn out.
2. Wisconsin
The Badgers probably had the best win of the first week. It went on the road to play in the heat, humidity and rain at South Florida and walked away with a 49-0 victory. The defense looks much improved, and Jonathan Taylor is going to be a handful all season behind the O-line. Queue up the brats and cheese again.
1. Ohio State
The Buckeyes looked fantastic early on behind Justin Fields and jumped all over Lane Kiffin Atlantic. Things stalled in the middle of the game, but the talent is noticeable and impressive — especially the defense when the first team was in. This squad has a huge upside and will improve with the best talent in the league to work with.
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