Big Ten Football Early Season Power Rankings

By Jacob Lipnik on September 22, 2014

Mid-September is a great time to be a football fan, but this year, it’s a terrible time to be a Big Ten football fan. A once powerful and proud football conference, the Big Ten has become nothing more than the Big Disappointment. After a less than stellar season last year for the conference, this season seemed a bit more hopeful: Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Nebraska all seemed poised for great years; Michigan looked like it might be on the comeback; Penn State finally became bowl eligible.

But only three weeks in, the conference’s outlook seems bleaker than ever. Of the aforementioned teams, only Penn State and Nebraska are still undefeated. Penn State, though, has played nobody notable on their schedule, and Nebraska barely survived (winning by just one touchdown) against lowly McNeese State. Only four teams in the Big Ten are ranked in the AP top 25 poll, and only one of those—Michigan State at #11—is in the top 18. And that’s not even the worst of the misery: the Big Ten is also only 24-14 overall as a conference, the worst record of any “power conference”; they are a mere 2-12 versus non-FBS teams with winning records. In the first year of the much hyped over College Football Playoff, it seems just about inevitable that the Big Ten—a conference that only a few years ago would’ve surely been penciled into one of the four spots in the playoff—will miss out on this prestigious college football honor.

And yet, for all the misery this season may hold, Big Ten football fans still watch. They still show up to the games. They still care, because what’s the alternative?

So since Big Ten fans will stick by their teams and their conference no matter how bleak the season’s outlook may be, and since their is still a fair amount of prestige and import to winning the conference championship (regardless of where the champion stands in a national context), let’s see where each team stands in an early season Big Ten power ranking:

1) Michigan State: Despite blowing a fourth quarter lead in their lone loss of the season at Oregon, the Spartans will still be the team to beat in the Big Ten. Honestly, who in this conference can you imagine them losing to? Their combination of elite defense and consistent offensive production gives them a great chance to repeat as conference champions.

Via flickr.com

2) Wisconsin: They lost in heartbreaking fashion to a good LSU team, but that isn’t anything to be too ashamed of. LSU is a more formidable foe than most the Badgers will face in the conference season. Quarterback will be a question mark all season long, but their rushing attack, behind Heisman hopeful Melvin Gordon, will be enough to propel them to a few wins in and of itself. Wisconsin should cruise to first place in the Big Ten’s West division and find itself in the Big Ten championship game.

3) Nebraska: Nebraska, one of the two remaining undefeated teams in the Big Ten, will be Wisconsin’s biggest challenger for a spot in the B1G championship game. With a couple of the best skill position players in the league in Ameer Abdullah and Jordan Westerkamp, their offense should be able to be a force under sophomore QB Tommy Armstrong, Jr.  Unfortunately, their schedule will do them no favors, with their two toughest opponents—Michigan State and Wisconsin—both coming on the road.

4) Ohio State: The Buckeyes will be reeling all season long from the loss of star quarterback Braxton Miller. This team just isn’t the same without him, and it showed in their narrow win against Navy and their loss to Virginia Tech. Urban Meyer and a borderline great defense will certainly find a way to keep this team competitive in the Big Ten all season long, but it’s hard to imagine them having the same success as last year with J.T. Barrett behind the helm.

5) Michigan: Most people have already sold their stock in Michigan for this season, but—and maybe I’m a bit biased—I still have some faith in the Wolverines. Their loss at Notre Dame was absolutely pathetic, but they’ve looked good overall in their other two games this season. It’ll take a miracle or two to win the conference, especially having to travel to East Lansing and Columbus, but behind an improved running game and what could turn into a well above average defense, Michigan could at least stay competitive in the Big Ten.

6) Penn State: It’s tough to put one of the two undefeated teams in the conference this low in these rankings, but Penn State really hasn’t played anyone notable so far. On the road at Rutgers was no cakewalk, but it didn’t prove too much, nor did a narrow win over UCF. However, the Nittany Lions, behind promising QB Christian Hackenberg, new coach James Franklin, and newfound hopes of a bowl game, have plenty of chances to prove themselves this season. And with the Buckeyes and Spartans both coming to Happy Valley, maybe they could even pull off an upset or two this season to shake things up in the Big Ten.

Via flickr.com

7) Rutgers: A newcomer to the Big Ten, Rutgers has fared well so far. They played well against Penn State, despite the loss, and proved that they can provide a great home atmosphere. Rutgers can’t—and shouldn’t—expect to be great this season, but just finishing in the top half of the conference standings would be a huge win, and a huge momentum boost, for this program.

8) Maryland: Maryland, like Rutgers, hasn’t embarrassed the Big Ten by any means so far in its league debut. Randy Edsall has helped the Terrapins improve their record in each of his three seasons as head coach; expect the same improvement in year 4. Maryland won’t be making much noise in the Big Ten this season, but they should at least be able to beat the teams below them on this list handily and hold their own against the teams sitting above them.

9) Minnesota: There isn’t much to say about this Golden Gophers team; they aren’t terrible, but they aren’t very good either—they’re just average. They have the pieces to win a few games against low-level teams, but behind a sub-par quarterback in Mitch Leidner, don’t expect them to pull off any upsets.

10) Iowa: Iowa has one of the best offensive lineman in the country in Brandon Scherff, yet has somehow been unable to run the ball with any effectiveness so far this season. They’ll have to get that ground game going if they want to see any success. However, they don’t play a team in the upper echelon of the league until the very end of November; if they can simply beat the lower tier Big Ten teams, Iowa will at least be able to stay ahead in the win-loss column.

11) Illinois: Don’t let their 2-1 record fool you. Illinois was absolutely dominated at Washington last Saturday and didn’t exactly look stellar against Western Kentucky or Youngstown State. It certainly won’t help that they play Nebraska, Ohio State, and Wisconsin all away from home. To be blunt, it’s going to be a long, long season in Champaign.

12) Indiana: Is it almost basketball season? That’s the question everyone in Bloomington must be wondering these days. Losing to Bowling Green doesn’t exactly inspire hope in a fan base, and there’s not much that’s happened in the last few years that would justify optimism for the Hoosier faithful.

13) Purdue: This team should be thankful for Northwestern; if it weren’t for the Wildcats’ abysmal start to the season, the Boilermakers would be one spot lower on this list. That’s what happens when you just barely squeak out a win against Western Michigan and then lose to Central Michigan. Purdue’s roster is, simply stated, a mess. Don’t expect them to be leaving the field happy many weeks this season.

14) Northwestern: Not much needs to be said about Northwestern besides this quote from Pat Fitzgerald: “we’re an embarrassment to anyone who’s ever put on the purple and white.” When those words are coming from the mouth of the head coach, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see yourself on the bottom of most Big Ten power rankings.

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