Week 1 of the college football season has come and gone, and boy were they some big storylines in the Big Ten.
All 18 Big Ten teams were in action in Week 1, and it wasn’t the conference's best showing. Several top teams stumbled, while a MAC program scored a win over one Big Ten team and another was robbed of a victory by an extremely controversial call.
The Indiana Hoosiers played a fairly drama-free season opener, taking care of business against North Texas by a score of 52-16.
Let's take a look at how all 18 Big Ten teams stack up heading into Week 2:
Week 2 Big Ten Football Power Rankings
18. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (0-1, 0-0)
17. Purdue Boilermakers (1-0, 0-0)
16. Michigan State Spartans (1-0, 0-0)
15. Maryland Terrapins (1-0, 0-0)
Rutgers paid UMass $1.55 million to come play in Piscataway. Rutgers entered the contest as a massive 29.5-point favorite, but lost in embarrassing fashion. UMass dominated from start to finish, earning an impressive 37-21 victory on the road. Rutgers wasn't expected to do much this season, but that result was still shocking. Other Big Ten bottom-dwellers including Purdue, Michigan State, and Maryland found the win column against lesser opponents, but they still have a lot of work to do to get out from the bottom of these rankings this season.
14. Wisconsin Badgers (0-1, 0-0)
13. Northwestern Wildcats (1-0, 0-0)
12. Michigan Wolverines (1-0, 0-0)
11. Nebraska Cornhuskers (1-0, 0-0)
The biggest storyline of the weekend took place in Ann Arbor. Michigan was thoroughly dominated by Western Michigan, and when the clock hit zero, the Wolverines were trailing 12-7. But somehow, a magically extra second was found which gave Michigan another hail mary chance. Despite converting on that miracle opportunity, the Wolverines looked rough all night long. Bryce Underwood was not impressive, and the defense couldn't get off the field. If Kyle Whittingham's team continues to play like that, they are in serious danger of failing to reach a bowl game. They have to regroup quickly, as Oklahoma comes to town this weekend.
10. UCLA Bruins (1-0, 0-0)
9. Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-0, 0-0)
8. Illinois Fighting Illini (1-0, 0-0)
7. Iowa Hawkeyes (1-0, 0-0)
6. Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0, 0-0)
UCLA's Bob Chesney and Penn State's Matt Campbell both earned strong victories in their respective Big Ten debuts. Chesney and the Bruins took down Cal 45-24 on the road, putting the Big Ten on notice that UCLA could be much-improved in Year 1 of the Chesney era. Campbell and the Nittany Lions blanked Marshall 45-0. It was a game they were supposed to dominate, but Marshall is a trick team who plays these types of games hard. Putting forth a performance like that was just what Campbell wanted to see from his team.
5. Washington Huskies (1-0, 0-0)
4. USC Trojans (2-0, 0-0)
3. Oregon Ducks (1-0, 0-0)
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0, 0-0)
1. Indiana Hoosiers (1-0, 0-0)
USC is the only Big Ten team to play multiple games so far, as they've defeated both San Jose State and Fresno State in convincing fashion. Washington had some trouble with Washington State, and Oregon was in a fight with Boise State, but both were able to prevail. Ohio State rolled Ball State, and Indiana holds steady at No. 1 after its strong showing against North Texas. Curt Cignetti's squad still has some things to shore up, but it's hard not to be excited about the potential in Year 3 of the Cignetti era.
Add us as a preferred source on Google