Week 4 brought about the start of conference play for most of the Big Ten, with 16 of the 18 teams playing conference matchups and 14 of the 18 playing their first conference game of the season.
With most of the league finally facing off head-to-head, Week 4 was by far the most informative of the season so far, and the results - a few unexpected and a few misleading - helped to order the conference. So, here’s where we stand heading into October.
Tier 5
18. Rutgers 1-3 (0-1) vs. Howard 58-7 W
Rutgers finally has a win!
Tier 4
17. Maryland 2-2 (0-1) vs. UCLA 54-3 L
16. Purdue 1-3 (0-2) vs. Notre Dame 49-10 L
15. Michigan State 2-2 (0-1) vs. Nebraska 31-13 L
14. Washington 3-1 (0-1) vs. Minnesota 27-24 L
13. Illinois 2-2 (0-1) at Ohio State 42-19 L
It’s a wonder that Mike Locksley is still the head coach in College Park after the 54-3 drubbing his team took at the hands of UCLA, which traveled across the country for an early start and scored all 54 of its points after ending the first quarter in a scoreless tie.
Not quite as bad, but even more disappointing is Washington, which can’t block and is down multiple running backs, so everything is on Demond Williams Jr., who just isn’t that level of quarterback. The Huskies got the best of Minnesota QB Drake Lindsey late Saturday night, but even so, losing as a 10.5-point home favorite after trailing big most of the way is just another piece of evidence that this team is not good.
Tier 3
12. Minnesota 3-1 (1-0) at Washington 27-24 W
11. Northwestern 2-1 (0-1) at Indiana 29-23 L
10. Penn State 3-1 (0-1) vs. Wisconsin 24-20 L
9. Wisconsin 3-1 (1-0) at Penn State 24-20 W
Northwestern continues to impress. Chip Kelly is getting the most out of journeyman QB Aidan Chiles with a bizarrely built offense that leverages his athleticism with triple-option looks from under center and a pro-style downfield passing attack. Kelly has been a fantastic hire for David Braun; Chiles has been a great pickup; and a bend-don’t-break defense did enough to keep them in a game with Indiana on Friday night, and could be enough to knock off Penn State when they finally break in new Ryan Field next Friday night.
As for Penn State, the Nittany Lions are essentially in power rankings free fall after facing their first real test, sliding from No. 6 to No. 10 after losing to Wisconsin 24-20 at home. Matt Campbell’s overly conservative approach spoiled a three-interception game, including a pick-six from his defense. Rocco Becht was overwhelmed by a Big Ten defense, and the run game hasn’t been solved in Happy Valley.
It’s hard to lose as a 10-point home favorite when you get a pick-six and win the turnover margin. But that’s how thoroughly Wisconsin outplayed Penn State on a down-to-down basis. The only reason the Badgers can’t climb much higher is that their quarterback, Colton Joseph, who threw the three interceptions, has been loose with the football all year.
Tier 2
8. Nebraska 4-0 (1-0) at Michigan State 31-13 W
7. UCLA 4-0 (2-0) at Maryland 54-3 W
6. Iowa 3-0 (0-0) at Michigan 20-19 W
5. USC 4-0 (1-0) at Rutgers 42-35 W
4. Michigan 3-1 (0-1) vs. Iowa 20-19 L
You can call it disrespectful to have Iowa behind Michigan after the Hawkeyes just beat the Wolverines in Ann Arbor on Saturday, but that’s why these are power rankings, not standings. Michigan is still a better team than Iowa and would have won that same game far more often than not.
According to Bill Connelly’s SP+, Iowa had a postgame win expectancy of about 7%. The Hawkeyes seemingly avenged Western Michigan’s loss with a last-second victory, but it was remarkably unlikely. On a down-to-down basis, Michigan was far better, and Bryce Underwood looked the best he has all season, good enough to have the Wolverines jump USC, which once again could not tackle in a loss to Oregon.
Lincoln Riley has had plenty of time to build a Big Ten tough program in LA, but maybe it just can’t be done. If it can, Riley isn’t going to be the one to do it. The Trojans were unable to get stops down the stretch against Oregon backup QB Dylan Raiola, and with true freshman wide receiver Trent Mosely out, they don’t have enough firepower to win shootouts week after week like Riley’s old teams in Norman.
Elsewhere, UCLA and Nebraska went on the road and proved that they’re too good to mess around with the rest of the Big Ten’s lower-middle class. Bob Chesney has UCLA running the heck out of the ball right now, and Nebraska found a perfect match for Dana Holgorsen in Anthony Colandrea. They may not be CFP-good yet, but those teams are good.
Tier 1
3. Oregon 2-1 (0-0) vs. Portland State 84-0 W
2. Ohio State 2-1 (0-0) vs. Kent State 59-3 W
1. Indiana 3-0 (0-0) vs. Western Kentucky 38-0 W
Does Oregon deserve to return to Tier 1? On their own merit, probably not. The wide receivers finally started to help their quarterback out, whether it be Dante Moore or Dylan Raiola, who took over for Moore after he was knocked out of the win over USC in the first half; the defensive line has started to play like it has three top-three round picks on it, and new offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer has finally figured out how to maximize his playmakers.
That’s all positive, and though the Ducks are still just a few games removed from their loss to Oklahoma State, that result is looking better by the week. Still, it’s hard to say everything is fixed in Eugene, and now Raiola will likely be at the reins of the offense for a few weeks, if not more.
The reason it’s easy to elevate Oregon, however, is that Indiana and Ohio State haven’t looked like world beaters. It was a bizarre game in Bloomington on Friday night, but the Hoosiers struggled to put Northwestern away. And though Jeremiah Smith posted career highs against a terrible Illinois defense, the Ohio State defense allowed 6.5 yards per play to the Illini and a 53% rushing success rate.
Add us as a preferred source on Google