Power Rankings for the Big Ten Football Conference after Week 1.

How did Big Ten teams fare during week one? Let’s take a quick review and see where Penn State stands after one week of play. Don’t agree with our rankings? Let us know where you would rank the teams below and let us know why in the comments below.

Number 1 – Ohio State (1-0)

In what seemed like the first time since the Revolutionary War the Ohio State Buckeye football team didn’t have JT Barrett at quarterback when they took the field on Saturday. The Dwayne Haskins era is officially underway in Columbus and he certainly didn’t disappoint. Haskins was 22 – 30 passing; good for a video game like 73.3 completion percentage.  This resulted in 313 yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 interception. The Buckeyes featured back Mike Weber led the charge on the rushing attack as the team combined for 375 to go with the 346 yards in the air. It was a balanced attack that should leave defensive coordinators around the country wonder how to stop it.

Number 2 – Wisconsin (1-0)

It took the Wisconsin Badgers a quarter to get rolling against Western Kentucky but once they did they made light work of the Hilltoppers. The Badgers, led by Heisman candidate Jonathan Taylor. Taylor racked up 145 yards on 18 carries and scored 2 touchdowns. The Badgers defence gave up 300 total yards but only allowed 3 points as the Badgers cruised to an easy 34-3 victory.

Number 3 – Michigan State (1-0)

The Michigan State Spartans got an interception off of a batted ball with 1:15 to go in the fourth quarter to earn a 38-31 point victory over the Aggies of Utah State. Brian Lewerke led the way for the Spartans completing 23 of his 33 pass attempts good for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns. Lewerke was also responsible for one interception that was returned for a touchdown. The usually stout Michigan State Defense gave up 344 total yards with 319 of that coming through the air.

Number 4 – Penn State (1-0)

In a game eerily similar to the Michigan State game, Penn State needed also needed an interception to seal the victory.  For the Nittany Lions is came in overtime as Amani Oruwariye intercepted a Zac Thomas pass in the end zone during the first overtime period to give the Lions a 45-38 point victory.  Trace McSorley led the way for the Nittany Lions accounting for 2 rushing touchdowns and one through the air. He also completed a clutch 4th down conversion to keep a drive going trailing in the 4th quarter.

Number 5 – Maryland (1-0)

Maryland went into last Saturday’s contest a double-digit underdog against the Texas Longhorns for the second year in a row. And for the second year in a row, Maryland walked away with a victory.  Maryland is the only team from the BIG ten to beat a ranked team in week one as the Longhorns were ranked 23rd in the AP poll for week one. The Terrapins led by quarterback Kasim Hill beat the Longhorns by a final score of 34-29.

Number 6 – Iowa (1-0)

In what seemed to be a theme for the BIG ten in the opening week Iowa struggled to put away an easy opponent. The Hawkeyes led at halftime 3-0 before finally pulling away in the second half to finish the game 33-7. The Hawkeyes stout defence held the Northern Illinois  Huskies to just 211 total yards and just 110 passing yards for the game.

Number 7 – Michigan (0-1)

Michigan, to their credit, had the toughest game to play in week one. The Wolverines were on the road against a Notre Dame team that came into the game ranked 12th in the AP poll and 8th in the Coache’s poll.  The Wolverines struggled to do much on offence the entire game and relied on a great defence led by a fierce rushing attack to keep themselves in the game. Michigan’s latest quarterback transfer Shea Patterson made his Wolverine debut throwing for 227 yards, however, he missed key stretches of the game due to leg cramps.  I think this will be a theme this year for Michigan. They will struggle to score but the defence will keep them in most games.

Number 8- Minnesota (1-0)

Minnesota decided to buck the trend of many of the other BIG ten teams and remove all doubt of the outcome of the game early. The Golden Gophers would take a 35-10 lead into halftime on their way to an easy 48-10 point victory over the Aggies of New Mexico State.  Minnesota true-freshman and walk-on quarterback Zack Annexstad overcame an early fumble to settle into a solid game. He would finish with 220 passing yards and two touchdowns on 16 for 33 passing.

Number 9 – Northwestern (1-0)

This was a game of opportunities for the Wildcats of Northwestern and they took advantage of them. While the Purdue Boilermakers actually outgained the Wildcats in total yards 472 to 401 it was their 3 turnovers that proved the difference in this game. Northwestern was led by sophomore Jeremy Larkin who carried the ball 26 times for a career-high 143 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Wildcats got a key penalty late in the game that allowed them to run out the clock for a 31-27 victory.

Number 10 – Indiana (1-0)

Indiana fell behind the Florida International Golden Panthers early in the first quarter of play to continue the trend of BIG ten teams struggling early. Jonathan Crawford’s 33-yard interception that was returned for a touchdown to break a 7-7 tie. Indiana was led by quarterback Peyton Ramsey who threw for three touchdown passes in the game to help the Hoosiers to a 38-28 victory.

Number 11 – Rutgers (1-0)

For the first time in his three years as coach of Rutgers Chris Ash’s team gave him a victory in week one. The Scarlet Knights running backs Raheem Blackshear and Jonathan Hilliman each had two touchdowns to lead Rutgers past Texas State 35-7 on Saturday. Quarterback Artur Sitkowski had an up and down day on the field as he threw for 205 yards and one touchdown to go along with his 3 interceptions.

Number 12 – Purdue (0-1)

Purdue showed some flashes in the game against Northwestern that show they won’t be a pushover this season and you better prepare to play them hard. In the end, though, it was the costly errors that did them in. If they can find a way to clean up the mistakes they could find themselves moving up the power ranking towards the end of the season. Quarterback play has to be better than the 3 interceptions to 1 touchdown ratio of week 1.

Number 13 – Illinois (1-0)

Illinois trailed Kent State 17-3 at halftime before scoring 21 points in the third quarter to take the lead for good.  The Fighting Illini would go on to a 31-24 victory over the Golden Flashes.  Dual-threat QB AJ Bush led the way for Illinois racking up 190 yards through the air and another 129 on the ground.

Number 14 -Nebraska (0-0)

Nebraska Coach Scott Frost’s Cornhusker debut will have to wait another week as their game against the Akron Zips was cancelled due to storms. I suspect they will make a run up the power ranking starting next week when they take on Colorado.

Fan Rankings

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