Big Ten power rankings after five weeks
Now that we have a comfortable sample size of five games and a good understanding of who teams actually are this season, it is time to break out our weekly power rankings.
Following week five of the college football season, Nittany Nation writers submitted our individual power rankings to come up with a composite power ranking. Here's how we see the Big Ten stacking up as we enter the second week of October.
No. 1 Ohio State
It's pretty straightforward, Ohio State is by far the best team in the Big Ten and has an argument as the best team in the country through five weeks. You may be able to score some points on their defense, albeit an improved one but good lucking stopping that offense.
No. 2 Michigan
The Wolverines have yet to actually play anyone that could be considered a test and still won't until they host the Nittany Lions next week. That being said, credit is due to the Wolverines in the fact that they consistently show up every week, get the job done, and move on.
No. 3 Penn State
Penn State has pretty clearly established itself as a top-three team in the Big Ten. There are some questions about who the Nittany Lions exactly are out of five weeks, are they the team we saw weeks one through three? Or are they the team we've seen the past two weeks against Central Michigan and Northwestern?
No. 4 Maryland
Don't look now but Maryland could be ranked when they head into Happy Valley on November 12, as long as they continue to handle business. They're coming off a tough 34-27 loss to Michigan two weeks ago but are 4-1 with games against Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern, and Wisconsin all coming up. Could we be looking at an 8-1 Terrapins team on November 12? It's surely not out of the question.
No. 5 Purdue
After a 2-2 start, Purdue reminded everyone last week against Minnesota that they're still a threat in the Big Ten West. A nice statement win out of Jeff Brohm's program which still controls their own destiny in the muddied Big Ten West picture.
No. 6 Minnesota
Despite the loss to Purdue last weekend, Minnesota has been one of the more impressive teams this season, dominating in each of their four games, though all against much lesser talent. The Gophers' are off this week before returning to action against Illinois next week.
No. 7 Illinois
Talking about the Fightin Illini, head coach Bret Bielema has his program humming and playing at the highest level we've seen them play in a very long time. This is a team that you can't take lightly and should be considered a legitimate Big Ten West contender.
No. 8 Iowa
Iowa fell for the second time last week in a 27-14 loss to Michigan which didn't tell us anything we already didn't know. The Hawkeyes' defense is pretty good but they just don't have the playmakers on offense to be any sort of dangerous. Their Big Ten West matchup against Iowa on Saturday evening could decide quite a bit in the Big Ten West race going forward.
No. 9 Wisconsin
Wisconsin made the surprising move of firing Paul Chryst after the Badgers 34-10 to Illinois, their second straight and third in four weeks. We can debate at a later time about the future of the program and where they were headed under Chryst but interim head coach Jim Leonhard has a lot to clean up for the Badgers to get back on the right tracks this season.
No. 10 Michigan State
The Spartans without Kenneth Walker III suddenly seem much more vulnerable. Without the star running back, the Spartans lack the explosive and dangerous offense they had a season ago. Payton Thorne hasn't taken the next step that the Spartans have hoped for while the defense has shown little signs of improvement. They've lost three straight and now have to face Ohio State on Saturday.
I wonder how the Michigan State athletic department is feeling about Mel Tucker's $95 million contract extension last November.
No. 11 Rutgers
Rutgers started off strong with wins over Boston College, Wagner, and Temple but since have been outscored by Iowa and Ohio State by a combined score of 76-20. They have a winnable game against Nebraska and still have an avenue to bowl eligibility but it won't be easy. They'll likely need to beat both Nebraska and Indiana then look to take down one of Minnesota, Michigan State, or Maryland.
No. 12 Nebraska
The Cornhuskers have at least shown some improvement under interim head coach Mickey Joseph but this program continues to have a long ways to go. They had a nice win over Indiana last weekend, we'll see if they can continue the momentum this weekend against Rutgers.
No. 13 Indiana
Outside their season-opening win over Illinois, it's rarely been pretty for the Hoosiers. They did defeat Idah 35-22 and Western Kentucky 33-30 in overtime but since they've lost to Cincinnati 45-24 and Nebraska 35-21. With Michigan headed to Bloomington this weekend, a third straight loss is likely. It doesn't get any easier after that either with a four games stretch of Maryland, Rutgers, Penn State, and Ohio State.
No. 14 Northwestern
There's simply not much to say about the Wildcats. While they have a quality defense, their offense is by far one of the worst in the country and lacks any sort of explosiveness. Since their season opener against Nebraska, the Wildcats have been mostly abysmal.
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