Big Ten Week 2 delivered plenty of ugly, and the rankings reflect it.
At the top, Indiana is back at No. 1 after handling Howard the way a defending champ should. The Hoosiers are 2-0, and with the schedule not really getting serious until mid-October, they could stay in that spot for a while.
USC climbs to No. 2 after moving to 3-0 and picking up another win. They may not be the league’s second-best team, but the record and the result this weekend earn them the bump, and they’re now ranked in the top 12.
Ohio State sits third after the loss at Texas, and the defeat itself isn’t the issue. Losing on the road to a great team is one thing.
The problem is how the Buckeyes let it slip away. A 23-3 lead at the start of the fourth quarter turned into a loss, and the same old issues showed up again: clock management, shaky kicking, and a tendency to blow games despite all that talent.
Then there’s this stat.
Iowa comes in at No. 4 after winning another Cy-Hawk slugfest. The Hawkeyes survived a game that has become a yearly rock fight, even with the run game struggling and Iowa State making life difficult. Penn State lands at No. 5 after Temple kept things close for a half, only for Matthew Campbell’s team to blow it open with a 24-0 run and put the game away right after halftime.
Michigan checks in at No. 6 after escaping Week 1 and then beating Oklahoma. John Mateer’s decisive pick was a huge turning point, and while the Wolverines didn’t make it look clean, they’re 2-0 and back in the mix.
Nebraska is seventh after a 56-7 blowout of Bowling Green, a game the Cornhuskers controlled from the start. Maryland follows at No. 8 after a 38-14 win over UCONN, a result that looks solid even if the game itself wasn’t on the radar.
Michigan State is ninth after a 14-7 halftime lead turned into a comfortable win over Eastern Michigan once the Spartans tightened things up. UCLA comes in at No. 10, just ahead of Wisconsin at No. 11, mostly because both are 2-0 and the Bruins got the nod. Wisconsin did bounce back from last week’s mini-disaster in Lambeau, and the run game got going with Iowa State transfer Abu Sama, III.
Washington lands at No. 12, but there are questions after a game that went all the way to a last-second stand against Utah State. The Huskies had already been through a tough Apple Cup-style test with Washington State, and this one still should not have needed a Hail Mary knocked out of the end zone for a pick. Northwestern is 13th simply because it didn’t lose this week, which is more than can be said for the bottom group.
Illinois and Purdue share 14th and 15th after a rough weekend for the league. Illinois led by 10 twice and still couldn’t close it out, while Purdue’s result is filed under “whatever” here. Both sit at 1-1, and Purdue’s loss came at home to a power conference team, which keeps the pain familiar.
Oregon and Minnesota tie for 16th. Oregon has real problems after back-to-back poor showings, escaping Boise State last week and then taking a stunning loss at Oklahoma State.
The Ducks also had the unsettling sign-stealing note attached to the game, and the source pointed out the same thing happened in a game with Indiana last year. Minnesota, meanwhile, got hammered at home by Mississippi State.
The 38-13 final was flattering, because the Bulldogs ran for 5.5 yards per carry and piled up nearly 500 yards of offense in a game that aired on CBS.
Rutgers brings up the rear at No. 18.
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Vonnahme is likely to miss the upcoming game against Northern Iowa, which adds a new wrinkle to a passing attack that is still trying to find its most reliable secondary threat. For Iowa, the intrigue is less about replacing one player and more about which tight end steps forward next, because the offense could use that play-action balance to make Diaz even harder to contain. [Read more 🡒]