Big Ten Power Rankings: Michigan, Penn State thrive as Ohio State struggles

Big Ten Power Rankings: Michigan, Penn State thrive as Ohio State struggles originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Week 1 of the Big Ten football season extended out over the course of four days, and while many of the conference’s power schools had good openers, there are plenty of questions remaining moving forward.

The reigning conference champions held serve at home, with Michigan knocking off East Carolina at the Big House. Penn State also did what they needed to against West Virginia, while Wisconsin blew out Buffalo at Camp Randall.

The Ohio State Buckeyes did get a conference win against Indiana, but their offense struggled to get into gear throughout the first half, leaving questions about their current status.

Here are our power rankings after Week 1.

14 Northwestern Wildcats

The losing streak is now at 12 for Northwestern, who didn’t get into the red zone until their final drive of the game with Ben Bryant under center.

The Wildcats managed just 201 yards of offense in all, with Bryant throwing for 169 yards and the Wildcats combining for just 12 yards on the ground.

Needless to say, there will be plenty of conversation around whether the Wildcats will switch to Brendan Sullivan for next week’s game.

13 Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Cornhuskers were hoping to get off to a hot start with Jeff Sims under center, but despite the struggles of Minnesota they were only able to put up 10 points, with Sims throwing three interceptions.

The good news? Sims did rush for 91 yards, and Gabe Ervin had 55 yards on the ground. The bad news? The Cornhuskers’ next game is against Colorado, fresh off an upset win over TCU in their season opener.

12 Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana faced a tough opening test against Ohio State, and they only registered 153 yards of offense in the loss. Brendan Sorsby struggled badly, and Tayven Jackson only got limited time.

The good news? They held Ohio State to 2-of-12 on third down in the game, and they forced Kyle McCord into some bad decisions as well, so there’s room to grow for the Hoosier defense.

11 Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Rutgers was dealt a tough hand in terms of their early schedule, with Virginia Tech and Michigan looming on their slate, but they did what they needed to do in their opener, handling Northwestern with ease in a 24-7 win.

Gavin Wimsatt had 201 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, while Kyle Monangai rushed for 50 yards and a score.

If Rutgers can knock off Temple next week, they’ll likely find themselves rising up these rankings.

10 Purdue Boilermakers

The Boilermakers got a really nice performance out of Hudson Card in his Purdue debut, with 254 yards and two touchdowns, but they had zero answers for a Fresno State offense that put up 487 all-purpose yards in the game.

Mikey Keene decimated Purdue for 366 yards and four scores through the air, and Elijah Gilliam had 93 yards on the ground. That is not a recipe for success for the Boilermakers, who are working in numerous new starters on the defensive side of the football.

Oh, and their next two games are at Virginia Tech and Syracuse.

9 Michigan State Spartans

You can be forgiven if you turned this game off at halftime, as Michigan State scored seven points and struggled badly to move the football against Central Michigan.

In the second half, the Spartans came alive, with Noah Kim ultimately throwing for 279 yards and two touchdowns. Nathan Carter went for 113 yards and a score on the ground, giving the Spartans a good mix of run and pass that could serve them well moving forward.

8 Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois had a tough first contest against the reigning MAC champion Toledo Rockets, and though they struggled badly in terms of their discipline, with 100 penalty yards, they were able persevere and win on a last-second field goal.

Luke Altmyer had a good debut, with 211 yards and two touchdowns, and Pat Bryant had two touchdown catches.

The big question facing Illinois: how do they look in the next two weeks, as they face a tough road game against Kansas and then a Big Ten opener at home against Penn State.

7 Minnesota Golden Gophers

All credit to Minnesota to overcoming a scare from Nebraska to win, but there are plenty of questions about their offense after Athan Kaliakmanis threw for 196 yards on 44 attempts. Their run game also struggled, with 55 yards on 25 carries.

There was some good news with how well Daniel Jackson and Corey Crooms played, with 16 combined catches for 131 yards, and their defense really thwarted Jeff Sims while also forcing four turnovers.

6 Iowa Hawkeyes

The Hawkeyes’ offense scored 14 points in the first quarter, and praises rained down on Iowa…until they scored 10 points the remainder of the way.

Cade McNamara’s quad injury likely didn’t help things, but he did throw for 191 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

We’ll know a lot more about Iowa after their game against Iowa State, but for now, we’ll leave them firmly in the “potential contender” class in the Big Ten West.

5 Maryland Terrapins

The top-three teams in the Big Ten East are likely entrenched there until further notice, but Maryland did what they needed to do in an easy win over Towson.

Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 278 yards and rushed for 28 more, and Roman Hemby led a dynamic rushing attack for the Terrapins with 58 yards and a score.

The one point of concern potentially for Maryland, despite only allowing six points, is that they gave up 148 yards on the ground. Their longest run-against was only 17 yards however, and they held the Tigers to 4.4 yards per carry, so that could be a blip on the radar as they head into the tougher parts of their schedule.

4 Wisconsin Badgers

No, the Badgers didn’t revolutionize the offensive game with the “Air Raid,” with Tanner Mordecai throwing for 189 yards, but they sure as heck got whatever they wanted on the ground, with Chez Mellusi and Braelon Allen combining for 298 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries.

The Badgers are rightfully viewed as a serious contender in the West, and though it took them a bit to get going against Buffalo, they did what they needed to do to remain in that spot.

3 Ohio State Buckeyes

The temptation is going to be to sound a death knell for the Buckeyes after a lackluster first half against Indiana, but the fact remains that this team took advantage of their wealth of offensive weapons on a day where Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. were held to five catches.

Praise has to be given for their strong defensive play against Indiana, only allowing 82 yards through the air and 71 yards on the ground. That could serve them well moving forward, but all eyes are on their Sept. 23 matchup against Notre Dame for the truest test of their skills.

2 Penn State Nittany Lions

There were some questions about Penn State’s run defense entering the season, and they did allow 146 yards on the ground, but those yards came on 40 West Virginia carries, a bargain that the Nittany Lions will surely accept.

On the other side, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined for 121 rushing yards on 23 carries, and Drew Allar threw for 325 yards and three scores in a tremendous opener.

If Penn State wants to compete in the Big Ten East, this was a good opening statement.

1 Michigan Wolverines

It was the ho-hummiest of ho-hum games for the Wolverines, as JJ McCarthy threw for 280 yards, Blake Corum rushed for 73 yards, and the team’s defense held East Carolina to 235 total yards and three points.

They’re the class of the Big Ten until proven otherwise, and they have a soft schedule ahead before getting into some tougher games late in the season.