Big Ten Power Rankings: How far does Penn State fall?
4-1
4. Penn State (5-1, 2-1) Last week: 3
It was ugly for Penn State on Saturday as they were crushed by Michigan 41-17. The Nittany Lions managed just 10 points on offense and struggled to move the ball all day. Michigan controlled the clock for 42 minutes, a ridiculous number. Penn State’s defense got ran over, giving up 418 rushing yards to the Wolverines. The offense’s inability to sustain drives played a role in the defense struggling, but this was not a great outing from the defense. There’s even more concern for the Nittany Lions because quarterback Sean Clifford left the game with an injury. If he’s out, this is true freshman Drew Allar’s team from here on out. That is exciting, but it will be interesting to see how Allar handles two really good defenses in Minnesota and Ohio State the next two weeks if he does in fact start. Penn State has a lot to figure out before hosting Minnesota on Saturday.
3. Illinois (6-1, 3-1) Last week: 4
Illinois is the story of the season in the Big Ten. The Illini got another big win on Saturday, beating Minnesota 26-14. The defense continues to be lights out, forcing three turnovers and holding the Gophers to just 180 yards of total offense. On offense, running back Chase Brown handled one heck of a workload, running the ball 41 times for 180 yards. He finally got some help from the passing game as well, as Tommy DeVito threw for 252 yards and a touchdown. The way Illinois is playing right now, there isn’t a team in the West that can beat them. There may only be two teams in the entire conference that can beat them right now. The early loss to Indiana was a tough one, but this team is in a much better place now. The bye week is up next for the red-hot Illini.
2. Michigan (7-0, 4-0) Last week: 2
As just mentioned, Michigan crushed Penn State 41-17 on Saturday. The Wolverines trailed 17-16 in the third quarter and then scored the last 25 points of the game. It was another dominating second half performance from Michigan. Blake Corum ran crazy, going for 166 yards and two touchdowns. His backup, Donovan Edwards, did even better, going for 173 and two touchdowns on just 16 carries. This running back duo is impossible to stop right now. The defense also proved that it is for real. Penn State scored only 10 points on offense and picked up 110 on its 268 yards of offense on two plays. After losing so much talent from last year’s team, the Wolverines have regrouped nicely and are one of the best defenses in the conference. Michigan certainly has the team to repeat as Big Ten champions this year.
1. Ohio State (6-0, 3-0) Last week: 1
Ohio State was on bye this week as they looked to get healthy and hopefully get back wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the stretch run. The Buckeyes face Iowa, who shouldn’t be much of a test for them. It’s looking more and more likely that Ohio State and Michigan will both be 11-0 when they meet at the end of the season.
