Big Ten power rankings Week 3: How shakeup at the top impacts Penn State Football

Rutgers actually doesn’t look too much like Rutgers right now.

A 17-7 win on the road at Syracuse is definitely an impressive showing by this Scarlet Knights team. Last week, it was the offense who stole the show with 61 points, this week it was the defense as they held the Orange to just one touchdown.

Beating a Power 5 team is certainly a step in the right direction for Greg Schiano and his team, and to do it on the road is even better. Quarterback Noah Vedral has been a fine game manger for them, as he hasn’t turned the ball over yet and is completing 67% of his passes. The running game is what Rutgers needs to get going if they’re going to be successful in the Big Ten.

They managed just 50 yards on the ground against Syracuse, a number they cannot sustain if they plan to win more games this year.

They host Delaware this week, so a 3-0 start looks very likely for this team. The momentum will die a little when they face Michigan and Ohio State back to back, but Rutgers should have a winning record heading into the second week of October.

How this team will fair in conference play is a huge question mark, but they’ve done enough so far to be worthy of this ranking.