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Week 4 B1G Power Rankings: Plenty of movement before conference play gets in full swing
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Just like that, a quarter of the regular season is in the books.
Well, at least it is for most teams. That means we can actually piece some things together and figure out which teams look like they can make some noise in B1G play.
Heading into the first weekend of multiple conference games, here are where the B1G teams stand:
14. Rutgers (LW: 14)
Sorry, Rutgers. Beating up on Morgan State is not good enough to move past No. 14 on this list. Rutgers snapped its 11-game losing streak thanks to some impressive play from B1G Freshman of the Week Johnathan Lewis. He looked like the future, albeit against some week competition. Weak opponent or not, the Scarlet Knights’ defense only allowed 13 points per contest (not including Washington’s punt return score). Rutgers wouldn’t mind if Tanner Lee felt like gift-wrapping some pick-sixes in Lincoln this weekend.
13. Illinois (LW: 13)
I was in Tampa for Illinois’ drubbing at the hands of South Florida. It. Was. Ugly. Yes, the Illini started a program record 10 true freshmen, but there shouldn’t be any excuse to look that bad against a Group of 5 team. Illinois was undisciplined and inefficient on both sides of the ball. Lovie Smith is going to keep harping youth and development, but the Illini need to sustain that for more than just a random series against a quality foe for those things to actually happen.
12. Nebraska (LW: 7)
Woof. Tanner Lee and the Nebraska offensive line were dreadful in a stunning loss to Northern Illinois. I was all aboard the Lee hype train, and I’m still not completely bailing, but he’s not a guy who can succeed with poor offensive line play. He just can’t. It’s a bad combination for a team that doesn’t have much room for error. What’s the good news for the reeling Huskers? They start conference play with the two teams behind them on this list.
11. Northwestern (LW: 12)
For the first time in 2017, Northwestern put together a complete game against a lesser foe. The Wildcats got their offensive groove back, and against a lackluster Bowling Green offense, they did what they were supposed to do. It gets a whole lot tougher in a hurry. Northwestern will get a bye before starting conference play at Wisconsin and vs. Penn State. Something tells me they’ll be a little better than Bowling Green.
10. Michigan State (LW: 9)
To me, the Spartans are still the biggest mystery in the B1G. They looked decent in two home games against Group of 5 teams, as any B1G program should. Last year, we all fell in love with the Spartans after they won at Notre Dame. Will the same thing happen this year? It’s crazy to think that if MSU does win against Notre Dame, it’ll have matched its 2017 win total already. But that’s no guarantee for an unproven squad.
9. Indiana (LW: 8)
An unplanned bye week temporarily held off the Hoosiers from winning consecutive games for the first time in the Tom Allen era. Indiana is the only B1G team to have faced only Power 5 opponents so far, but that’ll change this weekend. Can Richard Lagow corral a job that seems to be slipping from his grasp?
8. Minnesota (LW: 11)
Middle Tennessee was coming off a nice road win at Syracuse. The Blue Raiders were no slouch. The Gophers didn’t need Shannon Brooks or much of a passing game to make them look like one. For the second straight week, Minnesota lit up the scoreboard and cruised to an easy win. The Gophers have a bye week before the start of B1G play, when we’ll see if their lack of balance will cost them.
7. Purdue (LW: 10)
Close your eyes, Purdue fans. Think back to eight months ago when I declared Purdue’s non-conference schedule the toughest of any B1G team. Picture how you thought that would play out under new coach Jeff Brohm. Probably 1-2, right? Maybe, just maybe the Boilers would win a nail-biter at Missouri?
Ok. Open your eyes. Your team is 2-1 having just throttled Missouri. Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson had to gut out a late rally in the opener and Ohio never stood a chance. Your team is heading into its B1G opener against Michigan riding all sorts of confidence. This is no fantasy.
6. Maryland (LW: 6)
It’s funny. Maryland wasn’t in action, yet they were an interesting topic of conversation on Saturday night. Had Texas held on to beat USC, there would’ve been a lot of people calling for the Terps to crack the top 25. Transitive property or not, the Terps know that one season-opening win won’t make or break their season. That UCF game is no pushover, which they found out in Orlando last year.
5. Iowa (LW: 5)
There are two sides of the coin with the Hawkeyes. They didn’t look like a very good team for decent stretches against the likes of Iowa State and North Texas. But look at the body of work as a whole so far. Iowa stymied one of the top quarterback prospects in the country, it won a thriller on the road against a Power 5 team and it rounded out non-conference play with a 17-point win. Next up? A Saturday night date with a Penn State squad that embarrassed the Hawkeyes in Happy Valley last year.
4. Ohio State (LW: 4)
Given how poorly the previous week went, that was about the performance Ohio State should’ve expected against Army. J.T. Barrett looked better en route to some history, but the difference-maker for the offense is clearly J.K. Dobbins. The freshman continued his rampage while the Buckeye defense got its mojo back. It was only Army, but comfortable wins shouldn’t be taken for granted.
3. Michigan (LW: 2)
Michigan had two games on its non-conference schedule that it was supposed to dominate. That didn’t happen in either of them. The Wolverines’ anemic red zone offense plagued what should’ve been a comfortable win against Air Force. Instead, it took a dominant defensive effort and some stellar special teams play just to earn a two-touchdown victory. That game at Purdue on Saturday is all of the sudden looking mighty interesting.
2. Wisconsin (LW: 3)
For all the talk about Wisconsin not looking like a top-10 team in non-conference play, consider some of these numbers. The Badgers outscored their opponents 130-30, they rank in the top 20 in both scoring offense and scoring defense and they have yet to allow a second-half point this season. Go ask BYU how tough the Badgers are after they just handed them their worst home loss in six years.
1. Penn State (LW: 1)
Apparently Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley are pretty good against Sun Belt squads. Who knew? The Lions are tied for the No. 8 scoring offense (47 points per game) among teams that played three games. Even more impressive is the fact that the Penn State defense is second in FBS allowing just 4.7 points per game. Those numbers will be put to the test at Iowa City on Saturday night.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.