Big Ten football is back and so is our weekly power rankings at Spartans Wire.
College football returned last week, but the first true action for the Big Ten kicked off on Thursday with all 18 teams in the league hitting the field for the first time this weekend. As a whole, the Big Ten put on a good showing with some notable victories and others just handling business in matchups where they were the heavy favorites.
Michigan State was part of the teams that handled business this week, with a season-opening victory over Western Michigan. The Spartans look better in the first half than the second, but ultimately picked up the win with relative ease over the Broncos.
So where do the Spartans land in our first regular season power rankings of the season? Check out below…
No. 18 – Northwestern
Record: 0-1 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Loss at Tulane
Northwestern didn’t just lose in its opener against a group of five team, but they got straight up dominated. Granted, Tulane is considered one of the favorites to reach the College Football Playoff from the group of five teams, but that was a beating that would suggest the Wildcats will be near the bottom of the Big Ten for most of the 2025 season.
No. 17 – UCLA
Record: 0-1 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Loss vs. Utah
The Nico era at UCLA did not get off to a good start… The Bruins were bombarded by the Utah Utes in the season-opener this weekend, losing by more than 30 points in a highly-anticipated late night matchup. UCLA is going to have improve very quickly otherwise their season could be over before the end of September.
No. 16 – Rutgers
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Ohio
The Scarlet Knights were cruising early on in its opener against Ohio, but then things flipped and they had to make some game-winning plays later for the narrow three-point victory over the Bobcats. Rutgers was a team I was skeptical about coming into this season due to the number key players they lost off last year’s team, and I don’t feel any better about them after Thursday night’s performance.
No. 15 – Purdue
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Ball State
Purdue looked pretty darn good in its opener against Ball State this week. But, unfortunately for Purdue, they will rarely play a team as lowly as Ball State again this year. I expect the Boilermakers to also make easy work of Southern Illinois next week, and then we’ll get our first true indication of their caliber in a home game against USC in week three.
No. 14 – Wisconsin
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Miami (OH)
Wisconsin simply can not catch a break when it comes to quarterbacks and injuries. For a third straight season, Wisconsin could be down their day one starter after Billy Edwards Jr. left the opener with an injury. It sounds like the initial reports are that he is going to be fine to return, but it’s unknown when he’ll be able to return. If he’s out a significant amount of time, then the Badgers are going to struggle against an extremely tough schedule this year.
No. 13 – Minnesota
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Buffalo
The Golden Gophers needed a pair of scores in the fourth quarter to survive an upset scare from Buffalo. Granted, the Bulls are projected to be one of the best teams in the MAC this year, but I personally expected a more crisp performance from Minnesota in this one. So for now, they’re landing low with an opportunity to rise over the next few weeks.
No. 12 – Maryland
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Florida Atlantic
The Terps looked awfully impressive in the opener blowout win over the Owls of Florida Atlantic. Star true freshman quarterback Malik Washington looked good with three touchdown passes in his first career start, and should he continue to play this well, then the Terps will be much improved from last year.
No. 11 – Indiana
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Old Dominion
I was skeptical about the Hoosiers coming into this season — as far as the preseason expectations and again contending for a spot in the College Football Playoff — and that didn’t change after their week one performance. They ultimately won with ease but it was a flashy, spectacular performance like we saw often from them in 2024. I anticipate a better outing this week against Kennesaw State.
No. 10 – Michigan State
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Western Michigan
First half Michigan State would be ranked higher but a lackluster finish to the game on Friday night has me landing the Spartans right in the middle of the league. I believe they have some of the best skilled position weapons in the Big Ten and the ceiling is high for Michigan State, but we just need to see it all come together. This week’s matchup against Boston College should give us a good indication on whether or not that’ll be happening this season.
No. 9 – Washington
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Colorado State
Washington didn’t look overly impressive in its’ opener against Colorado State, scoring the final 17 points to pull away for the win. The Huskies new starting quarterback Demond Williams had a strong first start to the season, with more than 200 yards passing and another 68 on the ground too — he’s ultimately why I have Washington ahead of some other teams in the middle of the Big Ten right now.
No. 8 – Iowa
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Albany
Iowa’s new starting quarterback Mark Gronowski did not have the best game in his first start since transferring from FCS powerhouse South Dakota State. I’m expecting him to be better next week in a rivalry game against Iowa State, but if he’s not, then the Hawkeyes will drop significantly in our week two power rankings.
No. 7 – Nebraska
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Cincinnati
The Cornhuskers got the job done against Cincinnati, but it wasn’t pretty — that’s forsure. Nebraska was a trendy darkhorse pick to reach the College Football Playoff, and from what I saw on Thursday, I’m not sold on that. But they still have the tools to be one of the top tier teams in the Big Ten this season, hence why I have them rated as high as I do here.
No. 6 – Michigan
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. New Mexico
Overall, it was a lackluster performance from the Wolverines as the Lobos shouldn’t have been in the game as much as they were late in the second half. But there also were some flashes with new star freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood and Alabama transfer running back Justice Hayes. Those two offensive stars going with a stout defense means the Wolverines are going to again be a tough team to beat this fall.
No. 5 – USC
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Missouri State
The Trojans blasted new FBS squad Missouri State in the opener on Saturday night. I don’t necessarily have high expectations for Missouri State, but beating a team by 60 points is impressive regardless of the competition. USC looks much improved in year four under Lincoln Riley.
No. 4 – Oregon
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Montana State
Oregon made easy work of a FCS team that is a national title contender at that level. That’s impressive for a team that is in the midst of replacing numerous key contributors from last year’s Big Ten title winning squad. The Ducks are clearly a team that belongs near the top of the Big Ten, but it’ll take a stiffer opponent before we know if they belong in the true upper-tier of Big Ten title contenders.
No. 3 – Illinois
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Western Illinois
I was very high on the Fighting Illini coming into this season and the opener against Western Illinois didn’t change that — nor should it, really. Illinois has a true test coming up next week in a road trip to Duke, so we’ll have a better idea after that game if they belong in the Big Ten’s top three or more towards the middle of the pack. But for now, there’s no reason to change my thoughts on them being right up there with Oregon, USC and Michigan as the next best team behind…
No. 2 – Penn State
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. Nevada
Penn State did exactly what they were supposed to do in their opener with a dominant win over Nevada. The Nittany Lions are going to cruise for the first few weeks of the season before they get their first true test of the year against Oregon in late September. So in the meantime, we should expect nothing less than what we saw from them against the Wolfpack in week one.
No. 1 – Ohio State
Record: 1-0 (0-0 in Big Ten)
Result this week: Won vs. No. 1 Texas
If you beat the No. 1 team in the country, you deserve to be the top team in the power rankings. Locking down the Longhorns’ offense to only seven points was extremely impressive, but offensively, there are some question marks — notably at quarterback with Julian Sayin. Now, regardless of these “questions marks”, the Buckeyes are clearly once again a top 5 team nationally and the only argument now is whether or not Penn State should be ahead of them. For now, I’ll go with the team that’s proven they belong in the top spot.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Big Ten Power Rankings: Where does MSU land after week one win?
