B1G Power Rankings: First Edition

1. Michigan State– The Spartans squeaked out a win versus an always tough Boise State team week 1 and walloped in state foe, Central Michigan this past Saturday. With College Game Day coming to East Lansing, look for Sparty to run all over Notre Dame. A tough defense and a great running game have Sparty ranked number 1 in the first Power Ranking.
2. Ohio State– The Buckeyes need another option on offense, as Braxton Miller cannot carry the ball 20+ times per game for the rest of the season. Look for the secondary to step up to the challenge that Kennan Allen and the Golden Bears bring into the ‘Shoe this Saturday.
3. Northwestern– Coming off two solid non-conference victories, the schedule gets easier for the Wildcats as they do not face a formidable opponent until they travel to Happy Valley week 6.
4. Michigan– Although it was a joy to watch TTUN get dismantled in Jerry’s World, Denard Robinson got back on track versus Air Force. Nothing to really watch for this week as they play UMASS, a team who is new to the FBS and who were also trailing Indiana 38-0 at halftime last week.
5. Nebraska– The Huskers are coming off a loss to UCLA at the Rose Bowl where their run defense failed to show up. Hopefully Nebraska does not overlook Arkansas St this weekend because they can light up the scoreboard. They put up 34 points on Oregon in week 1 (albeit in the second half) and put up 33 in a victory over Memphis last weekend.
6. Wisconsin– There is turmoil in Camp Randall right now after the team decided to part ways with their offensive line coach after squeaking by Northern Iowa then losing in Corvalis the week after. They come home this weekend to play Utah State, who can run the ball and play defense. Always a recipe for an upset.
7. Purdue– Played Notre Dame at South Bend good enough to win but could not close them out in the fourth quarter. Dark horse to represent the Leaders Division if Wisconsin completely falls off the tracks.
8. Penn St– I feel for Bill O’Brien who left a great situation in New England to join a horrible situation in Happy Valley. But on the other hand, I do not feel bad for the Nittany Lions as this season seems like a great example of Karma. They should be fine versus Navy if they can kick a Ficken field goal.
9. Iowa– You could probably flip flop spots 9-12 but Iowa always plays tough defense and always has a tough offensive line, so I’ll put them here.
10. Illinois– This was not a good week for the B1G Ten versus the Pac-12 as the Illini got mangled down in Tempe versus Arizona State. They should win the next two games though before the conference schedule begins.
11. Minnesota– Not impressed after the Gophers needed 3 OT’s to defeat lowly UNLV especially after the Runnin’ Rebels lost to Northern Arizona the week after. I would also not count their win against FCS opponent, UNH as much either. I could see them come back down to earth after their 2-0 start.
12. Indiana– Maybe would have had them up a few spots if quarterback Tre Roberson did not break his leg last weekend in their rout of UMASS. Roberson is out for the season and the Hoosier’s hope of having a successful season is also dashed.

Tough week for the conference as a whole, feel free to discuss…

Comments

  1. Ugh…this conference is definitely down…

    So far there doesn’t look like there is a single dominant team in the Big Ten, and plenty of teams are just lousy. MSU is probably the class of the conference and if they can shore up their QB situation…they will be a force to be reckoned with all season.

    OSU will have two weeks of solid practice to prepare for them. The rest of the teams out there have some nice parts but are severely lacking in a lot of areas.

    It’s a complete and utter joy to watch Penn State circle the drain in the toilet known as karma.

  2. Usually I am of the opinion of “if everyone looks bad, maybe every one is sort of just average”. Outside of a few stand-out teams (the top 5, for example), maybe this is just an average year for the Big Ten.

    But then I look at those performances again and I think “Nope, the Big Ten stinks this year.”

  3. It got to the point where I could have put any team anywhere after Wisconsin. Love to see Mich, Wisconsin, Penn St, Nebraska lose, but it just makes the conference as a whole look awful.

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  1. […] Northwestern so they should be able to put together a decent game plan. Compare with last week http://menofthescarletandgray.com/2012/09/12/b1g-power-rankings-first-edition/ […]

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