Big Ten Football Power Rankings 09/23/24

18. Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue remains in last place after suffering its second loss at Oregon State this season. After an impressive start, albeit against Indiana State, Hudson Card has dramatically regressed compared to his initial performance – going 7-for-17 for 56 yards against Oregon State. Up next is an away matchup against Nebraska.

17. Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern went into Washington and looked much like the moribund program it was before David Braun took control. There’s still work to be done in Evanston.

16. UCLA Bruins

Ethan Garbers threw for almost 300 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception, but the run game and defense were atrocious. Still, they looked much better this weak at LSU than they looked last week at home against Indiana.

15. Minnesota Golden Gophers

The Gophers ran into trouble against Iowa, who relied on running to move the ball downfield without passing. Their next opponent would be Michigan, which recently installed Alex Orji as quarterback, and they are also a power running team; good luck to the Gophers.

14. Maryland Terrapins

Maryland still needs some work on defense but must improve to compete against Indiana – an opponent no one wants to face!

13. Wisconsin Badgers

The Badgers had a bye week this past weekend and will travel to USC this week.

12. Washington Huskies

Washington made up for their loss last week by defeating Northwestern, featuring an outstanding defensive effort that allowed only 112 yards and produced two interceptions while forcing two fumbles! Rutgers awaits before Michigan arrives.

11. Michigan State Spartans

MSU finally experienced its first loss after four weeks. After initially struggling in the rain in the first half, it took control in the second half. But they squandered opportunities; Aidan Chiles made two interceptions that must be cleaned up quickly as these next four games will be tough: at home against Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa and at Michigan.

10. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Dylan Raiola passed for almost 300 yards, but due to sacks, Nebraska managed only 50 yards on the ground. They still had several chances to win and remain undefeated, yet they missed a late field goal before suffering through one of the most disappointing overtime periods ever experienced by any team.

9. Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa continues its offensive success on the ground without necessarily relying on passing, with Cade McNamara recording only 62 yards passing and 272 rushing yards amassed under Kaleb Johnson alone. Defensively, Iowa allowed only 79 yards rushing against a usually powerful Minnesota ground game – next week is their bye week before travelling to Ohio State.

8) Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Once considered an easy target to beat, now Rutgers is going into Power Four stadiums and beating home teams. QB Athan Kaliakmanis had another excellent day; the run defense may need work; we’ll see when Rutgers hosts Washington next week if issues surface again.

7. USC Trojans

Nobody expected USC, with its recent surge, to enter Ann Arbor and lose. They outgained Michigan, but Miller Moss’ pick-six helped boost Michigan’s struggling offense during the second half.

USC attempted to run the ball effectively, but aside from one explosive play, it didn’t amount to much. Although some offensive line changes helped, Miller Moss was on his back often, and his workload increased considerably when he became tired throughout the contest. The Trojans will look forward to facing Wisconsin next.

6. Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana should rank higher on our list because — wow. When was the last time a Hoosier team went all-out to dominate all in its path? At Big Ten media days, Curt Cignetti stated he gets his teams rolling early; yet we saw precisely that play out against Biff Poggi’s Charlotte team and the run game excelled, as well as their impressive defense performance. Kurtis Rourke was solid at quarterback, while the run game dominated.

5. Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois maintained their ranking by defeating Nebraska on Friday night on the road, with Luke Altmyer excelling again and their defence holding off Nebraska just enough for a victory. Illinois could become a threat the next time they face Penn State.

4. Michigan Wolverines

Michigan football should have taken this approach from the outset: let Alex Orji run point and let their physical front play an active role. USC was no match for Michigan’s physicality early, allowing nearly 200 yards rushing between Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards. While it was tougher in the second half due to injuries on both sides of the ball, and Orji passed for 32 yards through two halves, Sherrone Moore finally had his first ranked win as head coach.

3. Penn State Nittany Lions

Drew Allar earned the second 300-yard game of his career, as Penn State amassed more than 700 yards on offense while only surrendering 67 total yards on defense – an outstanding performance against a Mid-American Conference opponent; an Illinois matchup could pose another formidable test in the coming days.

2. Oregon Ducks

Oregon was on a bye this past week and will battle UCLA next.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes

They took into the locker room with an impressive 28-14 advantage that didn’t allow Marshall back into scoring territory again during that half. The Buckeyes run through the MAC is finally over and now we get to see how good they are.