Big Ten football is only just starting to sort itself out, and Week 3 didn’t give the league much clarity. With 14 of the conference’s 18 teams still waiting on their first Big Ten game, the early picture is still built mostly on non-conference results. For now, that means power rankings are more about clues than conclusions.
The week did at least give us two conference matchups, with USC going east to Rutgers and Purdue making the trip to UCLA. Beyond that, teams mostly kept facing off against outside opponents, which means the league hierarchy is still fuzzy.
Week 4 should sharpen things up. Until then, this is the best read.
At the bottom, Rutgers stays stuck at No. 18 despite giving USC a fight in Piscataway. The Scarlet Knights went score-for-score with Lincoln Riley’s team, but that still doesn’t erase what happened against UMass. One encouraging loss won’t outweigh a result like that.
Purdue sits at No. 17 after its 52-38 loss at UCLA, while Michigan State checks in at No. 16 following its 27-10 defeat at Notre Dame. Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Maryland fill out the middle-to-lower tier, all coming off non-conference games that did little to settle much of anything. Minnesota beat Akron 41-7, Illinois handled Southern Illinois 48-10, Wisconsin rolled Eastern Michigan 54-10, Northwestern crushed Colorado 41-7 and Maryland lost to Virginia Tech 35-26.
There’s already a small debate in this section, and Wisconsin’s placement ahead of Michigan State is the clearest example. Notre Dame beat the Badgers 41-13 in Week 1, and the Spartans stayed in the game longer in their 27-10 loss. But the deeper numbers favored Wisconsin less badly than Michigan State, and in a week when both teams lost, the larger margin is not the only thing worth noticing.
Northwestern is the biggest riser in this group, jumping from No. 17 to No. 12.
That might look aggressive, but a 41-7 win over Colorado carries weight, especially with Colorado already owning a win over Georgia Tech. The Wildcats’ blowout of Deion Sanders’ team mattered, and so did the work of Aidan Chiles, who finished 17 of 22 for 241 yards and three touchdowns.
The next tier has a little more punch, even if the questions are still there. UCLA is No. 10 after beating Purdue 52-38, followed by Washington at No. 9 after a 48-16 win over Eastern Washington, Nebraska at No. 8 after beating North Dakota 34-7, and Iowa at No. 7 after a 55-0 rout of Northern Iowa.
This was a week for teams to answer a few things, at least for now, and usually against lighter opposition. Washington finally got the offense rolling.
Iowa, after struggling to run the ball against Iowa State in Week 2, took out its frustration on Northern Iowa and piled up 422 rushing yards. Whether those are real fixes or just temporary relief, we’ll find out soon enough.
Nebraska may have the most convincing case of the bunch. Back-to-back solid wins over Bowling Green and North Dakota have changed the tone around the Cornhuskers, and Anthony Colandrea looks like a strong fit with Dana Holgorsen.
Jamal Rule also keeps building a reputation as an emerging star. The next test comes in conference play, with a trip to East Lansing on deck.
Above that, Penn State and Michigan sit in the top half of the rankings, though the gap between the best teams and the rest still feels messy. Penn State remains at No. 6 after a 55-13 win over Buffalo, and Michigan is No. 5 after beating UTEP 52-17. Oregon is No. 4 after blasting Portland State 84-0, while USC lands at No. 3 after its 42-35 win at Rutgers.
There’s an argument that the line between Tier 2 and Tier 3 isn’t all that firm. Behind the top two teams, everyone has something to explain.
Penn State is the cleanest answer in the group, but it has also played nobody. Michigan let UTEP hang around.
USC had trouble putting Rutgers away. Oregon, after losing to Oklahoma State, took out its frustration on Portland State.
That leaves the top two. Ohio State is No. 2 after beating Kent State 59-3, and Indiana holds the No. 1 spot after a 38-0 win over Western Kentucky.
Indiana hasn’t exactly been crisp in non-conference play. The Hoosiers didn’t score in the first quarter and were up only 7-0 until the final minute of the first half, with their first touchdown coming on a two-play, three-yard drive after an interception. They also missed a field goal, punted and turned the ball over on downs on three of their first five possessions.
Still, that isn’t enough to knock the defending champs out of the top spot. Ohio State’s win over Kent State also isn’t enough to move the Buckeyes ahead.
There are questions there, too, including a No. 2 wide receiver opposite Jeremiah Smith and a pass rush that disappeared in the second half against Texas. For now, Indiana stays on top and Ohio State stays right behind it.
In Other News...
Penn State Just Got Fresh Fuel For Its Scheduling Debate
Penn States home date with Buffalo in Week 3 still drew a massive crowd by most college football standards, but the official attendance of 103,817 was the smallest at Beaver Stadium since 2019, not counting the fan-less 2020 season. It arrived at a time when the Nittany Lions non-conference schedule is already under a microscope, with plenty of noise around whether the program should be pushing harder for more demanding early-season matchups.
Matt Campbell said he has not yet discussed scheduling with the athletic director, and that sort of ambiguity only adds to a conversation that is likely to keep coming back as the sport changes. With the playoff format now expanded, future scheduling decisions may be viewed through a different lens, and Penn State is right in the middle of the debate over whether strong gate numbers are enough when the conversation turns to resume-building games. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Has A Personal Reason To Mourn Ernie Accorsi
Penn State has another familiar NFL tie to reflect on with the death of Ernie Accorsi at 84, a longtime league executive whose influence stretched well beyond the front office. Before his work as general manager of the Giants, Colts and Browns made him one of footballs most respected builders, Accorsi had already left his mark in State College as a Penn State player, a connection that gives his passing a more personal weight for the program.
Accorsis football life was defined by the kind of moves that changed franchises, from helping bring Tom Coughlin to New York to helping set up the draft-day path to Eli Manning. The Giants later credited him with helping shape their 2007 Super Bowl run, and his place in multiple halls of fame reflects how widely he was admired across the sport, including by those who knew him long before his NFL fame. [Read more 🡒]
Chase Sowells Path To Penn State Says Plenty About Matt Campbell
Chase Sowells decision to head to Penn State says as much about Matt Campbell as it does about the wide receivers own priorities. According to Sowells father, the receiver passed on bigger money from other schools, including Florida, to play for Campbell, a detail that fits the larger picture around this move. Campbell has long carried a reputation for building real trust with his players, and Penn State looks to be benefiting from that pull.
The Nittany Lions have already seen plenty of Iowa State players follow Campbell to State College, a sign that the coachs influence travels well beyond one roster. For Penn State, that kind of loyalty matters because it can help make a transition feel less like a reset and more like a continuation of something already established. Sowells path adds another layer to that trend, even if the full impact of the move will take time to sort out. [Read more 🡒]