Richey | Big Ten football power rankings

Nov. 1—Not much has changed in the Big Ten hierarchy from a week ago. Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State are still at the top. Indiana and Michigan State are permanent basement residents. Beat writer Scott Richey has still updated the rankings, though, with thoughts on quarterback play for all 14 conference teams:

1. Michigan (8-0)

Previous ranking:

* No. 1

* Only Oregon's

Bo Nix (78.3 percent) has completed a higher percentage of his passes than the Wolverines' J.J. McCarthy

* (78.1 percent). The former N-G All-State Player of the Year has thrown for 1,799 yards, 18 touchdowns and three interceptions and has rarely played late in a slew of Michigan blowouts.

2. Ohio State (8-0)

Previous ranking:

* No. 2

Kyle McCord beat out Devin Brown to be CJ Stroud

* 's successor at Ohio State and has proven why through the Buckeyes' first eight games. The former consensus five-star has thrown for 2,163 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions (two of which came last week).

3. Penn State (7-1)

Previous ranking:

* No. 3

Drew Allar

* has mostly lived up to the hype that comes with being a former five-star recruit. He's completed 156 of 254 passes for 1,655 yards and 16 touchdowns in eight games. Most notably, however, is he rarely puts the ball in trouble and has just one interception for the year.

4. Rutgers (6-2)

Previous ranking:

* No. 4

Gavin Wimsatt

* 's dual-threat ability (plus a top-10 defense) has Rutgers legitimately bowl eligible for the first time since 2014. The Owensboro, Ky., native has thrown for 1,134 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions to go with 362 rushing yards and seven more touchdowns.

5. Iowa (6-2)

Previous ranking:

* No. 5

* Four games as the Hawkeyes' starter has seen

Deacon Hill

* complete 33 of 84 passes (39 percent) for 378 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Like many predecessors before him, Hill's an Iowa quarterback that wins because of ... defense and special teams.

6. Wisconsin (5-3)

Previous ranking:

* No. 7

* The Badgers turned to Mississippi State transfer

Braedyn Locke after SMU transfer Tanner Mordecai

* broke his hand against Iowa. Locke isn't efficient — just a 49 percent completion rate — but he did make enough plays to lead Wisconsin to a road win against Illinois on Oct. 21.

7. Minnesota (5-3)

Previous ranking:

* No. 8

* All Minnesota is asking

Athan Kaliakmanis to be is a game manager. Easy to do when fifth-string running back Jordan Nubin

* , who came to the Gophers as a walk-on safety, rushed 40 times for 204 yards and two touchdowns in last week's win against Michigan State.

8. Nebraska (5-3)

Previous ranking:

* No. 9

Heinrich Haarberg

* won't wow you — certainly not as a passer — but he's been enough of a dual threat to lead Nebraska to three straight wins after a blowout home loss to Michigan. His 104 carries for 446 yards and four touchdowns are a difference maker.

9. Maryland (5-3)

Previous ranking:

* No. 6

* Maryland's three-game losing streak doesn't fall totally on

Taulia Tagovailoa

* 's shoulders given the state of the team's defense. That said, he's thrown as many interceptions in those three games (three) as he did in the Terrapins' first five games of the season.

10. Northwestern (4-4)

Previous ranking:

* No. 11

* An injury to

Ben Bryant had the chance to derail a team surprisingly teetering on the edge of .500 given the struggles Brendan Sullivan

* had in fill-in duties in 2022. But Sullivan is 2-1 as a starter after he threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns in last week's win against Maryland.

11. Illinois (3-5)

Previous ranking:

* No. 8

Luke Altmyer

* 's ball security issues seem to have been solved after his four-interception disaster against Penn State. The Mississippi transfer has completed 99 of 157 passes for 1,100 yards, seven touchdowns and just two interceptions in the five games since.

12. Purdue (2-6)

Previous ranking:

* No. 12

Hudson Card

* has struggled in the Boilermakers' three-game losing streak. The Texas transfer has thrown for an inefficient 473 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions in that stretch. He's also been sacked 10 times in the last three games after getting sacked eight times in the first four.

13. Michigan State (2-6)

Previous ranking:

* No. 13

Payton Thorne spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as Michigan State's starter. Then-now-former coach Mel Tucker turned it into a competition this spring. Thorne wound up bailing for Auburn, and neither Noah Kim nor Katin Houser

* has shown much as his replacement.

14. Indiana (2-6)

Previous ranking:

* No. 14

* Indiana had one of those "if-you-have-two quarterbacks, you-don't-have-one" scenarios going through six games with Tennessee transfer

Tayven Jackson and Brendan Sorsby. The latter started the previous two games and did throw for 269 yards and three touchdowns in a road loss at Penn State.