Week 7 Big Ten Football Power Rankings

Each week Big Jeff will give his take on the Big Ten football power rankings. The ratings will be a combination of year-to-date game performance and my expectations of how much each team can and will improve during the year. If one team is ranked over another it generally means I feel on a neutral field the higher ranked team would win.

Week 7 Big Ten Football Top Storylines – Big Jeff’s Football (bigjeffsfootball.com)

Big Ten Football Power Rankings (Week 8): Ducks Replace Bucks in Top Spot (msn.com)

Week 7 Big Ten Football Power Rankings

Note: The teams power ranking change from last week is in parenthesis.

1. Oregon (6-0, 3-0; +1) – The win over #2 Ohio State was the marquee game Dan Lanning had been looking for and was one of the best wins in Oregon history. Dillon Gabriel played great and bolstered his Heisman hopes and the Oregon offense piled up 496 yards on Ohio State’s top nationally ranked defense. The Ducks confirmed themselves as legit national title contenders.
2. Ohio State (5-1, 2-1; -1)– Another Top 5 loss for Ryan Day and the Buckeyes as they botched the chance to kick a game winning field with under a minute left. The defense was very disappointing giving up huge plays which is a pattern we are seeing from Jim Knowles led defenses. On the positive side QB Will Howard proved he can play elite in big games; the Buckeyes were one play away from winning and they proved they are also legit national title contenders.
3. Penn State (6-0, 3-0; same) – Coach James Franklin and Penn State got a big road win over a fired-up USC team 33-30 in overtime. This type of game is a great resume builder as the Nittany Lions seek to make the playoffs for the first time. Tight end Tyler Warren had an all-time game of 17 catches for 224 yards and one touchdown as he did it all to back the strong play of QB Drew Allar.
4. Indiana (6-0, 3-0; same) – Indiana was off this week and welcome my #6 rated Big Ten team Nebraska on Saturday along with the FOX “Big Noon” game crew.
5. Illinois (5-1, 2-1; same) – #22 Illinois was a 21.5 favorite vs. visiting Purdue and were cruising up 27-3 in the third quarter before Purdue came rouring back to take the lead 43-40 with under a minute left. Illinois tied it with a game-tying 38-yard FG as time expired, then Illinois won 50-49 in OT as Purdue went for two in the first OT. Illinois has won two overtime games, so this is a tenuous position being rated 5th.
6. Nebraska (5-1, 2-1; +4) – Nebraska was off this week and visit Indiana Saturday. With one loss they are still in the hunt for the Big Ten championship game.
7. Iowa (4-2, 2-1; +3) – After getting drilled by Ohio State 35-7 the previous week, the Hawkeyes went home and did the same to Washington 40-16 behind RB Kaleb Johnson’s 166 yards rushing in Kirk Ferentz’s 200th all-time win. It was vintage Iowa winning the turnover battle 2-0 and passing for only 108 yards.
8. Wisconsin (4-2, 2-1; +5) – After blowing out Purdue at home the previous week the Badgers went to Rutgers and bullied them in a 42-7 rout behind 198 yards and 3 touchdowns from running back Tawee Walker. I moved them up a huge 5 spots since it looks like they may finally have the new Air Raid offense rolling. Next up is Northwestern who the Badgers have recently struggled against.
9. Michigan (4-2, 2-1; same) – Michigan was off last week at a good time as they look for better passing production from new QB Jack Tuttle. They play at #22 Illinois this week.
10. Minnesota (4-3, 2-2; +1) – The Gophers would like to have more Los Angelos schools in the Big Then after first beating USC last week and then coming back from a 10-0 halftime deficit to beat the Bruins 21-17 in the Rose Bowl on a late TD pass from Max Brosmer. Any road win is a big win, even over struggling UCLA. This was in important win for the Gopher bowl hopes.
11. Washington (4-3, 2-2; -3) – I have been saying Washington maybe had the highest upside of any team the second half of the year, and they helped prove that beating Michigan 27-17 last week. And then turned around this week and got blown out by Iowa 40-16. This is an up and down team that has a lot of upside but have shown they can blow games and play poorly so I am dropping them 3 spots.
12. USC (3-3, 1-3; same) – It looked like USC was going to get a big home win over #4 Penn State up 20-6 at the half. But they forgot to defend the Nittany Lions best player TE Tyler Warren who had 224 yards receiving and lost 33-30 in overtime that includes some poor clock management by Lincoln Riley. This was another close missed opportunity for USC.
13. Rutgers (4-2, 1-2; -6) – What happened to Rutgers potential magical 9- or 10-win season with an easy schedule? It went up in dust as Wisconsin ran all over them for 309 yards which is alarming since Rutgers wants to play a physical type of style. Their offense was shut out for the second week in a row until the fourth quarter. Now Rutgers just needs to focus on making a bowl game.
14. Northwestern (2-4, 0-3; +2) – The Wildcats marched into College Park and despite getting outgained 355 to 283, still dominated leading throughout and pulled away in the fourth quarter taking advantage of Maryland mistakes to score 20 unanswered points. A huge road win for the Wildcat bowl hopes.
15. Michigan State (3-3, 1-2; -1) – Michigan State was off last week and get a home date vs Iowa.
16. Maryland (3-3, 0-3; -1) – What can you say about Maryland and Mike Locksley in that pathetic loss to Northwestern after an off week. The 10th loss in a row after a bye. I would like to rank them below UCLA, but they do have three wins. Maybe they will wake up before USC visits this week.
17. UCLA (1-5, 0-4; same) – UCLA was up 10-0 at the half only to watch Minnesota manage a 21-17 tight victory. Very deflating for the Bruins who continue to play hard but make too many mistakes (105 penalty yards) and can’t run the ball managing just 36 yards. Not a good formula to win in the Big Ten.
18. Purdue (1-5, 0-3; same) – It’s good to see the Boilermakers have not quit on their coach as they came back from 27-3 to take the game into overtime before losing 50-49. Another bright spot is freshman quarterback Ryan Brown who took over for injured Hudson Card and threw for 297 yards and 3 touchdowns with no pick almost leading the comeback win. Maybe there is hope.