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:
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 1 is in the books, and while most teams were able to notch victories, not everyone was . . . and some looked downright awful in the process. Let’s get to it!
1. Penn State
The Lions beat Nevada 46-11 in a game that was never in doubt, showing that Penn State is picking up right where it left off. Improvements in the passing game were notable, as was the defense which didn’t skip a beat.
2. Ohio State
The biggest win across the conference belongs to the Buckeyes, who defeated #1 Texas 14-7. In other years this likely would have been enough to vault OSU to the top spot, but I think Penn State is the real deal, while I’m not sold on Texas being #back just yet.
3. Oregon
The Ducks throttled Montana State 59-13, not much to say about it really other than it keeps Oregon at the top of Tier 2.
4. Illinois
The Illini throttled Western Illinois 52-3, not much to say about it really.
5. USC
The Trojans throttled Missouri State 73-3, and while there isn’t much to say about it, it does mark the strongest win in Tier 3, moving them to the top of the bunch.
6. Nebraska
The Cornhuskers defeated Cincinnati 20-17, in a one-score game that likely goes a different way for Big Red in the past. Still, this was a win over a Big 12 team, another strong statement from this group of teams.
7. Michigan
Perhaps my anti-Michigan bias is showing, but a 34-17 win over New Mexico just seems meh. Not a bad win by any means, but just not as strong as I was expecting from the Wolverines.
8. Indiana
Another blah win, the Hoosiers beat Old Dominion 27-14. At one point Indiana was losing, and it took a full game to put away the Monarchs. For a team coming off a playoff berth, I expected more.
9. Iowa
Another year, another Iowa team gonna Iowa. This time the Hawkeyes put away Albany 34-7, but only managed 48 yards of passing and at one point was losing 7-3. An inauspicious start to the season!
10. Minnesota
The Tier 4 teams played okay, so we’re really just splitting hairs on how good the wins were. Minnesota beat Buffalo 23-10, for a solid-if-not-spectacular showing from the Golden Gophers.
11. Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights took everything Ohio could dole out, and just barely squeaked out a 34-31 win. A win is a win but this may portend things to come.
12. Wisconsin
Speaking of, a win by 17 is a good day at the office – but only beating Miami (Ohio) 17-0 leaves something to be desired.
13. Washington
The Huskies actually got one of the more solid wins in this group, beating Colorado State 38-21.
14. Michigan State
This is Tier 5, where Michigan State’s defense managed to keep Western Michigan’s offense off the scoreboard. Unfortunately the WMU defense chimed in, resulting in a 23-6 win for Sparty.
15. Maryland
September (August) Maryland is in full effect as the Terrapins beat FAU 39-7. Let’s see how the rest of the month shakes out.
16. Purdue
Doth mine eyes deceive me?! Purdue matched its 2024 win total with an opening victory over Ball State, 31-0. Another win and the Boilermakers may permanently move out of the basement!
17. UCLA
And here we have Tier 6, AKA The Basement, and currently home to the only two teams that did not manage a win in week 1. UCLA got thuh-ROTTLED by Utah, 43-10. Things don’t look good down in sunny SoCal.
18. Northwestern
As bad as UCLA was, at least their loss was to a Power 4 team. Northwestern got blasted by 20 points by Tulane, losing 23-3. Going to be a long year in Evanston.
The squiggles are coming, the squiggles are coming!
Penn State, Ohio State, Oregon, and Illinois all hang out at the top. USC and Nebraska rise, with Michigan and Indiana moving down. Iowa, Minnesota, Rutgers, Wisconsin, and Washington all hold steady in the middle. Michigan State, Maryland, and Purdue (yes, Purdue!) climb, with UCLA and Northwestern moving into the basement.
On to Week 2!
