<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2Ve0RO_0vzimIln00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2Ve0RO_0vzimIln00" width="1004" height="669" ><figcaption>Art by Rachel Dempsey</figcaption></figure><h2>1: Ohio State (5-0); Previous Rank: 1</h2><p>Ohio State trampled Iowa 35-7 this weekend, but that is not the biggest story for the Buckeyes this week. The biggest story is their trip to Eugene to play Oregon this weekend.</p><p>This matchup has been marked on both teams' calendars for a long time and will define both seasons. Ohio State senior quarterback Will Howard will have a tough task dueling with Oregon senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Howard has been solid but must elevate to a higher level to match Gabriel.</p><p>The Buckeyes haven’t had a real test all season but should still match up well with the Ducks. Teams have been successful with the run against Oregon and Ohio State’s running backs have been efficient. The Buckeyes haven’t been tested yet but will come out of Eugene battle-tested no matter the outcome.</p><h2>2: Oregon (5-0); Previous Rank: 2</h2><p>Oregon will have an uphill battle against Ohio State but has the firepower to do it.</p><p>Gabriel is one of the best quarterbacks in the country and has tons of weapons to throw to. The Buckeyes don’t see many offenses that spread out the field like the Ducks do and will be stretched thin.</p><p>Oregon will have home-field advantage in one of the biggest college football matchups of the season and should test Ohio State to its limits.</p><h2>3: Penn State (5-0); Previous Rank: 3</h2><p>Penn State didn’t show anything new this weekend against UCLA. Just like in games before, the Nittany Lions ran the ball and dominated the trenches. The Bruins are a bottom-of-the-barrel team and the Nittany Lions handled business. </p><p>Penn State will handle its highest-powered offense when it travels out west to play USC. This will be the biggest test for the Nittany Lion passing defense as it hasn’t had to play a spread offense like the Trojans’. </p><p>Outside of its mid-season bout with Ohio State in a few weeks, Penn State has a relatively easy schedule and should be a playoff lock.</p><h2>4: Indiana (6-0); Previous Rank: 4</h2><p>Indiana became the first bowl-eligible team in the conference this weekend with a win over Northwestern. It took the Hoosiers a bit to pull away from the Wildcats but they won 41-24. </p><p>Week in and week out, Indiana shows why it has the best offense in the country, as it ranks sixth in total offense. Senior quarterback Kurtis Rourke has been one of the best in the country and has adjusted to head coach Curt Cignetti’s offense well.</p><p>The Hoosiers gash their opponents’ defenses multiple ways as they are 11th in passing offense and 28th in rushing defense. They have been one of the biggest surprises in the conference and have a week to rejuvenate before their matchup with Nebraska.</p><h2>5: Illinois (4-1); Previous Rank: 6</h2><p>Illinois had the week off and has a tune-up game against Purdue this week. It should handle the Boilermakers handily before a tough stretch, where the Fighting Illini play Michigan and Oregon. </p><p>Junior quarterback Luke Altmyer will need to get his confidence back. After a strong start, Altmyer had a shaky game in the loss at Penn State. A lot of Illinois’s success this season has been because of Altmyer’s improvement.</p><p>The loss to the Nittany Lions showed that the Fighting Illini have a ways to go before cracking into the top of the conference, but they have a few chances to do that coming up.</p><h2>6: Nebraska (5-1); Previous Rank: 9</h2><p>Nebraska seems to have gotten its swagger back after losing to Illinois two weeks ago. The Huskers dominated a then-undefeated Rutgers squad and did it convincingly despite winning by one score. </p><p>The Nebraska defense throttled the Scarlet Knights. The front seven generated tons of pressure all afternoon and the secondary made many big plays. After a few rough outings, a performance like this was integral to the Huskers going forward.</p><p>Freshman phenom quarterback Dylan Raiola played his worst game of the season, but he was due for a bad outing and it isn’t cause for much concern. Although Nebraska started 5-3 last season and failed to make a bowl game, it looks like the Huskers will finally go bowling this year.</p><h2>7: Washington (4-2); Previous Rank: 11</h2><p>Washington hadn’t shown much until this weekend, but the Huskies welcomed themselves to the conference with a win over No. 10 Michigan.</p><p>Senior quarterback Will Rogers showed why he is one of the best signal callers in the conference throwing for 271 yards and two touchdowns. Washington’s air attack has been consistent in each of its games and has been its main point of attack.</p><p>The Huskies travel to Iowa where they will surely have the better offense in the game but will be matched up against a stout Iowa defense.</p><h2>8: Michigan (4-2); Previous Rank: 5</h2><p>It seemed like Michigan was back after beating USC and Minnesota, but it showed its true colors again this week.</p><p>The Wolverines changed hands at quarterback for the third time this year as senior Jack Tuttle came in for junior Alex Orji. Tuttle may have thrown a touchdown, but he was also responsible for both of Michigan’s turnovers.</p><p>The ground game was as strong as ever, as senior Donovan Edwards had his best game in a while with 95 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. However, the Wolverines can’t get by with a one-dimensional offense and will eventually have to figure out their issues under center.</p><h2>9: USC (3-2); Previous Rank: 7</h2><p>Junior quarterback Miller Moss had his worst performance of the season, as USC fell to Minnesota 24-17.</p><p>The Trojans offense usually relies on Moss’s arm to spearhead the passing attack, however, his poor performance forced them to look towards the ground. Senior running back Woody Marks did as much as he could, as he carried the ball 20 times for 134 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough.</p><p>USC as of late is a far cry from the team that beat LSU to open the season. The Trojans are 1-2 to begin their Big Ten career and needed to come from behind against Wisconsin to get the lone victory. USC has a lot to figure out. </p><h2>10: Rutgers (4-1); Previous Rank: 8</h2><p>Rutgers suffered its first loss of the season in Lincoln this weekend and has nothing but itself to blame.</p><p>The Scarlet Knights’ potent rushing offense looked great early, but they just stopped giving it to senior running back Kyle Monangai. Monangai had 34 yards on Rutgers’ opening drive but finished the game with 78. It was baffling that the Scarlet Knights put the ball in the hands of senior quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis. Raiola may not have looked like Patrick Mahomes, but Kaliakmanis looked like Daniel Jones.</p><p>Kaliakmanis went 15-of-37 for 186 yards and two interceptions. He did throw a touchdown but that didn’t come until garbage time. If Rutgers wants to move up, they need to put the ball back into Monangai’s hands.</p><h2>11: Wisconsin (3-2); Previous Rank: 14</h2><p>Wisconsin manhandled Purdue this weekend, winning 52-6. It may have been the Boilermakers, but any game you put up 589 yards, is a good game.</p><p>Sophomore quarterback Braedyn Locke threw for 359 yards and the Badgers’s offense converted 28 first downs. Wisconsin did anything it wanted with little pushback from Purdue.</p><p>The Badgers defense was lockdown on third down, forcing the Boilermakers to go 1-of-11 on third down conversions. It may have been against the worst team in the conference, but a blowout like this is a confidence boost heading into Rutgers.</p><h2>12: Maryland (3-2); Previous Rank: 13</h2><p>Maryland had a break this week after losing to Indiana last weekend. The Terrapins forced four turnovers but still lost by two scores.</p><p>The passing offense led by junior quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. has been one of the best in the conference. Many were unsure that Edwards Jr. would be able to fill the shoes of Taulia Tagovailoa, but he has done well as he is third in the conference in passing yards per game.</p><p>Maryland is favored by two scores against Northwestern this week and should bounce back after the loss to the Hoosiers.</p><h2>13: Minnesota (3-3); Previous Rank: 15</h2><p>It was the Darius Taylor show in Minneapolis as the sophomore running back led the way for Minnesota with 200 total yards in the win over USC. The Golden Gophers have struggled to find their offensive footing but Taylor has been a bright spot. Taylor did not find the endzone as senior quarterback Max Brosmer had three paydirt rushing touchdowns but was the offensive MVP. </p><p>This week Minnesota takes on UCLA. The Golden Gophers are favored and will have an opportunity to torch a rough Bruins’s defense.</p><h2>14: Iowa (3-2); Previous Rank: 10</h2><p>It has been a disastrous week for Iowa. Not only did the Hawkeyes look terrible against Ohio State, but they lost two players to the transfer portal this week. Senior running back Leshon Williams, Iowa’s leading rusher last year, and junior receiver Kaleb Brown both decided to redshirt and play elsewhere next year.</p><p>Senior quarterback Cade McNamara may need to start looking for something else, too, after another horrid performance. McNamara went 14-of-20 for 98 yards and an interception. McNamara still hasn’t thrown a touchdown since the first week of the season. </p><p>Just like last year, the Hawkeyes have a stalwart defense, but their offense keeps them from being anything special.</p><h2>15: Michigan State (3-3); Previous Rank: 12</h2><p>Michigan State moved to 1-2 in conference play after a 31-10 loss to Oregon. Outside of its week two win against Maryland, the Spartans have been underwhelming under new head coach Jonathan Smith. </p><p>Sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles went 10-of-17 for 154 yards and the rushing offense was somehow worse. Michigan State averaged two yards per carry on 30 carries and struggled to do virtually anything offensively. </p><p>The Spartans have a week off to prepare for its match against Iowa and will try to figure out their offensive issues so the game isn’t a rock fight.</p><h2>16: UCLA (1-4); Previous Rank: 16</h2><p>UCLA is a last-minute field goal away from being winless this year. The Bruins have been bad, but there is a silver lining as sophomore quarterback Justyn Martin made his first start.</p><p>Martin had a tough task playing on the road against Penn State but was palatable. Martin went 22-of-30 for 167 yards and a touchdown and didn’t turn it over. Although Martin didn’t turn heads, there is no reason why UCLA should go back to senior Ethan Garbers.</p><p>The Bruins may not win another game, but if they can develop Martin they can at least get something out of this year</p><h2>17: Northwestern (2-3); Previous Rank: 18</h2><p>Northwestern shocked many by hanging around with Indiana for three quarters, but ultimately lost by multiple scores.</p><p>The Wildcats had one of their best offensive performances as sophomore quarterback Jack Lausch pulled himself together. Lausch had 243 yards and two touchdowns and threw zero interceptions. Lausch was about as bad as you can be against Washington but is on an upward trajectory.</p><p>Northwestern will finish near the bottom, but they showed this weekend that they can scrap around with other teams.</p><p><b>18: Purdue (1-4); Previous Rank: 17</b></p><p>Atrocious. Awful. Dreadful. Horrible. </p><p>There are a lot of words you can use to describe Purdue this year. The Boilermakers's point differential against Power Five teams this year is 184-44 and it doesn’t get easier for them. Purdue has five teams left on its schedule that are currently ranked. The worst is just beginning.</p></div></body>

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Week 7 Big Ten Power Rankings: Huskers get their swagger back

Ohio State trampled Iowa 35-7 this weekend, but that is not the biggest story for the Buckeyes this week. The biggest story is their trip to Eugene to play Oregon this weekend. This matchup has been marked on both teams' calendars for a long time and will define both seasons....

Week 7 Big Ten Power Rankings: Huskers get their swagger back

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