It was a wild opening weekend in College Football, as two top-ranked teams went down on Saturday.
The Big Ten had a fantastic weekend of opening games, as Ohio State (6) and Michigan (7) dominated their inferior opponents and will more than likely move up a spot or two in the rankings.
Michigan State (12), Iowa (17), Nebraska, Penn State, Illinois, Purdue, and Maryland cruised to convincing wins over “cupcake” opponents.
Indiana and Minnesota won their opening contests on Thursday night.
The only two losses in the Big Ten came from Rutgers, who traveled out west to take on Washington (14) and Northwestern, who was upset at home by Central Michigan 22-21.
Northwestern was viewed as one of a few teams with an outside shot at sneaking into the Big Ten Championship Game, playing in the relatively balanced West Division, but after a loss to a MAC team, the Wildcats may be farther away than originally envisioned.
The biggest surprise of the Big Ten and arguably the biggest surprise in College Football was the Wisconsin Badgers’ stunning 16-14 upset over LSU (5) at Lambeau Field. The Badgers may have ended LSU’s hopes at a playoff appearance, as the Tigers cannot afford another slip up between now and the SEC Championship, if they even make it that far.
However, from a Wisconsin standpoint, the Badgers have asserted themselves as a team to watch in the Big Ten. Wisconsin began the season unranked, but after an impressive win like that, there’s a great chance the Badgers find themselves in the top 25 heading into Week 2.
Wisconsin has one of the toughest schedules in the Big Ten, as they play Michigan and Michigan State both on the road, host Ohio State, and travel to Iowa. They also host Nebraska and Minnesota.
For the Badgers to win the Big Ten West, they can realistically afford two losses at most.
After Week 1, the Big Ten West looks like a three-way race between Iowa, Wisconsin, and Nebraska, while the East appears to be a battle of who will be left standing after Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State beat up on each other.
The one wild card team in the Big Ten to keep an eye on is Minnesota, who may give those three top West teams a run for their money.
After Week 1, here are the Big Ten Standings.
BIG TEN – EAST
(6)Ohio State 1-0
(7)Michigan 1-0
(12)Michigan State 1-0
Indiana 1-0
Maryland 1-0
Penn State 1-0
Rutgers 0-1
BIG TEN – WEST
(17)Iowa 1-0
Illinois 1-0
Minnesota 1-0
Purdue 1-0
Nebraska 1-0
Wisconsin 1-0
Northwestern 0-1
We’ll have more on the Big Ten when the next national polls are released, but a few interesting games to look forward to in Week 2 include Penn State @ Pittsburgh, Iowa vs. Iowa State, Illinois vs. North Carolina (22), and Purdue vs. Cincinnati.
If Illinois and Penn State can come away with wins against solid opponents to improve to 2-0, they may start to be viewed as more legitimate threats in the Big Ten picture.
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