Big Ten Football Power Rankings: Oregon Soars as Michigan Stumbles

Across the Big Ten, the second week of the college football season presented a fascinating dichotomy in non-conference scheduling philosophy. There were a handful of teams, like No. 15 Michigan and No. 11 Illinois, that challenged themselves with legitimate opponents. But most of the league spent its Saturday absolutely obliterating schools from outside the power leagues, with five different programs winning by 50 points or more.  

The best victory of the weekend belonged to Illinois, which pulled away from Duke with an explosive second half in a lopsided 45-19 win, cementing head coach Bret Bielema’s squad as a legitimate College Football Playoff contender. A captivating showdown between the Illini and No. 23 Indiana looms at the end of September. 

Elsewhere, road stumbles by Iowa and No. 15 Michigan illustrated the potential ceilings for two teams introducing new, highly anticipated quarterbacks this season. Both the Hawkeyes’ Mark Gronowski and the Wolverines’ Bryce Underwood struggled in their first significant tests of the season. 

Here’s our next set of Big Ten Power Rankings following Week 2: 

The Top 10

Result: 70-0 home win over Grambling State

Were it not for the $1 million payment taken home by Grambling State, whose head coach, Mickey Joseph, all but conceded defeat during a midweek news conference, Saturday’s matchup would have been a complete farce in every sense of the word. Ohio State scored on eight of its first nine possessions as sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin set a school record with 16 consecutive completions to begin the game. He tossed touchdown passes of 47 yards (tight end Will Kacmarek) and 87 yards (wide receiver Jeremiah Smith) on the Buckeyes’ opening two possessions before sitting