Big Ten football power rankings after Week 7: Penn State survives a scare

Head coach Ryan Day was tired of losing to Michigan, so the Ohio State Buckeyes managed to bring back tons of talent to Columbus, especially on defense. Stars like JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer on the defensive line, Denzel Burke in the secondary, and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, all decided not to head for the NFL as likely mid-round picks and instead came back to make a run at the national championship. Then, Day supplemented through the transfer portal, landing Alabama superstar safety Caleb Downs and quarterback Will Howard as their headline additions, and somehow, against Oregon in Week 6, it still wasn’t enough. 

In the Big Ten’s biggest game of the season, No. 2 Ohio State fell to No. 3 Oregon 32-31 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. Day, who left time melt off the clock as Howard was driving for a chance to win the game, was thoroughly outcoached by Dan Lanning, who stole a possession with a surprise onside kick (that may or may not have been on purpose), and helped steal time off the clock late with a two-many men penalty that was intentional. But, Oregon, with Dillon Gabriel, who chose the Ducks over the Bucks and many others for his final year of college football, and Lanning’s dynamic group of wide receivers, torched Ohio State’s vaunted defense. 

Still, with game-management blunders by Day and a fortunate bounce on a kickoff, Oregon narrowly escaped with a home victory. In a neutral site contest, I’d confidently put my money on Ohio State because the roster in Columbus, even if the defense got exposed, is the most talented in the country. I’m keeping Ohio State at No. 1 this week and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. 

As for Penn State, the Nittany Lions escaped with an overtime win in LA after head coach Lincoln Riley threw everything including the kitchen sink at defensive Tom Allen’s unit in the first half. Head coach James Franklin needed a historically great performance from his future All-American tight end, Tyler Warren, and a few galaxy-brained ideas from his mad scientist offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, but a win is a win, and all but ensures Penn State a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff, even with a loss to Ohio State baked in. 

Elsewhere in the conference, Indiana was on a bye, so the shake-up began behind the Hoosiers. Illinois got pushed to overtime by a putrid Purdue team in a 50-49 final, so the Fighting Illini are the falling Illini in this week’s rankings. Iowa made a statement at home against Washington, doing the unthinkable, scoring 40 points. Kirk Ferentz is probably still nauseous because his body doesn’t know how to handle a blowout win and a functional offense. 

The Hawkeyes made a big jump this week, but aren’t the only climbers. Wisconsin started the season slow, but since veteran transfer quarterback Tyler Van Dyke went out with an injury and running back Chez opted out to preserve eligibility, offensive coordinator Phil Longo has opened up the offense. Sophomore QB Braedyn Locke is hitting big shots down the field and a running back committee led by Tawee Walker has the Badgers looking very scary heading into a matchup with Northwestern in Week 8 and a showdown with No. 3 Penn State at Camp Randall in Week 9.