After dealing with an illness last week, the Big Ten Football Power Rankings are back! Since the last article; Indiana football has been ranked for the first time since 2021, Purdue fired Graham Harrell, and Michigan finally made the right move at running back. So much more has happened, but before diving into all of it, let’s take a look at the previous Big Ten Football Power Rankings.
Ohio State Buckeyes
USC Trojans
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Oregon Ducks
Penn State Nittany Lions
Illinois Fighting Illini
Indiana Hoosiers
Michigan Wolverines
Iowa Hawkeyes
Washington Huskies
Michigan State Spartans
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Maryland Terrapins
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Wisconsin Badgers
Purdue Boilermakers
Northwestern Wildcats
UCLA Bruins
Now that every Big Ten team has played a conference football game, their conference records will also be kept track in the power rankings. Congratulations to Washington, USC, and Oregon on their first conference wins as new members of the Big Ten! Hopefully, there will be many more this year!
As always, these rankings are based of who they have played, how they have played, and how they would preform against each other at a neutral site. Now, who sits on top of the power rankings and who has a ways to go?
Big Ten Football Power Rankings
1. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0; 1-0) [–]
As always, the Buckeyes stay here at the top. Coming off of a 38-7 win over the Spartans, the Buckeyes look just as dominate against their Big Ten opponents as they did in their non-conference games.
This week, they host the Iowa Hawkeyes, but all eyes should be on the week after when they travel to Eugene, Oregon to play the Ducks. The big news for the Buckeyes is that true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is on track to set the school record of most receiving yards for a true freshman!
2. Oregon Ducks (4-0; 1-0) [+2]
The Ducks are playing much better now than they did at the beginning of the season. Their closest matchup was back against Boise State where they won 37-34. Since then, they have beat both Oregon State and UCLA by over 20 points each. This week, they get Michigan State coming off of a loss to Ohio State. Just like the Buckeyes above, all eyes will be on next week when Oregon hosts the Ohio State.
3. Penn State Nittany Lions (4-0; 1-0) [+2]
Penn State faced their toughest opponents yet when ranked Illinois came to visit. After letting the Fighting Illini march down field for seven points on the opening drive, Penn State’s defense went on full lockdown and let Illinois gain a total of 154 yards over the rest of the game.
If this is how Penn State’s defense is going to play the rest of the season, then prepare for Penn State to not only make the College Football Playoffs, but take home at least one win in the playoffs.
4. USC Trojans (3-1; 1-1) [-2]
USC has taken a step back since the last article. After looking amazing against LSU in Week 1 and then steamrolling through Utah State, USC has struggled in the Big Ten play. They lost their first Big Ten game against Michigan and then followed it up by letting Wisconsin lead 21-10 at the half.
The good news is that the Trojans bounced back in the second half of the Wisconsin game. In the second half, they played nearly perfectly on both sides of the ball. USC kept the Badgers scoreless in the second half while they scored 28 points on them. This week, they look to do the same as they travel to Minnesota before hosting Penn State the week after. October 12 will have some good Big Ten matchups.
5. Indiana Hoosiers (5-0; 2-0) [+2]
The Hoosiers are all the way up here at fifth in the Big Ten Football Power Rankings?! That’s simply because they have dominated on both sides of the ball. If you take IU’s average score in their five wins compared to the average score of their opponents, you would have IU winning 49-13 in that matchup.
If you remove their 77-3 victory over Western Illinois, you would still have a 42-16 victory for Indiana. That score is actually pretty close to their two Big Ten matchups where they beat UCLA 42-13 and Maryland 42-28.
The biggest knock against IU has been their Strength of Schedule. They have yet to really play any strong teams and won’t play many this year. Over their last six games, they will play at Nebraska, against Washington, against Michigan, and at Ohio State. Those are their four hardest games on their schedule. Even if they lose all four of those games, IU Football would have an eight win season for the second time since 1993. Now they’re only one game away from going “bowling” and it’s only Week 5.
6. Illinois Fighting Illini (4-1; 1-1) [–]
Illinois deserves to be up here after wins over ranked Kansas, ranked Nebraska in overtime, and scoring a touchdown on the opening drive at Penn State. With their bye week this week, it gives them an extra week to prepare for a Purdue team that fired their offensive coordinator and are looking to revamp the offense. Illinois is a strong team who is in the middle of the hardest five game stretch on their schedule.
7. Michigan Wolverines (4-1; 2-0) [+1]
The Wolverines looked bad on offense the first couple of weeks, but they are starting to show some life. What was the thing we said needed changed the most since the Week 3 article? They needed to give Kalel Mullings more carries because he’s a better RB than Donovan Edwards. Now there’s three games in a row with over 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He is the answer to “How Does Michigan fix their offense?”, question. Michigan needs to feed him the ball and let Alex Orji continue to develop at the QB position.
8. Rutgers Scarlett Knights (4-0; 1-0) [+4]
The Scarlet Knights are undefeated and playing good football. Kyle Monangai is off to a hot start if he’s looking at being the Big Ten leading rusher again. His 97 carries for 589 yards and six touchdowns are a major key to Rutgers’ 4-0 start. Monangai is on track to record over 1,750 yards on the ground this season and nearly 20 touchdowns.
Monangai is not the only player doing well this year. QB Athan Kaliakmanis looks legit. He may only have a 61.5 percent completion rate, but he’s already thrown for 761 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Teams should be worried to play Rutgers.
9. Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-1; 1-1) [-6]
The Cornhuskers have fallen quite a bit since they started their conference schedule. An overtime loss at home against Illinois and getting tossed around for 42 minutes by Purdue leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
Yes, they ended up winning the game against Purdue, but that does not change much. For three quarters of the game Purdue’s defense held Nebraska scoreless. The main reason the Huskers pulled out the win was because of the lack of an Offense by Purdue. Now, Nebraska has a rough three games as they host Rutgers, travel to Indiana, and then travel to Ohio State.
10. Iowa Hawkeyes (3-1; 1-0) [-1]
Iowa’s offense is surprisingly good this year. They’re averaging 32 points per game so far this college football season. The problem is mainly their competition so far.
Wins over Illinoi State, Troy, and Minnesota aren’t much to brag about. Especially with a loss to Iowa State on a last second field goal.
Like many Big Ten teams in these football power rankings, they have a difficult two weeks as they travel to Ohio State and then host Washington. These two games will be a real test of both Iowa’s surprisingly good offense and their surprisingly bad defense.
11. Washington Huskies (3-2; 1-1) [-1]
The Huskies are coming off of a heartbreaking loss to Rutgers after stomping on Northwestern. While they have been a really strong offense, they also have been struggling on defense against good teams.
With Michigan, Iowa, and Indiana all coming up, Washington is in for a gauntlet of hopeful shootouts. With QB Will Rogers, RB Jonah Coleman, and WRs Denzel Boston and Giles Jackson leading the way, the Huskies have a chance against all three of these teams.
12. Michigan State Spartans (3-2; 1-1) [-1]
The Spartans are here at 12th after back-to-back losses against good teams. The biggest issue with the Spartans is their turnovers. They just cannot seem to play a clean game on offense.
While there is still plenty of time for this young squad, QB Aidan Chiles needs to throw fewer picks. His 1,058 passing yards and five touchdowns are great for his first year starting, but the eight interceptions have ruin some great drives. His upside is still there with his 33 carries for 86 rushing yards. Remember, that sacks count for negative yards in college.
The Michigan State offensive line has allowed nine sacks for -53 yards already this season. Chiles could be up at 139 rushing yards on his 33 carries without all those sack yards lost. MSU plays at Oregon this week before their bye to rest and recover from a likely three-week losing streak.
13. Maryland Terrapins (3-2; 0-2) [–]
Terrapin fans had so much hope for this team after beating UConn 50-7 in Week 1. While they also looked good against Virginia and Vilanova, they have struggled in both Big Ten matchups. The big issue has been their defense.
They have been allowing too many big plays by opposing offenses. QB Billy Edwards Jr. has played well and WR Tai Felton was on track for a major breakout before his injury this past game. These two seem to have a great connection. If Felton misses time, that will be crushing for the Terrapins.
14. Wisconsin Badgers (2-2; 0-1) [+1]
The Badgers are a team that we do not know enough about yet. They played well in their wins over Western Michigan and South Dakota, but they were embarrassed by Alabama and could not score in the second half of their matchup against USC. This week against Purdue should tell more about who the real Badgers are actually.
The issue lies in the change at QB with Tyler Van Dyke‘s injury. Braedyn Locke has been playing admirably, if not better than Van Dyke, but he has also shown why the Badger went out and signed Van Dyke back in the spring. While Purdue has been a bad team on offense, the defense has really stepped up these last two weeks. The Boilermakers may be too much for Locke this week.
15. Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-3; 0-2) [-1]
The Golden Gophers fall to 15th in these Big Ten football power rankings after two losses.
Surprisingly, they played well in the second half against Michigan. The Gophers just could not finish the job for the win. They struggled against Iowa the week before, which leads to a total of six quarters of rough football. Their woes do not look like they’ll improve this week as they host the USC Trojans before they get to travel to the West Coast for a game against UCLA and then their bye.
If you’re a Gophers fan, good luck this week! Know there are two easier weeks coming up before hosting Maryland at the end of the month.
16. Purdue Boilermakers (1-3; 0-1) [–]
The Boilermakers are tied with UCLA for the worst overall record of all the Big Ten teams. So why are they at 16th in these Big Ten football power rankings and not lower? Because they have shown a lot more upside than the two teams ranked below them.
Over the past two weeks, Purdue has played well on defense and special teams. In fact, Purdue’s Special Teams is the No. 1 rated unit in the nation. The main reason Purdue is at 16th and currently 1-3 is because of the offense.
In both the Oregon State and Nebraska games, Purdue’s defense made massive plays that set up the offense for quick scoring drives. The offense failed the defense most of those times.
This past Saturday, Purdue’s defense held Nebraska scoreless through 42 minutes and 11 seconds of game time. A Nebraska team that was averaging 31.5 points per game. In that time, Purdue managed to score three points. Game plans like that will just break a team. That’s why Purdue head coach Ryan Walters had to fire offensive coordinator Graham Harrell. This weekend at Wisconsin should hopefully give the offense a boost of confidence or liveliness.
17. Northwestern Wildcats (2-2; 0-1) [–]
Northwestern had so much hope coming into this year after an impressive season last year. However, none of the juice they had last year is on the field this year.
The switch to younger QB Jack Lausch was supposed to improve this offense. Instead, Lausch has fewer yards and more interceptions through the same number of games. Only two receivers have cracked 100 receiving yards so far this season. RB Cam Porter is the only running back who has broken 100 rushing yards in a game this season. Porter has been the only good part of the offense.
As for the defense, they’re allowing 25 points per game against Power 4 Conference opponents and 18.67ppg against all FBS opponents. They’re just as much to blame for the struggles so far this year. Their wins have been solid and their losses have been heartbreaking. This team feels like a completely different team than the 8-5 Wildcats from last year.
18. UCLA Bruins (1-3; 0-2) [–]
The Bruins have gotten their welcome to the Big Ten in a painful manor. Barely winning against Hawaii to start the year now seems like it was an omen of the worse to come. Three straight double digit losses to really good teams is bad enough, but the rest of their schedule is also bad.
UCLA plays two more teams that are currently ranked and four more teams that have received votes to be ranked recently. Their “easiest” opponents left on the schedule are Minnesota and Fresno State. Those are the only two games left that may be wins for the Bruins. That’s just not a great place to be as a team freshly joining a new Conference. Hopefully they can get it figured out for next season.
Hunter Greene
Hunter started writing for The League Winners in the summer of 2021. Hunter has been playing fantasy football for about a decade, starting in middle school. Now he’s a professional landscaper and avid Colts and Purdue fan.