Week 5 Power Rankings Remain Unstable in the Big Ten

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Week 4 has come and gone and there is no shortage of storylines coming from the Big Ten Conference.  Week 4 featured two B1G Associated Press Poll Top 25 matchups and both ended with upsets as No. 24 Illinois (4-0, 1-0) took down No. 22 Nebraska (3-1, 0-1) 31-24 and No. 18 Michigan (3-1, 1-0) beat No. 11 USC (2-1, 0-1 ) 27-24. Nebraska let penalties kill them for their first loss of the season, while according to USC fans, it was the referees who cost them their game with several questionable missed calls.

The No. 1 team from a week ago, Ohio State (3-0), had no problem disposing of Marshall. Oregon (3-0) sat idle in Week 4 giving them two weeks to prepare for B1G play. Penn State (3-0) had their game in hand before the third quarter started.

Coming out of the week the B1G has six teams ranked in the Top 25, and Ohio State remains the top-ranked B1G team at No. 3. The Southeaster Conference got its third win against the B1G in three weeks as No. 14 LSU (3-1) beat UCLA (1-2, 0-1) 34-17. Iowa's offense was the story again as they put up more than 30 points in three of the last four weeks.

Here are the post-Week 4 power rankings as voted on by College Football Dawgs' Big Ten writers. 

1. No. 3 Ohio State (2-0)

49-14 win over Marshall (1-2)

Previous ranking: 1

The Buckeyes welcomed in Marshall for their third and final nonconference game and by halftime the game was pretty much over. Ohio State would beat Marshall 49-14 and now will open B1G play against Michigan State. After a weak nonconference schedule it's hard to gauge just how good OSU is yet, but there is no denying it's probably somewhere between very good and great. It won’t be until OSU heads to Eugene to play Oregon that we will get a true sense of how good they are.

Upcoming game: at Michigan State (3-1, 1-0)

2. No. 9 Penn State (3-0)

56-0 win over Kent State (0-4)

Previous ranking: 4

Penn State didn’t take long to show they were the better team on Sept. 21 as they dismantled Kent State 56-0. With the win, Penn State moves to 3-0 and looks ready for their first big test of the season as they welcome in No. 19 Illinois. Penn State head coach James Franklin asked fans to bring White Out energy to the game understanding this will be their first big test. Quarterback Drew Allar looked good this past week with 309 yards on 17 completions and 3 TDs.

Upcoming game: No. 19 Illinois (4-0, 1-0)

 3. No. 8 Oregon (3-0)

Bye

Previous ranking: 3

The Ducks sat idle in Week 4. After starting slow in the first two weeks of the season Oregon finally looked to have put it together in Week 3. Now with 14 days to get ready the Ducks head to the Rose Bowl for a battle with fellow former Pac-12 Conference foe UCLA. There is no reason to believe that Oregon shouldn’t cruise by the Bruins and remain in the top 3 next week.  

Upcoming game: at UCLA (1-2, 0-1)

4. No. 12 Michigan (3-1, 1-0)

27-24 win over No. 13 USC (2-0, 0-1)

Previous ranking: 6

Michigan got a big win as they took down USC and were keeping their goal of making it to a third straight B1G championship. It's still a little unbelievable that Michigan found a way to win with only 32 passing yards. Quarterback Alex Orji made his first start and helped to open the offense up as the USC defense had to account for his whereabouts, but still left a lot to desire from his arm.

Michigan running back Kalel Mullings had his best game as a Wolverine putting up 159 yards on 17 carries with 2 touchdowns. His biggest run came with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter, breaking two tackles and went for 63 yards. That was Michigan's first, first down in the half. Michigan would end up punching it in for the lead.

Upcoming game: Minnesota (2-2, 0-1)

5. No. 13 USC (2-1, 0-1)

27-24 loss to No. 12 Michigan (3-1, 1-0)

Previous ranking: 2

USC travelled to Ann Arbor, Mich., for its first-ever B1G conference matchup, unfortunately, it didn’t go how they hoped. The Trojans had a terrible first half and showed little ability to move the ball on offense or protect quarterback Miller Moss from the Michigan pass rush. Two long runs by Mullings and Donavon Edwards gave Michigan the 14-3 lead at the half.

The Trojans were able to adjust at halftime and battled back to take the lead but couldn’t hold on. Michigan would end up winning the game 27-24. Moss was sacked 4 times and seemed under constant pressure all game but still generated 283 yards throwing with 3 TDs.

Upcoming Game: Wisconsin (2-1)

B1G Power Rankings: Nos. 6-18

6. No. 19 Illinois (4-0, 1-0)

31-24 win over Nebraska (3-1, 0-1)

Previous ranking: 8

Upcoming game: at No. 9 Penn State (3-0)

7. Iowa (3-1, 1-0)

31-14 win over Minnesota (2-2, 0-1)

Previous ranking: 7

Upcoming game: Bye

8. Indiana (4-0, 1-0)

52-14win over Charlotte (1-3)

Previous ranking: 10

Upcoming game: Maryland (3-1, 0-1)

9. Nebraska (3-1, 0-1)

31-24 loss to No. 19 Illinois (4-0, 1-0)

Previous ranking: 5

Upcoming game: at Purdue (1-2)

10. Rutgers (3-0)

26-23 win over Virginia Tech (2-2)

Previous ranking: 9

Upcoming game: Washington (3-1, 1-0)

11. Washington (3-1, 1-0)

24-5 win over Northwestern (2-2, 0-1)

Previous ranking: 12

Upcoming game: at Rutgers (3-0)

12. Maryland (3-1, 0-1 B1G)

38-20 win over Villanova (3-1)

Previous ranking: 14

Upcoming game: At Indiana (4-0, 1-0 B1G)

13. Michigan State (3-1, 1-0)

23-19 loss to Boston College (3-1)

Previous ranking: 11

Upcoming game: No. 3 Ohio State (3-0)

14. Wisconsin

Bye

Previous ranking: 12

Upcoming game: at No. 13 USC (2-1, 0-1)

15. Minnesota (2-2, 0-1)

31-14 loss to Iowa (3-1, 1-0)

Previous ranking: 15

Upcoming game: at No.12 Michigan (3-1, 1-0)

16. UCLA (1-2, 0-1)

34-17 loss to LSU (3-1)

Previous ranking: 18

Upcoming game: No. 8 Oregon (3-0)

17. Northwestern (2-2, 0-1)

24-5 loss to Washington (3-1, 1-0)

Previous ranking: 16

Upcoming game: BYE

18. Purdue (1-2)

38-21 loss to Oregon State (3-1)

Previous ranking: 17

Upcoming game: Nebraska (3-1, 0-1)