Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, September 17, 2017
There's no change to the top half of my latest Big Ten Power Rankings, presented by ArcelorMittal, but Purdue is moving on up. Meanwhile, Nebraska is trending down.
[ MORE: Week 3 video | Best of Week 3 | Week 3 predictions revisited ]
See my full post-Week 3 list below.
1. Penn State (3-0). The Nittany Lions have outscored foes 141-14 with two shutouts. The defense has allowed just one TD.
Last week: 1
Up next: at Iowa
2. Wisconsin (3-0). Alex Hornibrook looked like a Heisman contender Saturday, hitting 18-of-19 passes, the highest completion percentage (.947) in program annals, for 256 yards with four TDs in a 40-6 win at BYU.
Last week: 2
Up next: off; Northwestern, Sept. 30
3. Ohio State (2-1). J.T. Barrett bounced back in a big way with 270 yards passing. But it was vs. Army. Does that count?
Last week: 3
Up next: UNLV
4. Michigan (3-0). The wins keep on coming. But, golly, the offense still isn?t clicking. Is it time to worry?
Last week: 4
Up next: at Purdue
5. Maryland (2-0). The Terrapins are coming off a bye. Will they maintain their mojo?
Last week: 5
Up next: UCF
6. Iowa (3-0). The Hawkeyes were the Hawkeyes last week ? grinding, pounding, playing smart. Now comes a huge test. Say ?hello? to Penn State.
Last week: 6
Up next: Penn State
7. Minnesota (3-0). Grab an oar and a spot in P.J. Fleck?s boat before it fills up.
Last week: 7
Up next: off; Maryland, Sept. 30
8. Purdue (2-1). The Boilermakers are an early season surprise. It?s amazing what Jeff Brohm is doing with players he didn?t recruit.
Last week: 10
Up next: Michigan
9. Michigan State (2-0). Coming off a bye, the Spartans will look to pick up where they left off in a dominating 2-0 start. The visit from ND will be telling.
Last week: 8
Up next: Notre Dame
10. Indiana (1-1). The Hoosiers had their game cancelled. More prep time for Georgia Southern. Time to pad the resume.
Last week: 9
Up next: Georgia Southern
11. Northwestern (2-1). Welcome back, Wildcats! Nothing like a blowout win vs. a MAC team to make everyone forget an ugly loss at Duke.
Last week: 13
Up next: off; at Wisconsin, Sept. 30
12. Illinois (2-1). This is a young team that?s going to suffer a lot of growing pains this season.
Last week: 11
Up next: off; Nebraska, Sept. 29 (Friday)
13. Nebraska (1-2). That?s two losses in a row for the Cornhuskers, who made strides on defense. But now the offense has issues.
Last week: 12
Up next: Rutgers
14. Rutgers (1-2). The 11-game losing streak is over. Now, it?s time to end the 14-game Big Ten losing streak.
Last week: 14
Up next: at Nebraska