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Big Ten Power Rankings: The East continues to dominate

By Alec Whitaker

Sep 10, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford (14) signals from the line of scrimmage during the second quarter against the Ohio Bobcats at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Ohio 46-10. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2022; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford (14) signals from the line of scrimmage during the second quarter against the Ohio Bobcats at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Ohio 46-10. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 10, 2022; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Scott Frost (right) watches from the sideline during the second quarter against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2022; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Scott Frost (right) watches from the sideline during the second quarter against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports /

14-10

14. Nebraska (1-2, 0-1) Last week: 13

Maybe last year wasn’t a fluke, maybe Nebraska truly was as bad as its 3-9 record in 2021 indicated. The Cornhsukers were shocked by Georgia Southern on Saturday night 45-42. It was a back-and-forth game all night and Georgia Southern just happened to have the ball last. It was an ugly loss at home for Nebraska. It was so bad that Scott Frost was fired on Sunday afternoon. Nebraska will try to push on, but a matchup with Oklahoma next week won’t help at all. If there’s any bright spot for this Nebraska squad, it’s that the offense is averaging 36 points per game through three games. Only problem is, they’re giving up 31 a game. Maybe the coaching change will get this team going.

13. Northwestern (1-1, 1-0) Last week: 11

After a great win over Nebraska in Ireland to start the year, Northwestern had the option to take Week One off and they accepted. Maybe they shouldn’t have, because the week off seemed to hurt their momentum. The Wildcats fell to Duke 31-23 at home. If you lose to Duke in basketball, it’s respectable, football, not so much. Running back Evan Hull did have an insane game with 65 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, 14 receptions, 213 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. That awesome effort unfortunately wasn’t enough. To add on, the win to Nebraska is a little less impressive with the way that team looks.

12. Iowa (1-1, 0-0) Last week: 8

Iowa’s defense should have them higher on this list, but it’s just getting harder and harder to look past this offense. The Hawkeyes lost their cross-state rivalry game with Iowa State 10-7. The offense is now averaging five points per game. Quarterback Spencer Petras is a mess, going just 12-26 for 92 yards and an interception on Saturday. Keep in mind, South Dakota State and Iowa State are two of the least talented teams on Iowa’s schedule. They still have matchups with Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. If the offense continues to perform like this, Iowa will lose five or six games.

11. Illinois (2-1, 0-1) Last week: 14

A week after a tough loss to Indiana, Illinois bounced back with a quality 24-3 win over Virginia on Saturday. Running back Chase Brown is quietly putting together a terrific season and that continued on Saturday with another 146 rushing yards. The defense also performed well against Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong, who is one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the country. They held him to just 13-32 passing with two interceptions. Illinois still needs to get a little more athletic on offense, but so far, the defense has been fantastic, giving up less than ten points a game.

10. Indiana (2-0, 1-0) Last week: 12

It’s not easy to put a 2-0 team that as a Big Ten win this far down in the rankings, but that says more about everyone else than it does Indiana. The Hoosiers struggled on Saturday with a not so good Idaho team. They did pull out a 35-22 win but trailed 10-0 at the half. Running back Shaun Shivers had a big day, rushing the ball 20 times for 155 yards and a touchdown. It was the first time in a while Indiana looked competent running the ball. Indiana has a chance to move up the rankings if the wins continue to pile up, teams ahead of the Hoosiers need to start losing though.

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