This wasn’t exactly a banner week for the Big Ten.
Week 2 had a series of bigger nonconference showdowns, with three Big Ten teams playing SEC teams. The highlight game featured Ohio State at Texas, with Michigan hosting Oklahoma behind it, and then Minnesota hosting Mississippi State. Only one team passed the test. However, the most shocking result was Oregon losing to a not good Big 12 team as it played at Oklahoma State. Illinois, Purdue, and Rutgers also didn’t uphold the banner as each lost to ACC schools in Duke, Wake Forest, and Boston College, respectively.
However, Iowa overtook Iowa State, and everyone else managed against Group of Six teams.
There’s been a major shift across our Big Ten power rankings coming out of Week 2. Here is the
latest.
18. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (0-2)
Last week: 18
Week 2 result: Boston College, Rutgers 21
The two potentially worst teams in the Power Four faced off in the Red Bandana game, and Rutgers won the race to the bottom -- in that it lost the game. The Scarlet Knight offense couldn't quite get enough, though it continues to be solid. But starting out at 0-2 on the season, RU went from the middle-bottom of the Big Ten straight to last. And it appears as if it will stay here for some time.
17. Purdue Boilermakers (1-1)
Last Week: 17
Week 2 result: Wake Forest 38, Purdue 36 (2 OT)
Credit to the Boilermakers for taking a middling ACC team to double overtime, but until it starts to actually get wins in games like these, it's difficult to see where the wins actually are on the schedule. The pass game isn't the problem -- the defense and run game continue to be underwhelming. Perhaps this is a team that's soon not to be relegated to the bottom feeders, and it feels like it may be turning the corner, but it isn't there yet.
16. Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-1)
Last week: 10
Week 1 result: Mississippi State 38, Minnesota 17
This was supposed to be Minnesota's moment in the sun, with a third-tier Big Ten team taking on a third-tier SEC team. Given all of the talk of SEC supremacy having been equalized, this home game for the Gophers was supposed to prove that the conferences had relatively level teams not just at the top, but closer to the middle and bottom. However, the Gophers got blown out quickly, with the Bulldogs scoring 28 first-half points and 10 more in the second half.
The defense was abysmal, allowing nearly 500 yards. But just as confusing is that the Gopher run game was nonexistent, with just 13 yards on 15 carries. The pass game led by Drake Lindsey might be the only thing of note, but with everything else going on in Minneapolis, perhaps there are deeper-seated issues with this team from top-to-bottom.
15. Northwestern Wildcats (1-0)
Last week: 15
Week 2 result: BYE
Northwestern was on bye this week but will start its 11-week slog next week when it hosts Colorado before it goes to Indiana, hosts Penn State, and then returns to nonconference with a game against Ball State.
14. Illinois Fighting Illini (1-1)
Last week: 11
Week 2 result: Duke 31, Illinois 27
Illinois was supposed to be better than this. But, the Blue Devils do have a former standout Big Ten defensive coordinator in Manny Diaz leading the charge, so perhaps they knew what it was going to take to win. Despite having a halftime lead over Duke, the Illinois offense and defense both faltered in the second half, allowing 10 points while scoring only three. The Illini had no answer for Nate Sheppard, and now there is starting to be concern about the defense in Champaign after two straight weeks of not exactly living up to expectations.
They have one week to get right against Southern Illinois, because the next week, they'll be traveling to Columbus, where the offense tends to reign supreme.
13. Michigan State Spartans (2-0)
Last week: 16
Week 2 result: Michigan State 35, Eastern Michigan 7
Credit to Michigan State for going out and having a convincing win, no matter the opponent. The Spartans took a 14-7 lead over the in-state Eagles into the locker room at halftime before scoring 21 unanswered points in the second half. The defense was solid, but the big surprise on Saturday was the emergence of the run game. We'll see next week if MSU can be more competitive against Notre Dame than Wisconsin was in Week 1.
12. Maryland Terrapins (2-0)
Last week: 14
Week 2 result: Maryland 38, UConn 14
Don't look now, but the Terps are 2-0 and continue to roll offensively. Sophomore quarterback Malik Washington continues to impress, managing 347 yards and two touchdowns, making up for a relatively anemic run game. The defense, however -- which had long been optional in College Park -- came to play in Storrs, allowing just 223 yards to the home team, while the offense accounted for 475.
Maryland hasn't played anyone of note yet, but the fact that it's getting solid wins early in the season potentially could carry some benefits down the line. We'll know a lot more next week when the Terrapins host James Franklin and Virginia Tech.
11. Wisconsin Badgers (1-1)
Last week: 14
Week 2 result: Wisconsin 36, Western Illinois 9
The Badgers didn't play a team of note, but it just needed to wipe the sour taste out of their mouth after falling apart in the second half to Notre Dame last week. And it managed to do so, jumping all over Western Illinois in the first half and allowing just three field goals over the course of the game. You'd like to see a more lopsided score against an overmatched opponent, and certainly more success in the pass game and in run defense. But it's a step in the right direction for a team that hasn't had many of those in recent years.
10. Washington Huskies (2-0)
Last week: 6
Week 2 result: Washington 16, Utah State 14
A week after barely beating Washington State, the Huskies barely beat a not-great Utah State team. Sure, the game wasn't quite as close as the two-point score differential would indicate, but Washington never really put Utah State away, either.
The defense was solid, as was quarterback Demond Williams Jr. However, he's essentially the entire offense at this point. The Huskies are going to need to find someone else to make some plays on a regular basis.
9. Iowa Hawkeyes (2-0)
Last week: 9
Week 1 result: Iowa 16, Iowa State 13
It was about as typical of a game between Iowa and its in-state rival as it could be, with the teams looking relatively even and it coming down to the last moment. As usual, this was a defensive showdown, with Hank Brown being the better of the two quarterbacks (both internally and externally) while the Cyclones managed to have the run-game advantage.
It's an escape with a win however you can get it, and the Hawkeyes did just that.
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-0)
Last week: 8
Week 2 result: Nebraska 56, Bowling Green 7
Last week, Nebraska struggled in the first half against Ohio. But in Week 2, it looked like Ohio State -- and against a former Buckeye in Bowling Green head coach Eddie George. It wasn't perfect -- Anthony Colandrea tossed four touchdowns, but one of his four missed passes was an interception. But the run game was fantastic, as was Colandrea in general. Matt Rhule might have something.
7. Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0)
Last week: 6
Week 2 result: Penn State 27, Temple 9
It took a while for the Nittany Lions to get going, but they eventually did. Taking advantage in the third quarter, Rocco Becht led the charge with 268 yards and three touchdowns on 21-for-27 passing. The pass defense looked very good but the run defense is going to need some work against the better Big Ten offenses.
The schedule is amenable until mid-October when Penn State has USC and Michigan back-to-back. But until then, Matt Campbell has time to forge his team.
6. Oregon Ducks (1-1)
Last week: 3
Week 2 result: Oklahoma State 39, Oregon 31
The most shocking outcome of Week 2 was one of the presumed preseason national champion contenders Oregon being taken down by a struggling Oklahoma State team in Stillwater. What made it even more surprising is that it wasn't much of a fluke in-game.
Nothing about the Ducks' offensive game looked good, nor did its defense. Dante Moore looked closer to his tenure at UCLA than any of his time in Eugene. Perhaps just as shocking was that the defense allowed Drew Mestemaker to throw for 317 yards and run for 109 more, while also allowing Caleb Hawkins to run for 110 yards.
This doesn't eliminate Oregon from contention, but it certainly raises major concerns.
5. UCLA Bruins (2-0)
Preseason ranking: 5
Week 2 result: UCLA 28, San Diego State 10
The Bob Chesney era started with a bang, and it's continuing, as the Bruins are now 2-0. San Diego State, despite being a Group of Six team, is no slouch, and though both teams found themselves in a stalemate for some time, UCLA found a way and then piled on late. There are concerns: Nico Iamaleava, as efficient as he was, still isn't quite showing out as much as hoped. But he did enough, and the defense held former Michigan quarterback Jayden Denegal to just 45 yards passing. Meanwhile, his former teammate, Semaj Morgan, had six catches for 73 yards.
Will this ranking hold? It's too early to tell, but at the moment, the Bruins are interesting, at the very least.
4. USC Trojans (3-0)
Last week: 4
Week 2 result: USC 49, Louisiana 30
The good news is that USC continues to show that it's dominant offensively. The bad news is that it was in kind of a fight against a Group of Six opponent.
The Trojans did have a major lead early, with a late night in the Coliseum seeing USC taking a 28-10 halftime lead over Louisiana. But the defense surrendered an additional 20 points in the second half. No, the Cajuns weren't as heroic as Texas this week, but this is the second game in three games where some cracks have appeared in Los Angeles. Perhaps it's nothing, but we'll know more in two weeks when Oregon comes to town.
3. Michigan Wolverines (2-0)
Last week: 12
Week 2 result: Michigan 17, Oklahoma 10
Michigan makes the biggest rise this week as it currently has likely the third-best win in all of college football.
After being a national punchline for a week, the Wolverines were the sole Big Ten team facing an SEC opponent to handle business, shocking the college football world. And the funny thing is they didn't look fully improved -- simply more competent.
The offense ran Bryce Underwood 18 times for 87 yards and a touchdown, and though he only mustered 111 yards on 53% passing, he was effective and deployed in a way that stressed the Oklahoma defense. Speaking of defense, the Wolverines allowed fewer than 300 yards for the second-straight week, and have surrendered only one touchdown through two games.
The Wolverines were the better team in all three phases, but still have a lot to fix. This next week, they'll take on UTEP.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (1-1)
Last week: 1
Week 2 result: Texas 24, Ohio State 23
Ryan Day is often on just about every top 10 coach list up near the top, and he does have a national championship on his resume. However, whenever he loses a game, it's generally a similar script: falling apart in the second half, playing conservative ball in order not to lose, and special teams disasters.
But Saturday may have provided something we've not seen out of the Buckeyes under Day: squandering a 20-point fourth-quarter lead.
Benefiting from two first-quarter turnovers, the Buckeyes jumped all over Texas in Austin, so much so that we turned the game off at halftime. Thankfully, we turned it back on in the fourth quarter, when the Longhorns scored 21 unanswered points and won the game. It would be interesting to see how this game would have gone if Texas hadn't made so many self-inflicted mistakes early in the game. Because Ohio State was riding high early, only to see the early advantage disappear. But at least Jeremiah Smith had eight catches for 164 yards -- with most of that coming in the first half.
1. Indiana Hoosiers (2-0)
Last week: 2
Week 2 result: Indiana 55, Howard 0
Let's be frank: IU has yet to play anyone of note. North Texas provided a challenge for a half in Week 1, but Howard was never going to test the Hoosiers, and wouldn't have even before Curt Cignetti arrived in Bloomington. But credit to the defending champs (both in the Big Ten and nationally) for doing precisely what they were supposed to do. With over 500 yards of offense and a stifling defense that allowed just 57 total yards, Indiana continues to be a force. We'll see more about what it looks like down the stretch, but it's deserving of being No. 1.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Big Ten football power rankings after Week 2: Michigan makes huge jump
