Big Ten power rankings after Week 3: another new team at the top, Ohio State falls
It was another wild ride of a week of college football, and while many of the results matched up to what we predicted in terms of outcome, it didn’t quite go the way that we thought overall.
Ohio State’s 41-20 win over Tulsa looks convincing on the surface, but if you watched the game, then you know that the Buckeyes aren’t just mortal, they’re reeling in a way that they haven’t in years. Minnesota — the team they beat in Week 1 — followed up an unimpressive Week 2 with a shutout on the road against a Power Five team in Boulder. Michigan State impressed with a three-score victory in Miami, Michigan rolled even more than anticipated and Penn State had an epic showdown with a red-hot Auburn team.
Meanwhile, Maryland struggled with Illinois on Friday night, Nebraska held things close against Oklahoma, as did Purdue at Notre Dame, Rutgers handled business against an FCS team, and Indiana lost to a powerful Cincinnati team. Iowa merely handled business against Kent State, which is good, of course, but not the dominant performance we anticipated.
With all of that in mind, here is where the Big Ten stands after three weeks of play.
