Big Ten power rankings after Week 3: Oregon Ducks improve while Washington sees major dip
The Big Ten has had an eventful college football season so far. Oregon showed major signs of life in Week 3, and Indiana continued to impress while Washington took a brutal loss. Here's a breakdown of the league via power rankings after the Week 3 battles.
Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 3
#18. UCLA (1-1)
There's losing, and then there's losing by 29 at home to Indiana. The Bruins look as bad as possible at this point.
#17. Purdue (2-1)
It would be nice to say that at least Purdue's 66-7 slaughtering at the hands of Notre Dame came against a good team. But it's not clear exactly how good the Irish actually are.
#16. Maryland (2-1)
A solid win over middle-of-the-ACC Virginia does help wash away a bit of the taste of a home loss to Michigan State. That said, it's a long way to respectability.
#15. Northwestern (2-1)
An easy win, but not one that changes the fact that this team is still destined to hang around the bottom of the Big Ten in 2024.
#14. Washington (2-1)
In a week that was already a triumph for Washington State, besting its old in-state rivals moved its needle even higher. That said, for Washington fans, the game may have left them wondering if the Huskies could get back into the re-invented Pac-12 soon.
#13. Wisconsin (2-1)
That was a devastating loss to Alabama. The loss wasn't surprising, but quarterback Tyler Van Dyke has made Wisconsin a middle of the Big Ten type team. Without him, the Badgers would be scratching and clawing for six or seven wins.
#12. Minnesota (2-1)
The Gophers are a missed field goal away from being ranked up a couple of spots. It's not a great team, but there are enough teams below them that Minnesota can certainly have a decent season.
#11. Michigan State (2-1)
An easy win for MSU in a season that started out looking pretty hopeless but could now plausibly end up including a bowl game.
#10. Iowa (2-1)
Handling Troy was a good sign, as was rolling up 462 yards of offense. Of course, Troy is 0-3, so it's doubtful that Iowa will end up as one of the better teams in the Big Ten off this win. Still, flashes of offense could be a great sign for the Hawkeyes.
#9. Indiana (3-0)
The culture shift at Indiana is one of the most remarkable stories of 2024 to date. There's just not a lot of positives around Indiana football, but coach Curt Cignetti is changing that narrative quickly.
#8. Rutgers (2-0)
Rutgers was off this week and, frankly, doesn't seem likely to end up holding this spot. But for now, here it is.
#7. Michigan (2-1)
Ugly win for the Wolverines. They're a competent team but don't look like one capable of staying anywhere close to the top four teams in the league.
#6. Nebraska (3-0)
Suffice it to say that the Dylan Raiola experiment has been a success so far. That said, confidence in Nebraska would increase with a nice game this week. This upcoming battle with Illinois is the sort of game that would trip up many recent "Nebraska is back" stories.
#5. Illinois (3-0)
Admittedly, not sure that coach Bret Bielema's team is actually deserving of this spot, but looking around, Illinois is the beneficiary of a league where there's a big four and then a sizeable gap. But the Illini seem likely to pull off a minor Week 4 upset and possibly jump into the top 20.
#4. USC (2-0)
Off this week, but the Trojans are who they are and are definitely near the top of the Big Ten.
#3. Oregon (3-0)
The Ducks finally played a good game and started to look worthy of this kind of positioning. They are set up well for the College Football Playoff but have to get more consistent.
#2. Penn State (2-0)
Off this week and awaiting big games to come in the Big Ten race. The Nittany Lions are in a great CFP position.
#1. Ohio State (2-0)
The top seven in the college football polls are six SEC teams and Ohio State. It's a tough position for the Buckeyes, but they'll own it.
What do you think of the Big Ten after Week 3? Share your thoughts below in our comments section!