Aside from two nonconference games and a few in-conference games, the Big Ten handled business on Saturday. But the slate wasn't exactly marquee.
Michigan State did lose to Notre Dame, as expected, while Maryland laid an egg against a James Franklin-led Virginia Tech. There were two Big Ten games on Saturday, with UCLA hosting Purdue and Rutgers hosting USC, but other than Northwestern hosting Colorado, there weren't many big games this week.
Michigan blew out UTEP, Indiana routed Western Kentucky, Ohio State destroyed Kent State, Penn State handled Buffalo, Iowa annihilated Northern Iowa, Minnesota beat Akron, Wisconsin eventually overwhelmed Eastern Michigan, Nebraska jumped on North Dakota, Illinois took out Southern Illinois, and Washington
beat Eastern Washington. But not all games were easy.
There’s been a major shift across our Big Ten power rankings coming out of Week 3. Here is the latest.
18. Purdue Boilermakers (1-2)
Last Week: 17
Week 3 result: UCLA 52, Purdue 38
Credit to Purdue's offense for hanging in, but the defense was abysmal against the Bruins. Allowing nearly 400 yards of rushing isn't exactly confidence-inspiring. This doesn't appear to be a team that's turning the corner, and though the Boilermakers made it a game by halftime, it cannot get stops, and it cannot handle teams that have any sort of offense.
17. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (0-3)
Last week: 18
Week 3 result: USC 42, Rutgers 35
Rutgers rose after a loss because it surprisingly made it a game against a ranked USC team after two debilitating losses to UMass and Boston College. It was the most competitive game of the three weeks. If it weren't for Dylan Lonergan's two interceptions, it might have been a different result, so this was a step in the right direction, but it didn't equate to a win.
16. Maryland Terrapins (2-1)
Last week: 12
Week 3 result: Virginia Tech 35, Maryland 26
So much for September magic in College Park.
The Terps had been phenomenal in the first two weeks, but once they finally played a real team, they faltered in a big way. While they fought back, allowing the Hokies to jump out to a big lead didn't help matters. The pass game and run defense were good, but the pass defense and run game were both subpar.
15. Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-1)
Last week: 16
Week 3 result: Minnesota 41, Akron 7
The Gophers rebounded from the Mississippi State loss by dominating Akron. The run game and the defense thrived, but Drake Lindsey didn't exactly take a step forward with just 55% passing for 204 yards. In a game where there should have been fewer mistakes, they still didn't look quite as solid as they did in the first week. With Michigan coming up in a few weeks, we'll know more about Minnesota then.
14. Michigan State Spartans (2-1)
Last week: 13
Week 3 result: Notre Dame 27, Michigan State 10
The offense didn't exactly light things up against the Irish, and yet, MSU made it a game for three quarters. The defense was solid, keeping the No. 3 team to just 27 points at home, but the offense was anemic, at best. Alessio Milivojevic threw for 53% for just 123 yards with two interceptions, and the run game managed just 44 yards on 27 carries. It certainly was a step in the right direction, and surprising given that the Spartans kept it close for as long as they did. But they still feel quite far away, at the same time.
13. Illinois Fighting Illini (2-1)
Last week: 14
Week 3 result: Illinois 48, Southern Illinois 10
The Illini rebounded from the Duke loss by overwhelming the Salukis in almost every way. The offense was mostly phenomenal, with both the run game and pass game both looking good. The run defense was incredible, allowing just over a yard per carry, with 29 yards total allowed. But the pass defense was a little up and down, with the Salukis managing 228 yards through the air. Still, it's a step in the right direction after a letdown game.
12. Wisconsin Badgers (2-1)
Last week: 11
Week 2 result: Wisconsin 54, Eastern Michigan 10
It looked like Wisconsin was in a fight with Eastern Michigan for a long while, with the Eagles holding 7-3 lead over the Badgers in Madison. But an explosive, 28-point second quarter helped Wisconsin pull way, way ahead and it didn't look back. Colton Joseph passed for 362 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, looking much more like Luke Fickell's vision offensively. The run game did just enough, and the defense was stout. Perhaps the Badgers can replicate this and have a better season than expected?
11. Northwestern Wildcats (2-0)
Last week: 15
Week 2 result: Northwestern 41, Colorado 7
The most emphatic result in nonconference play this week came by way of the Wildcats, who dominated the Buffaloes in every facet. Aidan Chiles shined in the Chip Kelly offense as Northwestern accumulated nearly 450 yards offensively. On the other end, the defense stifled Julian Lewis, though it allowed nearly 200 yards rushing. Even still, allowing just one touchdown in the third quarter. Perhaps David Braun has found the winning formula?
10. Washington Huskies (3-0)
Last week: 10
Week 3 result: Washington 48, Eastern Washington 16
Washington ended up winning big, but it took a while to get there, and against a lesser opponent. Though it was a 31-10 lead at halftime, the expectation was that the Huskies wouldn't get there until the final moments of the first half. Credit to UW for finally pulling away, with Demond Williams Jr. leading the charge with nearly 400 yards passing and 33 yards rushing. The defense struggled to stop the run, but the offense was firing on all cylinders. A night game against Minnesota next week should tell us more.
9. Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0)
Last week: 8
Week 3 result: Nebraska 34, North Dakota 7
North Dakota is a solid opponent, and Nebraska handled business. The Huskers took a 17-0 lead into the locker room at half and further pulled away with another 17 points in the second half. The defense was stout, allowing less than 50% passing and only 99 yards rushing. Meanwhile, the run game came alive with almost 300 yards accumulated on the ground. Next week, the Huskers travel to East Lansing, but the real test will come in a few weeks when Indiana comes to town.
8. USC Trojans (4-0)
Last week: 4
Week 2 result: USC 42, Rutgers 35
Yes, it's difficult to travel cross country, but a program such as USC should be above having difficulty playing at Rutgers. And yet, it was a close, tough game. Sure, the offense was good but the defense continues to be a work in progress, to say the least. This feels like a team that could beat anyone due to the offense, but also looks like a team that could lose to anyone with a pulse offensively. And given that this was Rutgers' best game of the season, it's gotta be disheartening that the Trojans allowed the Scarlet Knights to come within a score of potentially winning.
7. Michigan Wolverines (3-0)
Last week: 3
Week 3 result: Michigan 52, UTEP 17
Yes, we dropped Michigan after a blowout win. But that's more due to the other teams ahead who might be a little more complete.
A week after taking care of Oklahoma, UTEP looked more like Western Michigan in the early going. Turnovers, penalties, and poor blocking made the first half close, with the Wolverines going to the locker room at the half with just a three-point lead. However, it exploded in the second half, and the defense was stellar, allowing fewer yards than points scored. Perhaps the maize and blue found something, or it may have just overwhelmed a lesser opponent. We'll know more when Iowa comes to town next week.
6. UCLA Bruins (3-0)
Preseason ranking: 5
Week 3 result: UCLA 52, Purdue 38
OK, so the defense didn't exactly inspire confidence, with Purdue managing to move up and down the field and also putting up 38 points. But the offense was stellar, with 645 yards accumulated. Nico Iamaleava was excellent both through the air and on the ground. Semaj Morgan had four catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Wayne Knight ran for nearly 200 yards on just 18 carries.
But the defense; against the run it was great, but it allowed 425 yards through the air. Bob Chesney's team may be able to beat a lot of the others on the schedule, but given that both UCLA and USC have the same weaknesses, it makes you wonder which will end up coming out on top in that rivalry at year's end.
5. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0)
Last week: 7
Week 2 result: Penn State 55, Kent State 13
This was a much better showing than last week's game against Temple, with the defense particularly showing out. Allowing fewer than 200 yards, the Nittany Lions managed nearly 600 yards of offense. It was a complete game, and given that the only tough opponents on paper are USC, Michigan, and Washington, there's a chance that it could be a special season if Matt Campbell continues to turn things around quickly.
4. Iowa Hawkeyes (3-0)
Last week: 9
Week 3 result: Iowa 55, Northern Iowa 0
Twice this year, Iowa has put up 40 points or more. Yes, you read that right -- through three games, Iowa has put up 40 or more points twice.
Now, let's put things into perspective: Northern Iowa is an FCS team, so it should be overmatched. But that hasn't stopped past Iowa teams from still playing FCS teams close. The pass game was OK, with Hank Brown being perfect, going 12-for-12 for 153 yards with two touchdowns. Jeremy Hecklinski got in and played a little worse, but both combined for 218 yards. However, it was the run game that thrived, with 422 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. The defense was on brand, allowing 155 yards total.
Michigan will have its hands full on Saturday.
3. Oregon Ducks (2-1)
Last week: 6
Week 3 result: Oregon 84, Portland State 0
Poor Portland State, which has long been Oregon's whipping boy. This matchup is always significantly lopsided, but after losing to Oklahoma State last week, it feels like Dan Lanning was trying to exorcise demons by putting up the most points in Ducks history. Does it tell us anything real? No. In fact, it tells us nothing except that Oregon can -- at least against Portland State. But congratulations, you got 84 points, 726 yards of offense, a shutout, and 103 yards allowed on defense.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (2-1)
Last week: 2
Week 3 result: Ohio State 59, Kent State 3
Speaking of exorcising demons, Ohio State did what it tends to against overmatched opponents. Jeremiah Smith became the all-time leading wide receiver in OSU history, which is really saying something. With over 500 yards of offense and 134 defensive yards given up, the bad taste after losing to Texas has been mitigated, and with Illinois coming to town next week, perhaps that will continue. We won't know more until Iowa the next week, Indiana two weeks later, and USC two weeks after that -- with all three of those games being on the road before Oregon comes to town in November.
1. Indiana Hoosiers (3-0)
Last week: 1
Week 3 result: Indiana 38, Western Kentucky
The scoreless first quarter made you wonder, but then IU took away all of that mystery. As expected, everything was on point for the Hoosiers, with 513 yards of offense (quite balanced between the run and the pass) and 186 yards surrendered to a usually explosive Western Kentucky offense. This was ho-hum, but perhaps we'll learn more about the Hoosiers when they face Northwestern next week.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Big Ten power rankings after Week 3: Major shakeup in top 10
