1. Michigan (1-0): J.J. McCarthy (26-for-30, 280 yards, three TDs) and Wolverines defense (one second from shutout) overwhelm East Carolina 30-3 even without suspended coach Jim Harbaugh.
Big Ten power rankings: Here's how Randy Johnson sees the conference
The first weekend of Big Ten football featured a couple of overpowering performances, a few teams with concerns and others that will need more of a challenge to best judge them.
September 5, 2023 at 10:22PM
2. Penn State (1-0): Hotshot QB Drew Allar now has the reins and comes out slinging vs. West Virginia for 325 yards and three TDs.
3. Ohio State (1-0, 1-0 Big Ten): Buckeyes defense allowed only 82 passing yards in 23-3 win at Indiana, but all that offensive talent needs to do better. Style points matter come playoff selection time.
4. Iowa (1-0): Michigan transfer Cade McNamara threw TD passes in the first two series, but Hawkeyes did little the rest of the way in 24-14 win over Utah State.
5. Wisconsin (1-0): With Chez Mellusi and Braelon Allen combining for 298 rushing yards and four TDs, Badgers didn't need much from their Air Raid attack in 38-17 win over Buffalo.
6. Gophers (1-0, 1-0): Is your glass half-full or half-empty? Only three points for Gophers through 57:28 and 55 rushing yards total, but two forced turnovers, a catch for the ages and a walk-off 47-yard field goal produce a 13-10 win over Nebraska.
7. Maryland (1-0): Taulia Tagovailoa passes for three TDs and rushes for one as the Terps barely break a sweat in 38-6 win over Towson.
8. Illinois (1-0): Fighting Illini needed a field goal with 5 seconds left for a 30-28 win over Toledo, one of the favorites in the Mid-American Conference. They'll need to be sharper at Kansas on Friday.
9. Michigan State (1-0): Up 10-7 at half, Spartans pulled away to beat Central Michigan 31-7. We'll know more about MSU when it plays Washington in two weeks.
10. Nebraska (0-1, 0-1): Old habits die hard: Huskers find a way to lose a one-score game to Gophers. Now they face Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes in Boulder.
11. Rutgers (1-0, 1-0): Scarlet Knights got a workmanlike 24-7 win over Northwestern, holding the Wildcats to 12 rushing yards and possessing the ball for nearly 38 minutes.
12. Purdue (0-1): Ryan Walters' Boilermakers debut is a defensive dud with 487 yards allowed in a 39-35 loss to Fresno State.
13. Indiana (0-1, 0-1): Hoosiers showed some fight in hanging with Ohio State, but 153 yards of offense isn't going to cut it.
14. Northwestern (0-1, 0-1): The Wildcats were out of the game early at Rutgers, a performance that wasn't surprising for a scandal-ridden team with an interim coach making his debut.
The players say they are staying optimistic, but injury issues have affected an already talent-thin lineup.
