Legendary baseball manager Casey Stengel was reportedly heard to utter in his final job with the then-hapless New York Mets, “Can’t anybody here play this game?” Ohio State football could be forgiven for looking around the Big Ten and asking the same question.

Sure, OSU’s 45-31 win over Minnesota in Week 1 wasn’t exactly a perfect effort, but OSU showcased enough talent to once again rule the Big Ten. Meanwhile, for the rest of the conference, Week 1 was something of a slog. Can anybody complete with OSU in the Big Ten? Here’s our breakdown:

Not in the conversation

Some teams can be simply dismissed out of hand. Those would include Nebraska (lost to Illinois), Illinois (lost to Texas-San Antonio), Minnesota (actually a decent team, but already lost to OSU and apparently without Mohamed Ibrahim for the rest of the year), Northwestern (lost at home to Michigan State by 17), Rutgers and Purdue (just general talent gap on those last two). That leaves 7 teams with chances ranging from slim to possible.

So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance

Entrants in the sorta-but-not-really realm of competing with OSU include:

Michigan State

Expected to be awful, but won its conference opener on the road by 17. The Spartans draw some attention because Wake Forest transfer RB Kenneth Walker III rushed for 264 yards and 4 scores in their win over Northwestern. Ibrahim showed that OSU can be vulnerable against an outstanding running back. That said, there’s no reason to think MSU’s defense could keep up with the Buckeyes, so put the Spartans in the “slim chance” field.

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Maryland

The Terps haven’t had a winning season since 2014, but their opening win over West Virginia was intriguing. So is Taulia Tagovailoa at QB, with 332 passing yards and 3 scores. Beating WVU in the run game by a 164-48 margin is not insignificant either. Much like State, it doesn’t seem like the Terps are a threat, but without more data, it would be a mistake to count them out.

Michigan

The fighting Jim Harbaughs are still lurking out there. Obviously, Michigan has more talent than MSU or Maryland. But will the Wolverines have the talent and depth to still be in the picture on Nov. 27 when they visit Columbus? Unlike the first two of this group, it’s not nearly impossible to envision. But it’s also not easy.

Indiana

Seemed like the Hoosiers would be in the “Genuine Competitors” division. But then, that was before they lost 34-6 at Iowa. IU gave Ohio State a great game last year, and the Buckeyes do have to travel to Bloomington. But Michael Penix Jr. was sufficiently rusty in Week 1 to all but bury the Hoosiers right out of the gate. IU will play Penn State on Oct. 2, and could climb back into legitimate Big Ten contention if they right the ship by then. But there’s plenty wrong with the ship.

The Genuine Competitors

Wisconsin

Talent? Check. Playing in the weaker B1G division? Check. Offensive scheme that could trouble OSU? Well, maybe. Solid home win in week 1 that sets the path for a season with a challenge of the Buckeyes? Stop the car. Losing 16-10 to Penn State in the opener doesn’t exactly help the Badgers’ odds. Sure, Wisky held Penn State to 11 first downs and outrushed them 174-50. They also lost the turnover battle by 3 and were about as explosive as a month-old soda. Their schedule is still remarkably kind, but it’ll take more than this to compete with Ohio State.

Penn State

So conversely, by beating Wisconsin, Penn State should be legitimate, right? Well, kinda. Again, they couldn’t run the ball, didn’t do a great job stopping the run on Wisconsin, and benefitted from some good luck. PSU’s schedule is much harder than Wisconsin’s. They play in Columbus, and at Iowa, and could stumble two weeks from now against Auburn. The Nittany Lions have a shot, but not a great one.

Iowa

OK, so Iowa is the darling of our list. The Hawkeyes might have been in the lower category before Week 1, but dropping the hammer on Indiana was impressive. Could the Hawkeyes mess with CJ Stroud like they did Penix? Doubtful, but far from impossible. Iowa will always have offensive balance, a veteran coaching staff, and is the team on this list least likely to beat itself. After a wild B1G Week 1, that gives them the best shot of any right now. Bonus for not playing OSU in the regular season and their toughest road game is probably at Wisconsin on Oct. 30. Win that one, and it could get interesting.