The Big Ten has a strong week overall, going 15-3. However, key non-conference losses by UCLA, Michigan and Iowa hurt the conference overall. Week three doesn’t have any marquee games, as most teams will be double-digit favorites and the only in-conference games feature top teams against much weaker Big Ten opponents.
Turn to EasySportz for the best coverage of college football. Here are the Big 12’s, ACC’s and the SEC’s Week 3 Power Rankings.
1) Ohio State Buckeyes (2-0): Beat Grambling State 70-0, doing what top teams are supposed to do against lesser competition.
2) Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0): Struggled to put points on the board until the last 4 minutes, but still one of the best teams with sizable kinks to work out. Luckily they host FCS team Villanova this week.
3) Oregon Ducks (2-0): The Ducks demolished Oklahoma State 69-3, potentially leveling up to consistently reload instead of rebuild, now in CFP contender territory.
4) Illinois Fighting Illini (2-0): Comfortably beat Duke 45-19 on the road. The game was closer than score indicates, but a P4 win that some pundits had as a trendy upset pick keeps the Illini in the discussion as a potential playoff team.
5) USC Trojans (2-0): The Trojans beat Georgia Southern 59-20, keeping them at the top of the conference. USC opens Big Ten conference play on the road at lowly Purdue.
6) Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-0): Defeated a helpless Akron 68-0, that’s the long and short of it.
7) Indiana Hoosiers (2-0): Took it to a Kennesaw State team that took Wake Forest to the wire last week, 56-9, moving them up a smidge. New QB Fernando Mendoza looks like the real deal.
8) Michigan Wolverines (1-1): Heralded freshman QB Bryce Underwood struggled in his first road test, losing to Oklahoma 24-13. While the loss is disappointing, it doesn’t affect their conference title or CFP hopes.
9) Iowa Hawkeyes (1-1): Lost to Iowa State 16-13. Losing again to the hated Cyclones shows a familiar story in Iowa City–the defense is still good but offense continues to struggle.
10) Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-0): Beat Northwestern State 66-0, feasting on low-level opponents doesn’t move the needle yet, need to see more. A lot of questions will be answered this weekend when they go on the road to face the surprising Cal Golden Bears.
11) Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-0): Beat Miami (OH) 45-17, but it looks like the Scarlet Kings may struggle this year against quality Big Ten teams.
12) Wisconsin Badgers (2-0): Won 42-10 over Middle Tennessee, as expected, moving on to a much tougher test at Alabama. Alabama’s vulnerable this year–can the Badgers pull off the upset on the road?
13) Washington Huskies (2-0): Beat UC Davis 70-10, put together another solid performance. Can the Huskies separate themselves from the middle of the pack in the conference? They have a bye this week.
14) Michigan State Spartans (2-0): Won 42-40 in double overtime over Boston College. Michigan State could be formidable later this season as the transfer-heavy Spartans are still jelling.
15) Maryland Terrapins (2-0): Won 20-9 over Northern Illinois, but Maryland didn’t quite show out and won’t be tested this week at home vs. Towson.
16) Purdue Boilermakers (2-0): Purdue beat Southern Illinois 34-17, officially exceeding their win total from 2024. This week it gets much tougher hosting USC.
17) Northwestern Wildcats (1-1): Defeated Western Illinois 42-7, but now has to host the Oregon Ducks to start Big Ten conference play.
18) UCLA Bruins (0-2): After losing to UNLV 30-23, UCLA is the only winless team in Big Ten. The Bruins were overmatched and couldn’t beat a Group of 4 team. This week against New Mexico could be their best chance for a win this season.
