Silly season will extend into Week 3 for several Big Ten teams, most notably Michigan (-47.5 vs. UConn), but we’re ready to get just a little bit serious here at Saturday Tradition Rankings Central.

We can’t go another week without a single Ohio State or Michigan player in this top 10 list. It just wouldn’t be right. Those are the Nos. 3 and 4 teams in the country, after all. We gauge players on wow factor and value to their team, and both the Buckeyes and Wolverines had offensive players bust out on Saturday.

Northwestern, usually a less likely source of playmakers, produced 2 breakthrough performances we can’t ignore even though they happened in a loss to Duke. To make room, we had to punt Iowa’s Tory Taylor, much as we hated to do it given that he’s the nation’s second-leading punter and the hapless Hawkeyes’ best weapon.

We also kicked out a kicker, an offensive lineman, a wide receiver, a defensive back and a running back from our inaugural 2022 list. We needed the spots, and soon we’ll need more. Because right now, Taulia Tagovailoa, Aidan O’Connell and Braelon Allen are among those on the outside looking in. Plus, Jaxon Smith-Njigba will return from injury at some point.

It’s hard to make this list, and even harder to stick. We’ll see what Week 3 brings.

For now, this is what we have:

10. JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan

The wow stat: a 93.8% completion rate through 2 games, not to mention 16.5 yards per carry. Now that he’s won the starting gig, he’ll be bringing a dual-threat flair not seen in Michigan’s attack in decades, if ever. The UConn game won’t be worth watching, but the highlight clips surely will.

9. Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State

Harrison stepped up to fill the void in Njigba’s absence Saturday, catching 7 passes for 184 yards and 3 TDs against Arkansas State. Just like that, he’s No. 3 in the B1G in receiving yards per game, one spot ahead of teammate Emeka Egbuka. The Buckeyes again have a dynamic duo, and it’ll be a trio when Smith-Njigba returns.

Harrison is the second player in Ohio State history with a pair of 3-TD receiving games, joining Joey Gallowway (1993-94). Harrison’s first such game came in the Rose Bowl, so he’s had 6 TD catches in his past 3 games.

8. Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State

The 5-star freshman had TD runs of 70 and 44 yards, plus another carry that went 48 yards. He finished with 179 yards on 10 carries, the best Beaver Stadium debut in school history. Ending PSU’s 17-game streak without a 100-yard rusher, Singleton delivered hope and relief to 107,000+ in a home-opening romp over Ohio.

On his 2nd TD run, he beat the Bobcats pretty much single-handedly:

 

He’ll need more than 10 carries per game to remain on this list and to help the Lions prevail against stiffer competition — starting Saturday afternoon at Auburn. But a glimpse at the future brought joy to Happy Valley last weekend.

7. Ryan Hilinski, QB, Northwestern

In his second season as a Wildcat, Hilinski has come out firing. Though his comeback effort vs. Duke came up short, he connected on 36 of 60 passes for 435 yards and 2 TDs. Through 2 games, he’s averaging a B1G-best 374.5 yards per game. That’s 4th best in the nation — heady stuff for the former South Carolina Gamecock, and for Northwestern.

6. CJ Stroud, QB, Ohio State

Stroud posted his 10th 300-yard passing game in 14 starts Saturday, going 16-of-24 for 351 yards and 4 TDs against Arkansas State. Two games into the season, his top 2 receivers rank 3rd and 4th in the B1G, as both Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka are averaging better than 100 yards per game. Stroud’s 6:0 TD-INT ratio tops the league, and his QB rating ranks 2nd to efficient game-manager Tanner Morgan of Minnesota.

Don’t let his relatively modest stats in the Bucks’ opening victory over Notre Dame fool you. Stroud remains the B1G’s best quarterback until someone demonstrably proves otherwise.

5. Mohamed Ibrahim, RB, Minnesota

Ibrahim has returned from his injury looking as strong as ever.

After missing all but the opener in 2021, Ibrahim has picked up where he left off, opening this season with 2 100-yard games to extend his streak to 11. Against overmatched Western Illinois, he ran for 130 yards and 2 more TDs, giving him 4 this year and 22 over his past 11 outings.

PJ Fleck will take 2 TDs per game and everything else the 5-10, 210-pound 6th-year senior can give before he heads off to the NFL.

4. Chase Brown, RB, Illinois

The 5-11, 205-pound junior has been Bret Bielema’s workhorse back through 3 games, and he’s averaging a nation’s best 168 rushing yards per game as a result. He carried 20 times for 146 yards in a dominating victory over Virginia.

He seems poised to average better than 5 yards per carry for a 3rd straight year (he’s at 6.72 now), and will continue that quest a week from Thursday under the lights against visiting Chattanooga.

3. Charlie Jones, WR, Purdue

Having lost its top 3 receivers from 2021, Purdue needed someone to emerge as star quarterback Aidan O’Connell’s new go-to target.

Enter Iowa transfer Jones, who previously teamed up with O’Connell way back in youth football. They clicked again in Saturday’s rout of Indiana State, connecting 9 times for 133 yards and 3 TDs.

Saved from his purgatory in Iowa City, Jones leads the B1G at 10.5 catches and 143 yards per game, averages that rank 1st and 4th in the country. His 4 receiving TDs are also tops in the B1G.

2. Jacoby Windmon, LB, Michigan State

The transfer from UNLV has 12 tackles through 2 games, and he sure is making every hit count. The 6-2, 230-pound senior has 6.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 of them sacks, and 4 forced fumbles. Each of those totals leads the nation.

Washington will have to account for Windmon when the Spartans travel west to faces the Huskies in a battle of unbeatens Saturday night. The game will be televised by ABC, so Windmon will have a chance to display his prowess to a national audience.

1. Evan Hull, RB, Northwestern

Hull turned in the versatile-workhorse-running back effort of the season in Saturday’s loss to Duke. He caught 14 balls for 213 yards and a score. He ran 17 times for 65 yards and a score. That game came on the heels of a 119-rushing-yard, 5-catch effort in the season-opening win over Nebraska.

Hull leads the country in yards from scrimmage (226.0 per game) and all-purpose yards (235.0 thanks to a couple kickoff returns), and leads by wide margins in both.

He’ll make the Wildcats’ early-kickoff home game on Saturday against winless Southern Illinois worth watching, if anything will.