The first week of the Big Ten season saw teams fall from the top and to the bottom of the rankings. With a loss to Iowa, Penn State drops to fourth, while Michigan State's slide drops them to 10th in the rankings. Ohio State moves to the top after soundly beating Illinois. Iowa jumps to second. On to the rankings. Last week's rank in parenthesis.
1. (3) Ohio State (1-0, 3-1) - USC was the last opponent to score on the Buckeyes following a second straight shutout. While a downpour helped limit offensive yardage, the Buckeye D held the Illini to 170 total yards. With top-ranked teams falling left and right, Ohio State's early loss might be long forgotten if they find themselves back in the national championship picture.
2. (4) Iowa (1-0, 4-0) - Northern Iowa who? Iowa's offense didn't have to do a whole lot against Penn State with the special teams and defense scoring points. The secondary - possibly the best in the Big Ten - limited PSU QB Darryl Clark to a dismal 12-for-32 with three interceptions. The Hawkeyes have a cupcake game next week at home against Arkansas State.
Follow the jump for the rest of the rankings.
3. (2) Michigan (1-0, 4-0) - Although the Wolverines pulled out the victory against Indiana to top last year's win total, there are still questions about the team. IU QB Ben Chappell methodically picked apart the secondary, while the offensive line shuffle looked vulnerable.
4. (1) Penn State (0-1, 3-1) - The Nittany Lions did not dominate their non-conference schedule as a top-ten team should. With a tougher opponent in Iowa, the Lions' flaws were exposed. Temple's d-line frustrated Clark last week and the Hawkeye secondary picked him apart this week. Penn State takes on a struggling Illinois team next week.
5. (5) Minnesota (1-0, 3-1) - The Golden Gophers could be a game from bowl eligibility in just two weeks. With just one loss to California, the Gophers are creeping up these power rankings. Against Northwestern, Minnesota won with methodical scoring drives and an efficient offense.
6. (8) Wisconsin (1-0, 4-0) - Last week, I said the Badgers were hard to read. After a win against Michigan State, all that can and should be said about them is they are 4-0. Badger QB Scott Tolzien threw for 243 yards and 4 TDs without an interception to have a career-best day. Wisconsin has forced a Big Ten-best 12 turnovers on defense.
7. (9) Indiana (0-1, 3-1) - Are they "for real"? Here's the good - RB Darius Willis had a breakout game against Michigan. The bad? Penalties came back this week, and IU tumbled to last in the conference with 31 penalties. The ugly? IU scored one red zone touchdown in five attempts.
8. (10) Northwestern (0-1, 2-2) - Wildcat QB Mike Kafka has put up big numbers, leading the conference in passing yards per game. But the Wildcats have given up 10 turnovers in their first four games. Saturday against Minnesota, Kafka threw one interception and the team coughed up two fumbles.
9. (7) Illinois (0-1, 1-2) - The Illini haven's scored a point since Sept. 12. OK, so there was a rest week in there, but a 30-0 stinker against Ohio State provided some paltry offensive numbers. QB Juice Williams completed just 77 passing yards and ran for 18 yards on 15 attempts. In a loss to Wisconsin, Michigan State had two quarterbacks each throw for more yards than the Illini's total offense (170 yards) against the Buckeyes.
10. (6) Michigan State (0-1, 1-3) - Speaking of Michigan State's quarterbacks, Keith Nichol and Kirk Cousins combined for 396 passing yards, but also threw a total of three interceptions. The Spartans' four turnovers doubled the amount of giveaways from its non-conference season. Now, the Spartans hope to stop a three-game slide against a top-25 team and rival Michigan.
11. (11) Purdue (0-1, 1-3) - Purdue and Michigan State could really be tied for the bottom spot here. Purdue fans are quick to question coach Danny Hope's timeout in the last minute of the game, but what about Notre Dame's drive preceding the timeout? Needing a stop to win the game, the Boilers gave up a 12-play ND drive that chewed up clock and finished off the game.
What are your thoughts? Does Penn State fall to fourth? Does Indiana deserve to be seventh? Share your opinion.
