Ranking the Big Ten After 2 Weeks

No power conference had a worse weekend than the Big Ten, which saw top-ranked Ohio State lose a 20-point lead, College Football Playoff contender Oregon fall to unranked Oklahoma State and Minnesota get blown out by Mississippi State.

How does the Big Ten stack up after Week 2’s results? Here are full 18-team power rankings of the conference entering Week 3:

Big Ten Power Rankings

18. Rutgers: 0-2 (Last Week: 18)

17. Michigan State: 2-0 (Last Week: 16, DOWN 1)

16. Purdue: 1-1 (Last Week: 17, UP 1)

Purdue lost one of the most thrilling games of the week in heartbreaking fashion, falling to Wake Forest in double-overtime. However, the Boilermakers have a lot to build off in the 38-36 loss.

Barry Odom’s team showed a lot of fight, scoring three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and overtime. Defensively, Purdue needs to be better when it enters conference play, but Wake Forest is no slouch of an opponent. 

Quarterback Ryan Browne had a career day, while running back Fame Ijeboi looks like a legitimate threat in the backfield. The Boilermakers showed enough Saturday to earn a rare post-loss bump in the power rankings. After a winless Big Ten showing last season, Purdue can use this game to take a step in the right direction for a more competitive 2026.

15. Wisconsin: 1-1 (Last Week: 15)

14. Maryland: 2-0 (Last Week: 14)

13. Minnesota: 1-1 (Last Week: 8, DOWN 5)

Much of the attention surrounding Minnesota’s matchup with Mississippi State has gone to the Bulldogs and quarterback Kamario Taylor, who was spectacular. However, the Golden Gophers deserve a closer look after their 38-13 defeat.

Minnesota was unable to establish its running game at all, and Drake Lindsey’s 279-yard final statline appears better than the actual on-field product was. The Golden Gophers did not score an offensive touchdown, and were no better on defense, giving up 28 first-half points.

PJ Fleck’s team returns a lot of talent from last year’s scrappy eight-win team, but performances like Saturday are the opposite of what Minnesota needs if it expects to match its 2025 success.

12. Illinois: 1-1 (Last Week: 10, DOWN 2)

A loss to the reigning ACC champs is far from a death knell on Illinois’s season, but the early home loss is disappointing for this team.

Brett Bielema’s squad beat Duke 45-19 last year on the road, and lost 31-27 to the Blue Devils on Saturday. The Fighting Illini also won all but one of their home matchups in 2025 (losing to Ohio State).

Illinois has been a consistent force in the top half of the Big Ten in recent years. This year’s team has not shown the same level of execution. There have been bright spots, like wide receiver Collin Dixon, but the Fighting Illini need to prove they belong back in the top ten. 

11. Northwestern: 1-0 (Last Week: 12, UP 1)

After a Week 2 bye, Northwestern moves up a spot here simply for not losing. The Wildcats had their share of highs and lows in their opening victory over South Dakota State, but have a chance to make a statement against Colorado on Saturday night.

10. Washington: 2-0 (Last Week: 6, DOWN 4)

Washington barely escaped with a 16-14 victory over Utah State. Paired with an underwhelming performance in the Apple Cup in Week 1, alarm bells are starting to ring with the Huskies. Jedd Fisch’s team is 2-0, and that is what matters most, but it has not played up to its pedigree so far.

9. UCLA: 2-0 (Last Week: 10, UP 1)

8. Nebraska: 2-0 (Last Week: 9, UP 1)

7. Oregon: 1-1 (Last Week: 3, DOWN 4)

Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks are officially in trouble. They survived a Week 1 upset bid from Boise State, but Eric Morris’s high-powered Oklahoma State team dominated despite coming off a loss to Tulsa. 

On paper, Oregon has one of the most talented rosters in the country and should contend for the national championship. On the field, they have played like a fringe top-25 team. The Ducks have the pieces to get things back on track, but their 2026 season is off to a very rough start.

6. Michigan: 2-0 (Last Week: 13, UP 7)

In a major bounceback performance, Michigan picked up the conference’s biggest win over the weekend on an otherwise disastrous Saturday.

The Wolverines dominated the trenches against Oklahoma, establishing the identity Kyle Whittingham wants his team to embody. It will take a long time to wash away the stink of the Western Michigan game, but this win calmed concerns of a trainwreck season.

5. Iowa: 2-0 (Last Week: 6, UP 1)

4. Penn State: 2-0 (Last Week: 5, UP 1)

3. USC: 3-0 (Last Week: 4, UP 1)

2. Indiana: 2-0 (Last Week: 2)

The reigning national champions have looked strong through two weeks against far outmatched opponents, and Saturday’s matchup with Western Kentucky should not be any different. 

Indiana has a strong case for No. 1, but has yet to face any semblance of a test. The Hoosiers will have to earn their place at the top.

1. Ohio State: 1-1 (Last Week: 1)

For the first half of its matchup with new No. 1 Texas, Ohio State proved why it belongs at the top of this power ranking. Jeremiah Smith was unstoppable, and the defense forced multiple turnovers. The Buckeyes then jeopardized that with a horrific fourth-quarter collapse.

Leaving Ohio State in this spot feels wrong after a loss, but so would overly penalizing the Buckeyes for an early-season nail-biter against a national championship favorite.