1. Ohio State (-)
The Buckeyes were at the top of our writers’ preseason rankings, and they stay that way through two weeks of college football. After a tough win at home over Texas that slotted them into No. 1 in the country per the AP Poll, the Buckeyes followed with an outright dominant victory over FCS Grambling State that only affirmed their spot at the top of the mountain. The next big test for OSU comes in a couple of weeks when it travels to Seattle to face Washington.
2. Oregon (+1)
Oregon
has quietly looked like one of the best teams not just in the conference, but in the country, possibly behind just the reigning national champions. After the loss of a slew of veterans to last year’s roster that earned the No. 1 seed, head coach Dan Lanning has wasted no time getting right back to the standard he expects from his program. Redshirt-sophomore quarterback Dante Moore is looking like a serious Heisman candidate, alongside a defense that has scored about as many points (14) as it has given up (16).
3. Penn State (-1)
After being many experts’ national champion pick heading into the season, Penn State has yet to look the part of a top contender in this year’s college football landscape. Although the Nittany Lions haven’t yet had a real test on their schedule — nor do they get one until Oregon comes to town on Sept. 27 — the combination of experience and talent on this roster is undeniable. It’s just a question of whether they can put it all together.
4. Illinois (+2)
Going into Week One, the Fighting Illini were a very polarizing team for many. Some viewed them as dark horse College Football Playoff contenders, while others thought they were pretenders riding on the coattails of an impressive finish from the season prior. Thus far, Illinois looks like the former: after dismantling Western Illinois, Luke Altmyer and Co. took care of business in Durham, beating Duke 45-19 after many picked the Blue Devils to pull off the upset. Riding high with its first top-10 ranking since 2001, it’s still yet to be seen if Illinois can truly hang with the teams still in front of it.
5. Indiana (-)
After a miraculous season that saw the Hoosiers improve from an abysmal 3-9 to making the CFP, this season IU has looked… average. Beginning the year ranked 20th, Indiana has not done much to move the needle, with mediocre victories over Old Dominion and Kennesaw State to open the year. After an in-state battle against Indiana State this Friday, we’ll see what IU is really made of when it welcomes in the aforementioned Illini the following weekend.
6. Michigan (-2)
After kicking off the year with a victory over New Mexico that felt a little too close for comfort, the Wolverines fell to Oklahoma in Norman in a game in which Sherrone Moore and Co. simply looked out-coached. Although Michigan took a bit of a tumble in the rankings, hope is not lost: the silver lining from the opening weeks has been freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, who has (mostly) looked the part of his five-star ranking. With the foundation they have at QB, figuring out how to maximize the weapons around him will be the big question mark for Michigan going forward.
7. USC (-)
USC only remains in this spot because it is so hard to tell just how good it could be. The Trojans have yet to face anything close to a challenge, having only beaten up on inferior opponents in Missouri State and Georgia State. If there are any takeaways from this team so far, it’s that Jayden Maiava could be in the Heisman race come December.
8. Iowa (-)
New year, same team. That seems to be the motto for all-time coaching great Kirk Ferentz, who always seems to build nearly unstoppable defenses, but cannot pair them with a functioning offense. This year, to no one’s surprise, has looked no different. Putting up 34 points in Week One was nice (even if to Albany), but a tough loss to No. 16 Iowa State this past weekend only put to light the lack of talent outside of transfer QB Mark Gronowski.
9. Nebraska (+1)
The Cornhuskers have done exactly what they’re supposed to through the first couple of weeks. After winning a tight one against Cincinnati, they took care of business in a beatdown against Akron this past weekend. The Dylan Raiola-Jacory Barney Jr. connection seems to be developing, and Emmett Johnson has been one of the most efficient running backs in the Big Ten so far. The Huskers will get their first real chance at proving something when they welcome Michigan in two weeks, although Raiola will have to put on his best Mahomes impression to come away with the win.
10. Washington (-1)
The Huskies didn’t exactly impress with a 17-point win over Colorado State in the opener, but they made up for it with a 70-0 shellacking of UC Davis the following weekend. While Demond Williams Jr. continues to develop under center, he has one of the best runners in the country beside him in Jonah Coleman (288 rushing yards, seven touchdowns, 7.4 yards per carry).
11. Minnesota (-)
After a couple of tune-up games to begin the year, the Golden Gophers look about as good as everyone had expected heading into the year. While freshman QB Drake Lindsey comes into his own, Koi Perich is putting on his best Travis Hunter impression, already having two catches for 36 yards as a receiver. This week’s matchup against Cal is sure to tell us a lot more about this Minnesota team, though.
12. Michigan State (+2)
In possibly the best game of the season so far that went under many people’s noses, Michigan State pulled out a double-overtime thriller over Boston College, winning 42-40. Aidan Chiles continues to show flashes under center, but it will take a lot more progress from the Long Beach native if Sparty truly wants to compete in the Big Ten.
13. Wisconsin (-)
A couple of expected victories over Miami (Ohio) and Middle Tennessee State don’t tell us all that much about Wisconsin thus far. Possibly the biggest storyline has been San Diego State transfer Danny O’Neil taking the starting job from coveted Maryland transfer Billy Edwards Jr. as the offense works out its growing pains. The time to settle in has come to an end, however, as the Badgers head south to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama.
14. Maryland (+3)
An opening weekend win over Florida Atlantic looked quite convincing, but the Terrapins unfortunately followed it up with a tight one against Northern Illinois that was close well into the fourth quarter. The bright spot for Maryland has been freshman sensation Malik Washington, who has already passed for over 500 yards and five touchdowns, but could use a little work on his accuracy.
15. Northwestern (-)
A beatdown at Tulane in Week One had many thinking that Preston Stone might not be all that, after all. But the SMU transfer rebounded in a big way, showing off his arm and IQ in a lopsided win over Western Illinois. NU, however, will need to pivot after devastating news that graduate student running back Cam Porter is out for the season after suffering an injury against the Leathernecks.
16. Rutgers (-)
An opening night win over Ohio didn’t look all that impressive after the Scarlet Knights just scathed by with a 34-31 win, but it looks a lot better after the Bobcats beat West Virginia this past weekend. There might not be a ton of standalone talent on this roster, but the Scarlet Knights remain well-coached and able to compete against anybody.
17. Purdue (+1)
Many of us at INU picked Purdue to finish dead last yet again. Already, the Boilermakers have matched their win total from a year ago. It might have been against Ball State and Southern Illinois, but a glimmer of hope is there for the Purdue faithful, even if they still await the five Top 25 matchups left in their schedule.
18. UCLA (-6)
This much of a slide may be a bit of an exaggeration, but at the end of the day, the Bruins are the only 0-2 team in the entire conference and did not look good in either of their losses. After getting the short end of the stick in a 43-10 loss to former Pac-12 foe Utah, they fell to UNLV 30-23 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates. Getting Nico Iamaleava was nice, but the rest of this team needs a lot of work.
