It wasn’t the most exciting week of college football, but the highlights came with the two former Pac-12 teams taking on their historical rivals who remain in the conference.
Oregon took awhile but it finally looked like Oregon as it upended Oregon State in stunning fashion. Washington, however, fell to Wazzu, unable to convert on the goal line with a minute to go, down one score. Wisconsin had its big showdown with Alabama and learned just how far away they are from being a championship contender in Luke Fickell’s second year. Michigan looked better against an overmatched opponent — for a half. But it still looks completely unready for the schedule that lies ahead. Indiana under Curt Cignetti continues to impress, MSU looked competent and functional against an FCS opponent, and Purdue got blown out by an angry Notre Dame team.
Ohio State, Penn State, USC, and Rutgers all had early bye weeks.
With all of that said, here is how we’d rank the Big Ten now that Week 3 is in the books.
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Record: 1-1
Hi/Lo: 16/18
Change: -1
Last game: Loss vs. Notre Dame, 7-66
Biggest win: vs. Indiana State, 49-0
The Boilermakers didn’t even come close to doing what NIU was able to do a week ago, showing just how overmatched they are against a team with a pulse. The whole of the run and pass game were bad, and the whole of the defense was bad. Perhaps they’ll fare better next week against a rebuilding Oregon State team that was just as overmatched on Saturday..
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Record: 1-1
Hi/Lo: 17/18
Change: +1
Last game: Loss vs. Indiana, BLANK
Biggest win: at Hawaii, 16-13
It’s amazing how quickly UCLA fell off the map. Last year, there were stretches where the Bruins were ranked under the tutelage of Chip Kelly. But this team is not that. Indiana looked dominant against this Bruins team and it looks like what Indiana used to.
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Record: 2-1
Hi/Lo: 12/16
Change: –
Last game: Win vs. Eastern Illinois, 31-7
Biggest win: vs. Miami (Ohio), 13-6
It was exactly what Northwestern needed after the first two weeks, a ho-hum victory over an FCS team. Jack Lausch was excellent at QB and he found former Michigan WR A.J. Henning early and often for 117 yards. The run game was very good as was the defense.
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Record: 2-1
Hi/Lo: 9/15
Change: -2
Last game: Win at Virginia, 27-13
Biggest win: vs. UConn, 50-7
Virginia is no joke of a team, but Maryland envisions a future when it can take down a middling ACC team with ease. However, it wasn’t easy. Still, the Terps got it done in a back-and-forth game. It. wasa good bounce-back after the inexplicable loss to MSU.
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Record: 2-1
Hi/Lo: 14/15
Change: +1
Last game: Win vs. Nevada, 27-0
Biggest win: vs. Rhode Island, 48-0
Nevada is a bad Mountain West team but Minnesota looked functional moving back up from the FCS win last week. The run game and the defense reigned supreme which is the formula for PJ Fleck’s team. Not sure what the ceiling is here, but the Gophers are a tough team that could get some momentum in Big Ten play.
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Record: 3-0
Hi/Lo: 13/16
Change: +1
Last game: Win vs. UCLA, 42-13
Biggest win: vs. Western Illinois, 77-3
The Curt Cignetti effect is real. This is a fun team that is still figuring things out, but winning the first in-conference game is a sign of real improvement. Not to mention, when was the last time Indiana won a conference game by 29 points? The defense played very well and it will be interesting to see what the Hoosiers do against better Big Ten teams. That will wait another week as Charlotte is on deck next.
Nick King-Lansing State Journal
Record: 3-0
Hi/Lo: 13/16
Change: –
Last game: Win vs. Prairie View A&M, 40-0
Biggest win: vs. Maryland, 27-24
MSU was impressive, albeit against a bad FCS team. Though it was very good in all phases of the game, it’s difficult to really ascertain what this team is given the past three games. The only team with a pulse it’s faced has been Maryland, and that’s a team that appears to be on a downswing. But the Spartans did what they were supposed to and we’ll know more when they face a resurgent Boston College team next week.
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Record: 2-1
Hi/Lo: 10/11
Change: -1
Last game: Loss vs. Alabama, 10-42
Biggest win: vs. Western Michigan, 28-14
Wisconsin tried to beat Alabama, and it failed miserably! So the lesson here is never try. Joking aside, it’s difficult to take on a historically dominant team when your quarterback gets knocked out early in the game. The offense was OK considering, but couldn’t find the end zone. But the defense was overmatched by Jalen Milroe and what ended up being a stellar rushing attack by the Crimson Tide. Next week is the bye before hosting USC.
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Record: 2-1
Hi/Lo: 9/10
Change: -1
Last game: Loss vs. Washington State, 19-24
Biggest win: vs. Weber State, 35-3
What a heartbreaker. Jedd Fisch literally had his team on the precipice only to call an ill-advised fourth down play on the goal line which could have given the Huskies the lead and likely the win. This was going to be a rebuilding year, but now we just know it for certain.
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Record: 3-0
Hi/Lo: 9/13
Change: +2
Last game: Win vs. Central Michigan, 30-9
Biggest win: vs. Kansas, 23-17
Illinois was impressive yet again, with the most important thing being that quarterback Luke Altmeyer still took care of the football. The run game needs some work and so might the run defense, but this is starting to more and more resemble that of Bret Bielema’s 2022 team rather than last year’s disappointing outfit.
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Record: 2-1
Hi/Lo: 4/7
Change: -3
Last game: Win vs. Troy, 38-21
Biggest win: vs. Illinois State, 40-0
The good news is that the offense is functional. The bad news is the defense and special teams showed some uncharacteristic lapses. And that was all it took to make it a game. Iowa eventually ran away with it, but Troy kept the game interesting much longer than you’d expect. A road trip to Minnesota will be next.
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Record: 2-1
Hi/Lo: 3/7
Change: -1
Last game: Win vs. Arkansas State, 28-18
Biggest win: vs. Fresno State, 30-10
It was a tale of two halves, with Michigan looking like it was going to run away with this one, but with three interceptions by Davis Warren, Arkansas State disallowed the expected bludgeoning. The score is a bit of a paper tiger as Michigan was never in any danger and 15 points were scored on the third and fourth-string defense, but some of the same issues from the last two weeks continued to pop up. This team is undisciplined and we won’t really know what this team is capable of until it hosts USC next week. If Alex Orji starts, that could set the team on a different trajectory.
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Record: 2-0
Hi/Lo: 7/8
Change: +2
Last game: Win vs. Akron, 49-17
Biggest win: vs. Howard, 44-7
Rutgers was on bye this week but we moved them ahead of Michigan and Iowa due to both teams struggling with lesser teams. The Scarlet Knights at least look like they have a strong identity and ability within that.
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Record: 3-0
Hi/Lo: 3/7
Change: -2
Last game: Win vs. Northern Iowa, 34-3
Biggest win: vs. Colorado, 28-10
Nebraska moves down, not because it deserves to, but because another team ahead of it deserved to move up. Beating up on Northern Iowa is expected, and the Huskers did what they were supposed to. But we don’t see them beating any of the teams ahead of it — and it’s not even clear if it would beat some of the ones below it.
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Record: 2-0
Hi/Lo: 2/4
Change: –
Last game: Win vs. Bowling Green, 34-27
Biggest win: at West Virginia, 34-12
Despite being on bye, we moved Nebraska beneath the Nittany Lions, because we think that Penn State had a bit of an aberration week last week. Kent State is up next.
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Record: 3-0
Hi/Lo: 1/6
Change: +2
Last game: Win vs. Oregon State, 49-14
Biggest win: vs. Oregon State, 49-14
Now that’s what we were expecting from Oregon all along! The offense was humming in both the run and the pass and the defense was stellar against the rival Beavers. If Oregon continues to play like it did against Oregon State and not how it did against the Idaho teams, it may live up to the lofty preseason expectations
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Record: 2-0
Hi/Lo: 2/8
Change: –
Last game: Win vs. Utah State, 48-0
Biggest win: vs. LSU, 27-20
USC was on bye but has a big showdown with Michigan football in Ann Arbor next week.
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Record: 2-0
Hi/Lo: 1/2
Change: –
Last game: Win vs. Western Michigan, 56-0
Biggest win: vs. Western Michigan, 56-0
Ohio State was on bye this week but faces off against Marshall in Week 4.