Hello there and welcome to the Big Ten Power Rankings! Each week we’ll rank how the teams across the conference are playing, in the hopes of seeing just who is a contender, and who is a pretender over the course of the season.
The rules are few, but resolute:
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Teams are ranked by how they’re playing at that time. Not body of work, not rankings in the polls, but simply how each team is playing at that point in the season.
The approach to the rankings is not necessarily on the field results (though those do count, as an obvious, tangible data point), but more generally if the two teams played at a neutral site 100 times, which team would win 51 times (or more).
These rankings are subjective. As the author I get to follow the rules as closely or loosely as I want to, and if you don’t like the rankings, you’re wrong.
Week 2 is in the books, and some teams looked dominant, while others . . . not so much. Let’s get to it!
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1. Ohio State
We have a new #1! The Buckeyes beat Grambling State 70-0, which is what top teams are supposed to do to lesser competition.
2. Penn State
What top teams are not supposed to do is struggle to put points on the board until the last 4 minutes of the game. The Lions are still one of the best teams in the conference, but show that they still have some sizable kinks to work out.
3. Oregon
The Ducks put up one of the best wins of the week, beating a Power 4 team in Oklahoma State by the score of 69-3. Oregon may have leveled up to a team that is able to consistently reload instead of having to rebuild. They’re officially into Tier 1 territory.
4. Illinois
The Illini beat Duke 45-19 in a game that was closer than the final score would indicate. Still, a P4 win on the road is a good thing. Illinois stands alone in Tier 2 as a potential playoff team.
5. USC
The Trojans beat Georgia Southern 59-20, keeping them at the top of Tier 3.
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6. Nebraska
The Cornhuskers defeated Akron 68-0, that’s about the long and short of it.
7. Indiana
The Hoosiers took it to Kennesaw State 56-9, moving them up a smidge.
8. Michigan
Sort of as expected, Michigan couldn’t deliver on the road against a top 25 Oklahoma squad, falling 24-13. Some of the off season hype was bewildering to me, so the first couple weeks for the Wolverines were a bit of a feather in my cap. Still a long season to go.
9. Iowa
The Hawkeyes also lost to a ranked opponent, losing to Iowa State 16-13 in ¡El Assico! The defense is still good, but the offense may just never make a difference for the Hawkeyes.
10. Minnesota
I thought about moving some Tier 4 teams up, but feasting on low-level opponents doesn’t yet move the needle for me. Case in point, the Gophers beating Northwestern State 66-0 is a good day, but I need to see more before we start shuffling teams.
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11. Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights beat Miami (OH) 45-17, showing that they may have taken a step from previous years.
12. Wisconsin
A 42-10 win over Middle Tennessee is expected, moving on.
13. Washington
The Huskies put together another solid performance, beating UC Davis 70-10.
14. Michigan State
The Spartans hold onto the top spot in Tier 5 with their 42-40 double overtime win over Boston College. MSU could be a formidable team later this season.
15. Maryland
September Maryland didn’t quite show out, coming away with a 20-9 win over Northern Illinois. More than 2024 Notre Dame can say I guess! Also, this will be the first of three directional Illinois opponents on this list.
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16. Purdue
The Boilermakers officially beat their win total from 2024 with a 34-17 win over Southern Illinois! This’d be the second of three directional Illinoises for those keeping track.
17. Northwestern
Northwestern takes a step up from the bottom of the barrel, defeating Western Illinois 42-7. That’s three directional Illinois schools in one week for the B1G! Funding those Land of Lincoln schools one beatdown at a time.
18. UCLA
Last and definitively least we have UCLA, who lost to UNLV 30-23. The only winless team in the B1G couldn’t beat a Group of 4 team. Could be a long year for the Bruins.
While we all love the squiggles, I’m gonna try to be more even-handed with them this year. Avoid kneejerk reactions to things, know what I’m saying?
Ohio State takes over the top spot, with Penn State slipping. Oregon, Illinois, USC, and Nebraska all hang out near the top with Indiana climbing. Michigan falls, but Iowa, Minnesota, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Washington, Michigan State, Maryland, and Purdue all hold steady. Northwestern moves up a spot, while UCLA completes its tumble into the basement.
On to Week 3!
