Big Ten Power Rankings: Ohio State, USC, Penn State remain 1-2-3 after getting week off

The top teams are back in action after bye weeks, which is bad news for lower-level teams such as Marshall, Kent State and … Michigan .

I jest.

The Wolverines would probably win the Mid-American Conference (although Toledo would disagree) but hosting USC this week means another rough week in Ann Arbor. Elsewhere, Washington lost to Washington State in a Pac-12 payback game and UCLA proved itself worthy of last place after losing to Indiana at home.

1. Ohio State (2-0)

Last week: 1

This week: Marshall

What to know: Ohio State is the student raising a hand in class – “Me, me, me” – only to have the teacher/voter call on favorite Texas.

2. USC (2-0)

Last week: 2.

This week: at Michigan

What to know: Remember all those years when USC had to listen to how it benefited from home field advantage playing Big Ten teams in the Rose Bowl? This beatdown is for that.

3. Penn State (2-0)

Last week: 3

This week: vs. Kent State

What to know: Another MAC school? Uh-oh. Have the Nittany Lions learned anything after their close call against Bowling Green?

4. Oregon (3-0)

Last week: 4.

This week: idle

What to know: What do Ducks fans do during the off week after beating rival Oregon State? Laugh at Washington fans after the Huskies lost to rival Washington State.

5. Nebraska (3-0)

Last week: 5

This week: vs. Illinois (Friday)

What to know: Buffalo still roamed the Great Plains the last time Nebraska looked this good.

6. Illinois (3-0)

Last week: 7

This week: at Nebraska (Friday)

What to know : The last time the Illini began 4-0 was 2011, when they finished 7-6. Moral of the story? Enjoy it while you can.

7. Rutgers (2-0)

Last week: 6

This week: at Virginia Tech

What to know: The Scarlet Knights hit the road for the first time this season. How do they respond when the road hits back?

8. Michigan (2-1)

Last week: 8

This week: vs. USC

What to know: Michigan allows the Trojans and their horse into the Big House. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, the rest is Greek history.

9. Iowa (2-1)

Last week: 9

This week: at Minnesota

What to know: Kirk Ferentz is the longest-serving coach in the Big Ten, so it only makes sense the Hawkeyes ’ playbook resembles cave drawings.

10. Indiana (3-0)

Last week: 11

This week: vs. Charlotte

What to know: The coaching pendulum swing from nice guy Tom Allen to tough guy Curt Cignetti is working wonders in Bloomington..

11. Michigan State (3-0)

Last week: 15

This week: at Boston College

What to know: Once upon a time this season the Spartans were awful. Then they weren’t. Can the fairy tale continue?

12. Minnesota (2-1)

Last week: 14

This week: vs. Iowa

What to know: Admittedly, we haven’t watched enough of the Golden Gophers to offer a strong opinion, but we’ve seen Iowa, and it’s our strong opinion that Minnesota prevails.

13. Washington (2-1)

Last week: 10

This week: vs. Northwestern

What to know: Hard to believe that nine months ago the Huskies played for the national title. Now they’re fighting for their lives.

14. Wisconsin (2-1)

Last week: 12

This week: idle

What to know: Fact: the beer is just as cold and curds just as cheesy during an off week than after getting throttled by Alabama. Enjoy.

15. Maryland (2-1)

Last week: 18

This week: vs. Villanova

What to know: The Terps continue their crawl back from the basement to something approaching respectability. Unless they lose to Nova, that is.

16. Northwestern (2-1)

Last week: 16

This week: at Washington

What to know: Ah, nothing like the fresh air of the Pacific Northwest to clear your head and help you forget about that Pat Fitzgerald lawsuit.

17. Purdue (2-1)

Last week: 13

This week: at Oregon State

What to know: You know that song by The Who, “Won’t get fooled again.” We won’t. We know for certain the Boilermakers are not very good.

18. UCLA (1-1)

Last week: 17

This week: at LSU

What to know: The Big Ten knew UCLA was no football powerhouse when it invited the basketball school to the party, but it also didn’t anticipate the Bruins being a football outhouse.

roller@dispatch.com

@rollerCD

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Big Ten Power Rankings: Ohio State, USC, Penn State remain 1-2-3 after getting week off