CFB: Wisconsin climbs Big Ten rankings
1. Ohio State (2-0, win over Cincinnati): Justin Fields looked even better in his second outing than he did in his first one (which is pretty tough to do). He connected on 20/25 of his passing attempts for 80% (!), 224 yards, and a pair of touchdowns. Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins was impressive as well, rushing for 141 yards. The Buckeyes are the clear favorites to win the Big Ten right now.
2. Wisconsin (2-0, win over Central Michigan): We're really going to have to wait and see how this team plays against a high ranked opponent when they host Michigan in a couple of weeks, but for now, the Badgers look like they have returned to form after a down 2018. Jonathan Taylor looks like a real threat for conference player of the year after going for 101 yards and two touchdowns in the 61-0 win.
3. Michigan State (2-0, win over Western Michigan): The Spartans stay in the third spot after a 51-17 blowout over Western Michigan at home. The offense looked a lot better this week, scoring in all four quarters after taking a 21-0 lead. Brian Lewerke reminded me of his 2017 campaign, throwing for 314 yards and three touchdowns on 23/32. They get a chance to get revenge on Arizona State this week which would be a solid non-conference victory.
4. Michigan (2-0, win over Army): I'm not exactly sure what's going on with the offense but something is going to have to change if the Wolverines think they can actually compete for a Big Ten title. I thought Army would compete in this game, but they led at halftime, had a chance to win the game on a last-second field goal, and then regained the lead in overtime. Shea Patterson has to work on ball security over the bye week before taking on Wisconsin.
5. Penn State (2-0, win over Buffalo): There was a bit of a scare in this game as Penn State started slow and trailed 10-7 at the break, but a 28-point third quarter flipped the game. Sean Clifford looked good in his second start, totaling 279 yards, but he hasn't faced a top tier defense so it's tough to tell just how good he is. It's also a little worrisome that this defense gave up 113 yards to wideout Antonio Nunn.
6. Maryland (2-0, win over Syracuse): Okay so 79 points against Howard was pretty impressive, right? I thought so, but I had no idea that the Terps would keep it up and drop 63 points on #21 Syracuse. I know Syracuse is going to take a step back after going 10-3 last year but it's still a really good win at home. Javon Leake was doing whatever he wanted to, rushing for 107 yards and two scores on seven carries. Let's see if they keep it up versus Temple.
7. Iowa (2-0, win over Rutgers): Iowa and Rutgers were the only two teams to play in the Big Ten and this game went just like we thought it would. Iowa is the far superior team and even though I think Rutgers has improved, they're still the worst team in the conference. Nate Stanley looked good again, throwing for 236 yards and three touchdowns in the 30-0 win. The defense continues to look good but they'll have to keep it up against Iowa State on the road.
8. Minnesota (2-0, win over Fresno State): I think this was a game that some Minnesota fans were worried about. Fresno State kept up with them last year on the road and they did it again in California. With that said, though, the Golden Gophers hung on for a 38-35 win. There are a few teams that have a shot at winning the west and Minnesota is one of them but they aren't the favorites right now. Oh yeah, watch out for Georgia Southern next weekend!
9. Purdue (1-1, win over Vanderbilt): After starting the season with a road loss against Nevada, the Boilermakers got their season back on track against Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt isn't a top tier SEC team by any stretch of the imagination, but beating an SEC team by 18 points is still a good win no matter the opponent. Elijah Sindelar was otherworldly in this one, throwing for 509 (!) yards and five touches. Boilermakers host tough-nosed TCU on September 14th.
10. Nebraska (1-1, loss to Colorado): Ugh. Come on Nebraska! You survived an upset alert against South Alabama in the opener and you were supposed to head west and get revenge on Colorado. This team is still improved from last year but not as much as people were banking on. They look like a 7-5 team or so. We'll see if Scott Frost can change that before we get into the thick of conference play. Nebraska will try to get to 2-1 versus Northern Illinois.
11. Indiana (2-0, win over Eastern Illinois): Eastern Illinois is pretty far from a powerhouse, but a 52-0 win is nice nonetheless. It's good to see teams coming out and actually taking care of business instead of starting slow and having a scare down the stretch. The Hoosiers took care of business for sure, jumping out to a 21-0 at the end of the first. QB Peyton Ramsey had 13/14 for 226 yards. Can he do it against Ohio State? Um, probably not.
12. Illinois (2-0, win over Connecticut): Brandon Peters isn't going to make Illinois a contender in the conference but he does have the chance to bring them to a bowl game. The Michigan transfer looked good again in his second outing, this time against a better opponent. Jakari Norwood was impressive, too, averaging 10.3 yards per carry. Illinois will look to try and get to 3-0 with a home game against Eastern Michigan at noon on Saturday.
13. Northwestern (0-1, bye week): It's kind of unfair for Northwestern to drop three spots despite not playing a game, but the teams below them stepped up and the loss against Stanford looks even worse after the Cardinal were blown out by USC. I think Hunter Johnson will get better as the season goes along but it might take a couple weeks to really get into the offense. The defense should hold them over against UNLV this upcoming weekend, though.
14. Rutgers (1-1, loss to Iowa): Rutgers just has no defense and very little offense. It's hard to win with that equation. They struggled to get stops all game and even when they did, the offense failed to capitalize. It's going to be a long year for the Scarlet Knights. They'll get a bye week before returning home against Boston College, and then heading to face Michigan on the road. I don't see them winning either one of those but hey, maybe we'll get a surprise.
Photo Credit: Wisconsin Athletics.
