It was a rough week for the Big Ten. The projected top two teams in Oregon and Ohio State both lost, the Ducks in humiliating fashion against the team with the longest losing streak in the FBS. Several teams underwhelmed against lesser competition or struggled in their first bouts with power conference foes. Here’s our power rankings now that week two is in the books:
18. Rutgers
Rutgers is 0-2. It has the worst loss in the league to UMass. It can’t keep possession of the football. Its run defense has crumbled two weeks in a row. Things aren’t looking good in New Brunswick. Wide receiver KJ Duff continues to be the lone slice of hope for Scarlet Knight fans, producing another triple-digit week. If the rest of the offense can protect the ball, Duff has emerged as a clear top five receiver in the league who can help the offense build big leads, but the turnovers are too big of an obstacle for Duff to overcome singlehandedly for now.
17. Michigan State
The Spartans took care of business this week. It was a big improvement for Michigan State, leaving no doubt against an inferior Eastern Michigan team. Alessio Milivojevic and Cam Edwards were both dominant for the Spartan offense in week two. If they can build off of this in week three against Notre Dame, the Spartans are a top contender to skyrocket next week.
16. Purdue
The Boilermakers were so, so close to a Power 4 win. Purdue took Wake Forest to double overtime on Saturday, failing a two-point conversion to keep the game alive. It was an impressive outing for the Purdue offense, particularly running back Fame Ijeboi, who ran for 114 yards and 3 touchdowns. Now, it’s just about finishing. Still, that’s 21 straight Power 4 losses (including games against Notre Dame) to the Boilermakers. This is as high as they can rise before proving more.
15. Northwestern
The Wildcats were on bye this week.
14. Minnesota
The Golden Gophers got rocked by Mississippi State. The defense didn’t make a single stop in the first half and the offense was inefficient. The Bulldogs are a good team this year and the Gopher offense protected the ball, but the defense’s abysmal first half caused Minnesota to drop.
13. Maryland
Once again, the Terps took care of business against lesser competition. Malik Washington threw for 347 yards while protecting the football, Maryland ran for 3 touchdowns as a team, and the defense held UConn to 223 yards of total offense. The only thing left to prove for Maryland is that they can do it against power conference competition.
12. Illinois
Illinois had every chance to beat Duke. The Illini offense shut down in the fourth quarter, turning the ball over on downs twice and throwing an interception. Convert any of those drives into touchdowns (or two into field goals), and Illinois walks away with a win. Quarterback Katin Houser exemplified Illinois’s issues on Saturday, throwing for 271 yards and 3 touchdowns but throwing the late pick. Illinois played well in the first three quarters and was in position to win, hence not falling further, but the Illini need to close out games moving forward.
11. Wisconsin
After a stout defensive first half followed by total collapse in week one, the Badgers are in the win column. The offense was the epitome of efficiency, averaging over 7.5 yards per play, while the defense held Western Illinois out of the end zone for the entire game. The Badgers will need to prove an ability to take home wins against power conference foes, but an excellent half of football against Notre Dame combined with a dominant performance this week finds them in the middle of the pack.
10. Nebraska
After rocky-at-best execution in week one, the first four plays of week two for the Huskers looked like more of the same. Anthony Colandrea’s early interception combined with Nebraska corners getting bailed out by penalties at the line of scrimmage on the Blackshirts’ first two defensive plays seemed like a sign that Bowling Green would be no different from Ohio. From there, the Huskers scored five straight touchdowns to end the first half, four of which came from passes by Colandrea. It was the best quarterback play Nebraska has seen in years and was a huge sign for optimism. The Huskers can’t rise any higher this week until they prove that the clean game on Saturday wasn’t a fluke, but the kick-to-whistle dominance was a sign for Nebraska fans that this year might be different.
9. Washington
Washington escaped a devastating loss on Saturday. The defense was stout, forcing three interceptions and holding Utah State under 100 rushing yards, but the offense struggled to get anything going, averaging just 6.2 yards per pass and 3.1 yards per rush. Quarterback Demond Williams’ accuracy was unusually shaky. A slow offensive day in a rivalry game against a recent power conference foe in Washington State is one thing. Two poor showings, the latter of which had none of those mitigating circumstances, is another.
8. Oregon
That was certainly unexpected. The Ducks simply collapsed in Week Two against Oklahoma State, snapping the Cowboys’ 12-game losing streak, at the time the longest in the FBS. Last week, it was unclear whether Boise State’s big week in the air was due to the strength of the Broncos’ passing game or the weakness of the Ducks’ secondary. This week, the Duck defense was exposed again, allowing OSU quarterback Drew Mestemaker to go for 416 yards of total offense and 3 total touchdowns. Dante Moore certainly didn’t look like a Heisman candidate this week, but at the end of the day, he wasn’t the problem. The Ducks need to figure out their defensive issues before the start of Big Ten play, or they’ll find themselves out of the playoff picture well before December.
7. UCLA
The Bruins might be off to the second-hottest start in the Big Ten. A rivalry win over former Pac 12 foe Cal in week one and a dominant rushing performance against one of the Group of 6’s best in San Diego State in week two? That’s a resume the rest of the Big Ten is dreaming of this week with one exception- we’ll get to that later. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava struggled against the Aztecs, throwing for just 151 yards and an interception, but Wayne Knight’s 3-touchdown day spearheaded a run game that generated 214 yards, offsetting Iamaleava’s subpar performance. The pass defense completely shutdown San Diego State, allowing just 47 passing yards for Aztec quarterback Jayden Denegal. Everyone above the Bruins has either more proven talent or more proven coaching, but UCLA is hitting nothing but green lights so far.
6. Michigan
The Michigan defense is elite.really, really good. Say what you want about the week one result, the Wolverines have allowed just 11 points per game against a pair of playoff hopefuls to start the season. That’s a championship-level building block. That said, Michigan has to figure out the offense. The run game was much improved in week two, but Bryce Underwood’s struggles in the passing game continued, throwing for just 111 passing yards this week. Whether the answer is Underwood or somewhere down the depth chart, Michigan needs to figure out its passing game to return to the playoff conversation.
5. Penn State
Has Penn State played anyone of note? No. The Nittany Lions have looked dominant against their weaker competition, though. Rocco Becht had another week of solid fundamental football, throwing for 3 touchdowns in the victory over Temple, while the defense allowed just 4.7 yards per pass attempt. The Nittany Lions will need to tighten the belt against the run game after allowing the Owls to rush for 5.3 yards per carry, but with another tune-up against Buffalo before entering Big Ten play, the Nittany Lions are on the right trajectory.
4. Iowa
Remember how UCLA was off to the second-best start in the league? Iowa is at the top. After back-to-back years losing the CyHawk game on game-winning field goals, the trophy came back to Iowa City following a physical Hawkeye win over Iowa State. Kamari Moulton and the Iowa offensive line didn’t look as electric as expected against the Cyclones, and the Hawkeyes have one final week to decide how much they trust quarterback Hank Brown after keeping his depth of target and difficulty of throw low in weeks one and two. This week’s matchup with Northern Iowa is a chance for Brown to build his confidence ahead of conference play and for the coaching staff to evaluate just how much to loosen the leash on the first-year starter.
3. Indiana
The first domino fell. With Oregon’s loss to Oklahoma State, Indiana begins its march up the league power rankings. The Hoosiers once again dominated their lesser competition, this week in the form of Howard. The team’s question marks remain, particularly around starting quarterback Josh Hoover’s ability to perform when the lights shine brightest, but while we wait for an atmosphere like that to materialize for Indiana, 296 team rushing yards will do just fine for the offense.
2. USC
The game was over much sooner than the scoreline says for USC, as the Trojans gave up 3 second-half touchdowns after leading 35-10 in the third quarter. Jayden Maiava continues to fill the stat sheet, throwing 5 touchdown passes against Louisiana on Saturday. With a matchup against Rutgers on the slate this week, the Trojans’ first real test will come in week four against Oregon, when we’ll have the first opportunity to see how USC’s defense holds up against high-level competition.
1. Ohio State
Yes, the Buckeyes lost. They also held a 23-3 lead entering the fourth quarter against the now-No. 1 team in the nation. They also had an opportunity to seal the game with a late field goal. Yes, that’s a sentence Ohio State fans have heard too many times, and it’s a problem that Ryan Day needs to address in his special teams room, but Ohio State had every opportunity to win this game and was the better team for the first 45 minutes of football. Ohio State’s offense needs to become less reliant on Jeremiah Smith. He’s the best player in the country, but no receiver should be accounting for nearly half of their team’s total yardage. The run game needs to become more explosive with the Buckeyes’ longest run of the night clocking in at just 11 yards. This team has flaws, and they were exposed on Saturday. Even with those flaws, they were inches away from knocking off the Longhorns. For now, Ohio State remains the team to beat in the Big Ten.