The first full week of conference action is in the books for the Big Ten, and everybody has been left with a whole slew of new questions regarding the state of the conference.
Ohio State and Michigan State both continue to look majorly flawed, Jim Harbaugh has Michigan rolling, Kirk Ferentz is faking field goals like he’s Les Miles and a growing contingent of Nebraska fans are longing for the days of Bo Pelini.
It’s sheer chaos right now in the Big Ten, but here’s our best attempt at ranking the top five.
1. Michigan State, 45 points
Well, the Spartans are still undefeated, but the praise for their win last Saturday ends there.
They may have won, but the Spartans nearly blew a 21-point halftime lead against a Purdue team that has lost 16 of its last 17 Big Ten contests. The Boilermakers had a chance to pull off a miraculous upset with a drive late in the game, but Michigan State survived 24-21 to remain undefeated.
The Spartans have one more game left (have fun, Rutgers) before their showdown with Michigan in Ann Arbor. They’ll certainly need to play better than they have the past few weeks to defeat the resurgent Wolverines.
A loss would all but crush their dreams of a berth in the College Football Playoff, though that quest is already taking a little bit of a hit with each mediocre performance by the Spartans.
2. Ohio State, 43 points
The Buckeyes may miss former offensive coordinator Tom Herman more than they could’ve imagined.
While Herman is in Houston transforming quarterback Greg Ward Jr. into a potential dark horse Heisman candidate, Cardale Jones and, to a lesser extent, J.T. Barrett, are sputtering in Columbus.
The Buckeyes 5-0, but really have yet to put together a complete performance. Jones hasn’t played anywhere near the level he did at the tail end of last season, and to make matters worse, an already thin receiving corps has now lost Corey Smith to a broken leg that will sideline him for the rest of the year.
The good news: the OSU defense has been very solid, and the coaching staff seems to finally understand that handing the ball off to Ezekiel Elliott usually ends well.
3. Northwestern, 28 points
The Wildcats had already impressed many with wins over Stanford and Duke in nonconference play, but if their Big Ten opener was any indication, they have no intentions of slowing down.
Northwestern blanked Minnesota 27-0 Saturday, as its defense wreaked havoc on the listless Gopher offense. The Wildcats have now surrendered just three touchdowns through five games, and they’re allowing an FBS-low 7 points per game thus far.
Northwestern sits at 5-0 and looks like a legitimate contender for a conference title, despite entering the year coming off back-to-back 5-7 seasons and with very modest expectations.
Now, the Wildcats have their sights set on two pivotal games over the next couple weeks: a road game against Michigan and a home tilt against Iowa. A win in both those games will have Northwestern looking destined for a trip to Indianapolis come December.
4. Michigan, 23 points
Taste and see that the Harbaugh is good; blessed is the Michigan Man who takes refuge in him. – Psalm 34:8
The Fightin’ Harbaughs are looking better and better with each passing week and have arguably been the East Division’s most impressive team up to this point. The offense, mainly the passing game, is still somewhat suspect, but the Michigan defense has been sensational so far, ranking second in the country in both scoring defense (7.6 points per game) and total defense (184 yards per game), third in pass defense (112.6 yards per game) and fifth in rushing defense (71.4 yards per game).
With Ohio State and Michigan State both stringing together several underwhelming performances, the Big Ten race looks like it could be fairly wide open. The Wolverines have huge games against Northwestern and Michigan State looming over the next two weeks that could a long way in determining whether or not they’ll be a factor in the fight for a conference title.
5. Iowa, 7 points
Kirk Ferentz 3.0 is here, armed with a respectable quarterback, a newfound sense of aggression and a gargantuan buyout that would impress even Charlie Weis.
Most Iowa fans had declared Ferentz as good as finished after several years of painful mediocrity and disappointment. However, Ferentz has undergone legitimate changes to the way he approaches things. He’s going for it on fourth down, trying fake field goals and chose C.J. Beathard as his starting quarterback almost immediately at the end of last season.
That’s not to suggest that the Hawkeyes are becoming the second coming of Oregon. As its 10-6 win over Wisconsin showed, Iowa is still more than willing to play a brand of football that’s as riveting as a tractor pull (or as some call it, “vintage Big Ten football”).
Regardless, the Hawkeyes are 5-0 for the first time since 2009 and look like a serious threat to contend in the Big Ten West.
