The Big Ten’s big three feels set in stone after just three weeks. Penn State, Ohio State, and Oregon all reside comfortably in the AP Top 10, though the Ducks dropped two spots after handling Northwestern 34-14 on the lakefront Saturday for their first Big Ten win of the season. All three teams had slow starts in a sleepy Week 3 for the conference.
Ohio State held its perch at No. 1 with a 37-9 victory over the Ohio Bobcats, but led just 13-3 at halftime. It took Penn State much longer than expected to bury Villanova, scoring just seven points in the first quarter and 21 in the first half before pulling away for a 52-6 win. Now, all three head into a bye week before the chaos begins with the Nittany Lions hosting Oregon for the White Out Game in Week 5.
Beyond the top three is where things get interesting. Illinois is a top 10 team in the country, positioned at No. 9 following a 38-0 win over Western Michigan. However, the Fighting Illini are eighth by ESPN’s FPI metric, and slot in the same spot in my Big Ten power rankings. Quarterback Luke Altmyer is a steady veteran who made big plays against Duke in Week 2, but the wide receiver group is still unsettled behind Hank Beatty, and the offensive line, which returned multiple starters and is typically the strength of a Bret Bielema outfit, has allowed pressure on over 30 percent of Altmyer’s dropbacks.
For me, Nebraska tops the second tier of Big Ten contenders, with USC lagging closely behind. Dylan Raiola has sprung to life in Dana Holgorsen’s offense after an underwhelming Week 1 win over Cincinnati, and Matt Rhule teams always make the leap in Year 3. USC also looks massively improved, especially on the defensive side of the ball, and ranks third in the Big Ten by FPI, ahead of Penn State. I moved USC up from No. 8 to No. 5 this week, but I still need to see more from Lincoln Riley’s Trojans.
Michigan and Indiana also reside firmly in the Tier 2 mix. The next two weeks will decide the top dogs in that tier, or even elevate one of those contenders into the top level as Nebraska hosts Michigan and Indiana hosts Illinois in Week 4. Then, Illinois hosts USC in Week 5. Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood dominated Central Michigan on Saturday and continues to make strides, but Sherrone Moore’s roster lacks playmaking pop elsewhere on the offense.
Donoven McCulley is the Wolverines’ leading receiver through three weeks with just 10 catches for 158 yards. Underwood, for all his arm talent, has rushed for as many touchdowns (2) as he’s thrown for, and that’s with the team coming off a 63-point outing.
Lastly, to the very bottom of the conference, Minnesota was one of the biggest fallers, dropping from No. 9 to No. 13 after a road loss to Cal and star freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. While UCLA slipped from No. 17 to No. 18 with a loss to New Mexico and became the first program to fire its head coach this season, tying Virginia Tech, as the Bruins dismissed Deshaun Foster on Sunday.