Nebraska, Illinois, Gophers — three teams moving up in Big Ten power rankings
The Gophers sat last in the 18-team conference power rankings last week but have begun their climb.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 9, 2024 at 4:34PM
1. Ohio State (2-0): Buckeyes outgained Western Michigan 683-99 in 56-0 romp. Let’s just fast-forward to the upcoming stretch of Michigan State, Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska and Penn State.
2. USC (2-0): After beating Utah State 48-0, Trojans have a week off to prepare for trip to Michigan.
3. Penn State (2-0): As 28-point favorites against Bowling Green, Nittany Lions needed second-half rally to avoid fate that befell the Gophers in 2021.
4. Oregon (2-0): After struggling to beat Idaho, Ducks needed big plays late to edge Boise State in a result that’s big for their playoff aspirations.
5. Nebraska (2-0): Cornhuskers stifle Colorado in 28-10 romp. With no currently ranked teams on the schedule until Oct. 26 at Ohio State, Nebraska could go on a roll.
6. Michigan (1-1): Turns out, losing 13 players to the NFL draft will leave a mark against a high-quality opponent like Texas. The Longhorns rolled 31-12, forcing three turnovers by the Wolverines.
7. Illinois (2-0): With 23-17 win over No. 19 Kansas, Illini reward a rare sellout crowd.
8. Michigan State (2-0, 1-0 Big Ten): Aidan Chiles (363 passing yards) leads 10-point fourth-quarter rally as Spartans beat Maryland 27-24.
9. Rutgers (2-0): With RB Kyle Monangai averaging 8.1 yards per carry, QB Athan Kaliakmanis is completing 61.7% of his passes.
10. Iowa (1-1): Up by 12 points late in third quarter, Hawkeyes give up final 13 points and lose 20-19 to Iowa State on 54-yard field goal.
11. Wisconsin (2-0): Badgers pull away from FCS playoff team South Dakota, 27-13. This week’s task — a visit from Alabama — will be much more challenging.
12. Washington (2-0): Huskies start slowly but roll over Eastern Michigan 30-9. They’ll need to be sharper in the Apple Cup vs. Washington State.
13. Maryland (1-1, 0-1): Defensive collapse — 493 yards surrendered — dooms Terps in loss to Michigan State.
14. Indiana (2-0): Hoosiers have beaten Florida International and Western Illinois by a combined 108-10
15. Purdue (1-0): Boilermakers were idle. They welcome a hurting Notre Dame team to Ross-Ade on Saturday.
16. Gophers (1-1): Minnesota put it all together in 48-0 romp over FCS-level Rhode Island. Gophers finish nonconference slate with visit from Nevada, which is 1-2 with the three games decided by a total of 10 points.
17. UCLA (1-0): Bruins were idle. They play their first-ever Big Ten game Saturday vs. Indiana.
18. Northwestern (1-1): Wildcats are whiskers away from being 2-0 after 26-20 double-overtime loss to Duke.
Two standouts for Minnesota were Tori McKinney (17 points) and Annika Stewart (20), as Prairie View A&M fell to 2-6.
