Big Ten Football: Week three power rankings for 2018

Big Ten football had a rough week three, but the top of the conference stayed strong.

Here are the week three power rankings in the Big Ten.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (-)

The Ohio State Buckeyes continue to lead the Big Ten. They are the most dominant team in the conference and it isn’t even close. Their 12-point win over No. 15 TCU was big for them and the Big Ten. They also have their head coach, Urban Meyer, back on the sidelines during games as well.

2. Michigan Wolverines (+1)

After a tough loss to Notre Dame week one, Michigan has rebounded nicely with wins over Western Michigan by 46 points and SMU by 25. They are starting to get into a groove and their schedule isn’t difficult the rest of the way until they meet Ohio State the final week of the season.

3. Penn State Nittany Lions (+1)

Penn State is another team that moved up a spot this week. They started slowly against Kent State but put it on the Golden Flashes with a 53-point drubbing on Saturday. I underrated this team heading into the season. It looks like they are in the driver seat right now and could be dangerous to Ohio State here in a few weeks.

4. Wisconsin Badgers (-2)

The biggest Big Ten disappointment so far is the Wisconsin Badgers. I had this team as a title contender with their stout offensive line and running back coupled with their great defense. That isn’t the case, though. They dropped a bad one against BYU over the weekend. This dropped them two spots.

5. Iowa Hawkeyes (+2)

I am still extremely hesitant about moving Iowa up too much. They are a good team but haven’t played great competition. Their Iowa State win was solid and they are coming off a 24-point victory over Northern Iowa. This week against Wisconsin will be a huge test for them. I still moved the Hawkeyes up two spots.

6. Michigan State Spartans (-1)

Michigan State had a bye week. Despite not playing, I dropped them a spot. Their last game was against Arizona State in which they fell to the Sun Devils. Arizona State proceeded to drop their game this week. That loss to Arizona State isn’t looking great now.

7. Indiana Hoosiers (+1)

One team that I am curious about is the Indiana Hoosiers. They took on the Ball State Cardinals and beat them by 28 points. They are now 3-0 and have a tough couple games in their next few. This team could surprise people in 2018, though.

8. Minnesota Golden Gophers (+3)

I don’t know how much I trust the Minnesota Golden Gophers, but they continue to win and this moves them up three spots this week. Minnesota hasn’t played anyone yet, but that is going to change in a couple weeks. They will have a chance to move up these rankings quickly.

9. Illinois Fighting Illini (+4)

Illinois had an absolutely heartbreaking loss to South Florida this past weekend. The Bulls are a good program, so this isn’t a massive negative for the Illini. That loss drops them to 2-1. But, Illinois is clearly better than many people had expected. I moved them up four spots this week.

10. Purdue Boilermakers (+2)

Another team who fell this week but still moved up in the rankings is the Purdue Boilermakers. They dropped their game to Missouri in a close contest. This is a game I thought they would lose by a lot but that didn’t happen. Purdue is 0-3, but they are better than their record shows.

11. Northwestern Wildcats (-2)

The second worst loss of the week goes to the Northwestern Wildcats. They welcomed in the Akron Zips and lost 39-34. Losing to a MAC team is rough, especially if it drops you to 1-2 on the season. I have a lot of questions about the Wildcats offense this year.

12. Maryland Terrapins (-6)

Maryland had a good story to start the season. They beat a ranked Texas team and things were looking up for a group of players who needed some good news. That all changed, though. The Terrapins fell to Temple this past weekend. The Owls are a bad team this year, to the Maryland 21-point loss looks terrible. I over ranked them last week and that is why they are dropping six spots.

13. Nebraska Cornhuskers (-3)

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are another team that lost a bad game on Saturday. They ended up falling to Troy by five points. This dropped the Cornhuskers to 0-2 on the season with a quarterback on the mend. This doesn’t look good for Nebraska.

14. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (-)

Easily the worst team in the Big Ten and maybe in all of the Power Five Conference teams go to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. They dropped to 1-2 on the season after getting beat by 41 points a really bad Kansas team. This is the most embarrassing loss for the Big Ten this season.