Nothing too shocking has happened in the Big Ten this season, but the Illinois football team had one of the most impressive wins of week two.
With week two now in the books, the Illini, along with many other Big Ten programs, will look to continue great momentum as we head into the meat of the schedules. But with a few big losses in week two, where do things shake out for the week three power rankings?
Here are the week three Big Ten Conference power rankings
Ohio State continued to do Ohio State things. This past week, they demolished an undermanned Grambling squad 70-0. They don't need any praise, but there is now wavering from the No. 1 spot.
Oklahoma State is a dumpster fire right now, but they are still a power-four program. When a team like Oregon trucks the Cowboys 69-3, you have to move the Ducks up a couple of spots.
I almost dropped Penn State two spots due to them struggling against Florida International. The final score wasn't bad, but this was a closer game than the scoreboard showed.
This was a tough one. Illinois didn't drop because of the way they played. Oregon demolished a power-four program. I almost moved the Illini ahead of Penn State, but No. 4 seems like a good spot right now.
Indiana had a good week against a horrible team. They beat Kennesaw State 56-9. I am not impressed with the Hoosiers, but in my eyes, they pulled slightly ahead of the No. 6 team.
Iowa State is a good team, so the Hawkeyes losing to them isn't a huge blow. Iowa's quarterback play looked bad, and they didn't move the ball well through the air. Dropping Iowa one spot to No. 6 seems appropriate.
Michigan has a true freshman quarterback and competed with another top 25 power-four program. They didn't win, but there is no reason to drop the Wolverines in the power rankings.
After a week where it was looking like Minnesota was going to put up 100 points on Northwestern State, the Golden Gophers are moving up one spot. The biggest reason for the move up was due to a team ahead of Minnesota giving up some points on defense and dropping.
I give more value to the MAC than lower-level FBS programs. The fact that Nebraska can beat a MAC program 68-0 means there is something behind the Cornhuskers' program. I am moving Nebraska up two spots because of this dismantling.
There is a reason to worry about USC. They have the offense to put up points, but the fact that they are giving up 20 points to Georgia Southern is concerning. They deserve a two-spot drop.
Nebraska's big win over a MAC program enabled them to jump Washington. That was the main reason why the Huskies dropped a spot. I don't really put much value in a massive blowout against a horrible team.
Rutgers had a good win over Miami (OH) of the MAC. The Scarlet Knights have some question marks, but they did enough this past weekend to show that they shouldn't drop any. They stay at No. 12.
I thought about moving Michigan State up more this week. They took down an ACC team in Boston College, 42-40. That is always a good win, but I still have plenty of question marks for Michigan State. I did move them up one spot based on the decent win.
Wisconsin beat up on a bad Middle Tennessee team. That isn't anything to write home about. They dropped a single spot this week due to Michigan State beating Boston College and moving up.
This wasn't a good win by the Terrapins. Maryland had a big week one, but they struggled against Northern Illinois. The only reason Maryland is moving up a spot is that a team ahead of them struggled and dropped.
It is going to be tough going for Purdue, as they were so bad last season. This past weekend, the Boilermakers only beat FCS Southern Illinois 34-17. That score needs to have a wider margin. They only drop one spot, though.
Northwestern got on the board against a bad Western Illinois squad. They aren't moving up a spot because they are good. The Wildcats are off the floor now due to one of the worst teams in the country.
UCLA might be the worst team in the Big Ten. They were beaten by 33 points in week one, and then the Bruins fell to UNLV this past weekend, 30-23. UCLA needs a spark, but they are not looking good this season.