Perhaps more than any year in recent memory, it looks like the Big Ten may have a few of the upper crust teams in all of college football. With SEC behemoths not named Georgia not showing well early, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State might just be three of the very best teams in the country this year.
Of course, that all has to be sorted out. Nobody should be thinking about engraving trophies just a few weeks into the 2023 college football season, but there’s little doubt that some heavy hitters are in the Midwest.
Buy Buckeyes TicketsBut it’s not just those three. Iowa has also looked very good — and yes — even Rutgers and Maryland seem to be thinking about being good at the American game of football in 2023.
But how do the Big Ten teams stack up against one another? There seems to be a clear top three, all from the East division, but how do they shake out in comparison to each other, and what teams line up behind that?
Well, we are sure glad you asked because we get paid to provide opinions on things just like this. In fact, after another set of games, we now have even more film to go by, scrutinize and criticize to come up with our Big Ten football power rankings after Week 3.
Let’s go through this little journey together, shall we?
14
Northwestern Wildcats (1-2)
Why the Ranking
You know, we actually thought about moving the Wildcats out of the last spot in the rankings last week after they dismantled UTEP. Good thing we didn’t. They were dismantled themselves and order was restored in the universe with a very poor showing at Duke. We say this matchup should have taken place with protractors and graphing calculators in the classroom though. Maybe then?
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 14 (⇔No Change)
Last Result | Lost at Duke 38-14
Next Up … vs. Minnesota
13
Nebraska Cornhuskers (1-2)
Why the Ranking
Nebraska earned its first win in the Matt Rhule era with a ho-hum victory over Northern Illinois Saturday, so kudos there. Now it’s time to do that, but against an opponent that doesn’t have a direction in its name that’s part of the official state name. Rhule has been preaching consistency and the ‘Huskers had that: scoring exactly seven points in each of the four quarters. Baby steps.
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 13 (⇔No Change)
Last Result | Won vs. Northern Illinois, 35-11
Next Up … vs. Louisiana Tech
12
Illinois Fighting Illini (1-2)
Why the Ranking
None of the teams at the bottom of these rankings have done anything to show us they deserve to move up, and that includes Illinois. The Illini continue to struggle to score. They are limping along trying to get anywhere close to the surprise team they were last season. It’s going to be an uphill climb (both ways), in the snow, against the wind, at night, with no flashlight to make a bowl at this point. And while you read that, Illinois just turned the ball over once again.
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 12 (⇔No Change)
Last Result | Lost vs. Penn State, 30-13
Next Up … vs. FAU
11
Purdue Boilermakers (1-2)
Why the Ranking
Look, another team that can’t handle success. Purdue looked like a real, live college football team while beating a Power Five team on the road last week, but it came back to Earth like a stranded space tourist against Syracuse on Saturday. We’ll probably see more of the same the rest of the way home for the Boilers.
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 11 (⇔No Change)
Last Result | Lost vs. Syracuse, 35-20
Next Up … vs. Wisconsin
10
Indiana Hoosiers (1-2)
Why the Ranking
Yes, this is the fifth straight team we’ve ranked the same at the bottom of the power rankings as last week. Trying to delineate among all of these teams on the latter part of the list is like sorting through a pile of rusty quarters for the vending machine. They all look the same and none of them work. We still like what we see from Indiana a wee bit better than the teams below it, so take that for what it is or isn’t worth.
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 10 (⇔No Change)
Last Result | Lost vs. Louisville, 21-14
Next Up … vs. Akron
9
Michigan State Spartans (2-1)
Why the Ranking
Maybe we’ll find out this is more a product of how good Washington is, but Michigan State laid a big ‘ole scrambled egg at home to the Huskies. Add that to the off-the-field stuff and the competition early on, and this team is headed in the wrong direction without a compass or smart phone. It should be an interesting matchup with the Terps next weekend.
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 5 (⇓ down 4 spots)
Last Result | Lost vs. Washington, 41-7
Next Up … vs. Maryland
8
Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-1)
Why the Ranking
What would we be saying about with Minnesota if Nebraska didn’t find a way to give the game to the Gophers in Week 1. The truth is the Golden Gophers have some real issues on offense. It truly does look like a rowboat going against speed boats out there. We saw that rowboat run aground in Chapel Hill, and you have to wonder where the offense goes from here to generate yards and points. The good news is that even a rowboat can beat a sinking Northwestern ship next week.
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 6 (⇓ down 2 spots)
Last Result | Lost at North Carolina, 31-13
Next Up … at Northwestern
7
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-0)
Why the Ranking
We can’t believe I’m saying this, but Rutgers looks like it might be better than half of the teams in the league right now. The defense has been solid and quarterback Gavin Wimsatt gives head coach Greg Schiano an athletic option that can cause some issues on the offensive side. Chopping wood is greater than rowing the boat right now. Tell me I’m wrong.
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 9 (⇑ up 2 spots)
Last Result | Won vs. Virginia Tech, 35-16
Next Up … vs. MICHIGAN
6
Maryland Terrapins (3-0)
Why the Ranking
No, no, no. We will not fall for it again. Yes, Maryland has looked pretty shiny through the nonconference schedule so far, and it tempted me to move the Terps up. But we have learned the season doesn’t really begin in College Park until the Big Ten season begins. That’s been a bigger problem than a tax audit on your birthday throughout Maryland’s league history, so we’ll wait to see where this all goes.
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 8 (⇑ up 2 spots)
Last Result | Won vs. Virginia, 42-14
Next Up … at Michigan State
5
Wisconsin Badgers (2-1)
Why the Ranking
We may have penalized Wisconsin too much for the loss to Washington State way out West last week. The Badgers still look like a team that could be a problem, especially in Madison as this season gets going, but maybe not quite a conference contender. Yes, we’re more fickle than the Badgers’ head coach’s last name.
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 7 (⇑ up 2 spots)
Last Result | Won vs. Georgia State, 35-14
Next Up … vs. PURDUE
4
Iowa Hawkeyes (3-0)
Why the Ranking
Iowa looked a little sluggish early against Western Michigan but won in a very non-Hawkeye way by scoring offensive touchdowns to pull away to a convincing win. Right now, as the crow — er Hawkeye flies, this might be the best team in the West division. Slow down, Iowa fans. I did say might. There’s probably a game where the winning margin comes down to a few safeties and blocked extra point runbacks. A sizeable matchup is on the docket for next week (insert lion PA roar).
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 4 (⇔No Change)
Last Result | Won vs. Western Michigan, 41-10
Next Up … at Penn State
3
Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0)
Why the Ranking
Perhaps for the first time this season, Penn State looked a little squeaky early on against Illinois. We expected the Nittany Lions to do a bit more against an Illini squad that has not been very good this season and committed five turnovers. For that, and in combination with Ohio State starting to figure itself out on offense, we have a flip here near the top. Both teams are really good though, so you could make a case for either in this spot.
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 2 (⇓ down 1 spot)
Last Result | Won at Illinois, 30-13
Next Up … vs. Iowa
2
Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0)
Why the Ranking
Now that’s the performance we’ve been waiting to see. Western Kentucky was an underrated lookahead game against a high-powered offense, and Kyle McCord and the Buckeyes handled themselves well. This team looks to be improving, but it’ll all be for naught if there’s a dagger loss against Notre Dame next week. This is still the most talented team in the Big Ten and one of the most gifted in the country if everything can come together.
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 3 (⇑ up 1 spot)
Last Result | Won vs. Western Kentucky, 63-10
Next Up … at Notre Dame
1
Michigan Wolverines (3-0)
Why the Ranking
Michigan did not look good early against a Mid-American Conference opponent. J.J. McCarthy began handing out gifts to the opposing sideline well before Christmas, tossing three interceptions. The fact the Wolverines still pulled away and won decisively speaks to the talent of this squad. Jim Harbaugh is back next week, so plan for some quirky antics on the sideline.
Last Week’s Power Ranking | 1 (⇔ no change)
Last Result | Won vs. Bowling Green, 31-6
Next Up … vs. Rutgers
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