Big Ten power rankings after Week 2: A new No. 1 team again, lots of movement overall

It was a very, very confusing week, not just in the Big Ten, but across college football.

Week 2 was filled with big upsets across the sport, with teams like Notre Dame, Texas A&M, and Florida going down. Alabama probably should have lost to Texas on the road, but managed to pull out the last-moment win. In the Big Ten, Nebraska lost to a team it should have beaten handily, Wisconsin lost to a Power Five team, but one it should have beaten handily, Northwestern lost after it appeared the Wildcats had turned the corner, and Iowa lost to rival Iowa State. However, Michigan won big, Ohio State looked better than it had in Week 1, as did Penn State and Michigan State. The other teams did what they were supposed to do.

But where are each of the 14 Big Ten teams in terms of pecking order? Now that we’ve seen at least two games from each, the complexion of the conference is becoming more clear. Our updated Big Ten power rankings are below with yet another change at the No. 1 spot.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (1-2)

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This was just embarrassing for Nebraska.

Georgia Southern has a history of taking down teams who are on the decline (ahem, Florida), but this should not have been a close game. Yet, the Huskers got outplayed, even though it was a close game. The defense gave up 642 total yards, including 409 yards passing. Quarterback Casey Thompson put up some good numbers, but it wasn’t enough.

Now, with Northwestern having lost to Duke, that Week 0 loss looks even worse than before. It’s got to be only a matter of time before Scott Frost is ousted from his alma mater at this point.

Northwestern Wildcats (1-1)

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It appeared that Northwestern had turned the corner offensively and had become a nouveau pick to challenge in the Big Ten West.

Well, about that…

Though the score ended up being close, Duke jumped out to a commanding lead on the heels of a balanced run-pass attack. Ryan Hilinski managed 435 yards in the pass game, but with only 76 yards rushing, the Wildcats took a step back.

Duke might be 2-0 now, but this was a game that Northwestern had to win, considering the Blue Devils are seen as a bottom-dweller in the ACC. What does that make the Wildcats? Something similar in the Big Ten.

Indiana Hoosiers (2-0)

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We’re being admittedly harsh to Indiana here, given that the other teams who showed improved effort and that are undefeated on the season are rated higher. But we still need to see more from the Hoosiers after last year’s debacle. And we’re still not sure they could beat any of the teams listed ahead of them (except Illinois, who IU beat in Week 1).

Connor Bazelak was solid for the second-straight week, and the run game really got going against Idaho. But the Vandals opened up a 10-point lead which it took into halftime, and the Hoosiers had to rally. They did so admirably, winning the game by 13 points. But a 13-point win against Idaho isn’t exactly awe-inspiring for a Big Ten team, especially one in the East.

Iowa Hawkeyes (1-1)

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The good news is that Iowa finally scored a touchdown. And the defense is still pretty good.

But that’s about it.

The concerns over the Hawkeye offensive attack this offseason have proven themselves warranted. Iowa’s offense is, indeed, offensive. With 58 yards rushing and QB Spencer Petras going 12-for-26 for 92 yards and an interception, it’s difficult to imagine Iowa doing much to any reputable Big Ten team, lest the Hawkeye defense find ways to score. Iowa State didn’t do anything particularly special or notable — Iowa is maybe just that bad at the moment.

Luckily for U-I, so are many of the Big Ten teams it’ll face this year.

Wisconsin Badgers (1-1)

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This may be an overreaction, being that Washington State is now 2-0 and is in a Power Five conference. But considering Wisconsin has higher aspirations, losing to, at worst, a middle-of-the-Pac-12 team doesn’t bode well for where the Badgers are as of current.

What’s worse, it was a former U-W player who dealt the cursed blow.

Nakia Watson scored twice against his former team, and that was about all WSU needed. When you look at the statline, the Badgers gained more than the Cougars, but when it came to scoring, Washington State did just a little bit more — and on the road.

With games coming up against teams like Ohio State and Minnesota, it’s difficult to envision that Wisconsin will end up with less than three losses after a game like this.

Illinois Fighting Illini (2-1)

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Thanks to a stifling defense, power running attack, and competent passing, Illinois looks like it has turned the corner in the Big Ten West. Perhaps the loss to Indiana was an aberration, especially considering the Illini looked in charge through most of the Week 1 game.

This week, Illinois took down Virginia, certainly not a great team in the ACC, but one that was at least on par with where the Illini are. And Illinois won convincingly.

We see the patterns for Bret Bielema’s squad. If he can keep it up, or even get more from quarterback Tommy DeVito, there’s a (perhaps outside) shot to win the West this year.

Purdue Boilermakers (1-1)

Noe Padilla – Journal-Courier

To be fair, this was a much different opponent, facing an FCS team compared to Penn State last week. But Purdue did everything it was supposed to do, especially a week after it snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

The passing game worked, the running game worked, and the defense pitched a shut out.

We’ll need to see more from the Boilermakers, but if they can continue to build on this win, it could challenge for the wide-open West.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-0)

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Started from the bottom, now we’re here.

It might have been against a school most people have never heard of, but Rutgers absolutely destroyed Wagner. A couple of years ago, such a win wasn’t exactly certain.

The defense was dominant, the offense put up giant rushing numbers and the pass game worked. It really seems as if the Scarlet Knights are turning the corner.

OK, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, because RU is in the Big Ten East, and it still needs to take down at least one of the big dogs for some real legitimacy. But it appeared as if 1-2 in nonconference was a possibility, and now the Knights are 2-0, with a winnable game at Temple next week.

Progress is progress and kudos are due to the team in New Jersey.

Maryland Terrapins (2-0)

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Maryland falls a spot through no fault of its own, it’s more about what the teams around the Terrapins did.

The Terps dominated a bad Charlotte team with giant numbers through the air and on the ground. However — and it’s a big however — the defense didn’t look quite as stellar as it did in Week 1 against Buffalo. The 49ers managed nearly 300 yards through the air, though Maryland did hold them to under 100 on the ground.

It’s something to build on, but we’ve seen this script play out a million times, haven’t we, Maryland?

Michigan State Spartans (2-0)

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Worlds better.

The Spartan defense stymied a bad Akron team on the ground, holding the Zips to just 26 yards rushing on 27 attempts. That’s a lot more like it, as is the shutout, compared to what we’ve seen from MSU recently on that side of the ball. The rush game for Michigan State toppled 200 yards as Jalen Berger led the way.

However, the move up could be short-lived if MSU falters when it travels to Washington next week. But the Spartans did what they were supposed to and remain undefeated.

Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-0)

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FCS team alert, but you cannot deny 679 yards of offense while holding the opponent to less than 200 yards of defense.

Minnesota absolutely rolled Western Illinois and got everything going — from the run to the pass and everything on the defensive side of the ball.

It appears as if the Gophers are the team to beat in the West, and given the schedule, they might get to the top with little resistance. Kudos to P.J. Fleck and company, because no one in that division wants to meddle with Minnesota at the moment. We’ll see how they do against Colorado next week.

Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0)

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Playing a MAC team in Ohio, Penn State overmatched the Bobcats as it should have. And the biggest positive is that the Nittany Lions may have suddenly discovered a run game.

Freshman Nick Singleton lived up to his lofty recruiting ranking, amassing 179 yards while scoring twice. The quarterbacks combined for 388 yards through the air in a romp that was never in question.

Don’t look now, but PSU is getting back into form.

Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0)

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Ohio State moves back down to No. 2 for a couple of reasons. No. 1: the pass defense looked awfully sketchy at times against Arkansas State. No. 2, and this is big: the shine from the win over Notre Dame completely went away when the Fighting Irish lost to Marshall in Week 2.

Also, it took a while before the Buckeyes pulled away from ASU, just before halftime. But it was a game, and it very well could have been more of a game if the Red Wolves scored touchdowns instead of field goals. Credit Ohio State, especially as the offense eventually came alive. But it took a while to do so. This team has questions, but given those who were supposed to test it — Iowa, Wisconsin — it very well could get to the final game of the year before any of them are answered.

Michigan Wolverines (2-0)

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Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves — Hawaii is maybe the worst team in the FBS. But with J.J. McCarthy under center, Michigan looked flat-out sharp offensively, and dominant defensively.

The final score, 56-10, does not indicate how lopsided this one was. The Wolverines took a 42-0 lead into the locker room at halftime and started rotating in players who generally don’t see the field.

The big story here was McCarthy, though. He was precise, with his only miss being a drop by the receiver. He earned the starting job and looked elite in the process.

Again, we’ll have to see it against a defense worth a salt — which he won’t see in Week 3 when he starts against UConn, nor in Week 4 against Maryland — but Michigan looks like a team with very few flaws, and has won convincingly against two overmatched teams.

At the moment, the only question is: how much will the Wolverines win by?

Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire