Big Ten Football Power Rankings: Ohio State Leads the Way After Statement Win

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Michael Cohen

College Football and College Basketball Writer

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The game everyone wanted to see took place at Ohio Stadium on Saturday as No. 1 Texas visited No. 3 Ohio State in a rematch of last year’s College Football Playoff semifinal. It was a clash between two of the sport’s biggest brands and an early tussle for supremacy between the SEC and the Big Ten, the preeminent conferences in an ever-changing landscape.

When the dust finally settled, the Buckeyes emerged from this titanic showdown unscathed, thanks in large part to an exceptional defensive effort and one timely touchdown throw by sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin. The Longhorns, meanwhile, were left to ponder what their future holds following a disappointing performance from Arch Manning, no longer considered the Heisman Trophy favorite. 

That result puts Ohio State comfortably atop the Big Ten hierarchy to begin the season. To find out how the rest of the conference stacks up, here’s our first set of Big Ten Power Rankings following Week 1: 

The Top 10

Result: 14-7 home win over No. 1 Texas

No team in college football scored a more impressive victory than Ohio State, the defending national champions, who toppled No. 1 Texas following an offseason in which both coordinators departed and a school-record 14 players were selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, including starting quarterback Will Howard. His replacement, true sophomore Julian Sayin, a former five-star recruit and transfer from Alabama, became the first quarterback to beat the nation’s top-ranked team in his first career start since former Michigan standout Jim Harbaugh knocked off No. 1 Miami on Sept. 8, 1984. A modest stat line for Sayin — he completed 13 of 20 passes for 126 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions — reflected the relatively conservative game plan designed by head coach Ryan Day and new playcaller Brian Hartline, who were content to let the Buckeyes’ defense do most of the heavy lifting.

It was a dream debut for new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, the former head coach of the Detroit Lions and longtime defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, as his complex blend of coverages frustrated Texas quarterback Arch Manning and limited the Longhorns to just 336 yards of total offense and a 35.7% conversion rate on third down. The Buckeyes’ pursuit of back-to-back national titles is off and running.  

Result: 46-11 home win over Nevada

Head coach James Franklin made arguably the splashiest addition of the offseason when he lured defensive coordinator Jim Knowles away from Ohio State shortly after the national championship game, stuffing Knowles’ pockets with a contract reportedly worth more than $3 million per year. The early returns on that move were certainly impressive based on what the Nittany Lions did against Nevada by only surrendering 203 yards of total offense — 50 of which came on the Wolf Pack’s final, meaningless possession — while racking up three sacks, nine tackles for loss and forcing three turnovers. Knowles’ group generated takeaways on Nevada’s opening two possessions as Penn State jumped out to an early 10-point lead by the end of the first quarter, with the margin swelling to 24 points by halftime. 

The high-level tailback tandem of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined for three rushing touchdowns on just 16 carries in a game where offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki blended run and pass quite nicely. Quarterback Drew Allar completed 22 of 26 passes for 217 yards and one touchdown while flashing strong chemistry with two new transfer portal additions at wide receiver: former USC wideout Kyron Hudson caught six passes for 89 yards and a score; former Syracuse wideout Trebor Pena hauled in seven passes for 74 yards. 

Result: 59-13 home win over Montana State

All eyes were on Oregon’s quarterbacks after head coach Dan Lanning never officially named a starter prior to kickoff against Montana State. For months, it had been widely assumed that former UCLA transfer Dante Moore, the No. 4 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting cycle, would be the successor to Dillon Gabriel. Moore spent the 2024 campaign as Gabriel’s understudy before battling former four-star recruit Austin Novosad in both spring practice and fall camp, ultimately winning the job like most people expected. He completed 18 of 23 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns in a game the Ducks led by 35 at halftime and by 46 after the third quarter.

Oregon’s rushing attack proved just as efficient as the passing game, with 12 players combining to rumble for 253 yards and five scores on 39 attempts for a healthy average of 6.5 yards per attempt. Starting tailback Noah Whittington led the way with 10 carries for 68 yards and one touchdown, but true freshman Jordon Davison, the No. 12 tailback in the 2025 recruiting cycle, found the end zone three times on just six carries to offer glimpses of what he might become both this season and beyond. The Ducks’ defense limited Montana State to just 46 rushing yards on 27 attempts for a miniscule average of 1.7 yards per carry. 

Result: 52-3 home win over Western Illinois

Nobody will give Illinois much credit for pummeling Western Illinois, a team that got blasted, 77-3, by then-unranked Indiana during Week 2 of last season, but head coach Bret Bielema’s group did exactly what was needed when facing an overmatched opponent against the backdrop of unprecedented expectations for the 2025 campaign.

An incredibly balanced offensive display was anchored by the efficiency of third-year starting quarterback Luke Altmyer, the former Ole Miss transfer who completed 17 of 21 passes for 217 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was buttressed by a highly effective, three-headed rushing attack in which tailbacks Aidan Laughery (nine carries, 101 yards, 2 TDs), Kaden Feagin (13 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD) and Ca’Lil Valentine (nine carries, 51 yards) all impacted the game with steady production and chunk-gaining runs. 

The rebuilt Illinois defensive line, fueled by aggressive efforts in the transfer portal, limited the Leathernecks to just 29 rushing yards on 26 attempts — an anemic average of just 1.1 yards per carry — while also mixing in nine tackles for loss and four sacks.

About the only thing Bielema and his staff can quibble with after a near-flawless performance on both sides of the ball was the offense’s modest 44.4% conversion rate on third down. 

Result: 34-17 home win over New Mexico

The hype surrounding true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 cycle, was already approaching fever-pitch levels before he played an official snap. And now, after Underwood completed 21 of 31 passes for 251 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in his first collegiate game, invigorating an offense that appeared lifeless for most of last season, the excitement among Michigan fans has gone supersonic.

It wasn’t merely the fact that Underwood, who only recently turned 18, exceeded the single-game passing highs of all three Michigan quarterbacks from last season — 204 yards for Davis Warren; 86 yards for Alex Orji; 208 yards for Jack Tuttle — to demonstrate just how inept the Wolverines were in that department. Rather, it was the overall breadth of Underwood’s skill set that caused jaws to drop: from rifled slants to layered downfield throws, from touch passes along the sideline to the calm avoidance of rookie mistakes. He was truly impressive.

With so much attention dedicated to Underwood, it was easy to overlook the dynamism of tailback Justice Haynes, the highly touted transfer from Alabama. Haynes carried 16 times for a career-high 159 yards and three touchdowns, including a 56-yarder to open the scoring, while demonstrating the kind of game-breaking moments Michigan envisioned when it signed him. There will still be overarching questions about the Wolverines’ receivers and several wobbles on defense, but the early buzz from Ann Arbor is palpable. 

Result: 27-14 home win over Old Dominion

A win is a win, and for some factions of the long-tortured Indiana fan base, that alone is enough to celebrate what the Hoosiers did in the opener on Saturday, pulling away from Old Dominion in the second and third quarters for a fairly comfortable victory. But this certainly wasn’t the kind of emphatic beatdown Indiana dished out on numerous occasions last season, riding the mojo and coaching acumen of Curt Cignetti all the way to an at-large berth in the College Football Playoff.

Transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza, a big-name addition from Cal, only completed 18 of 31 passes for 193 yards and no touchdowns in a debut that reminded folks there’s plenty of work still to be done — though Mendoza did rumble across the goal line with his legs late in the second quarter. Instead, the scoring punch came from an Indiana rushing attack that gobbled up 309 yards and two scores on 57 carries, much of which was provided by Maryland transfer Roman Hemby (23 carries, 111 yards). The Hoosiers also enjoyed a 91-yard punt return touchdown from wideout Jonathan Brady for their first points of the season. 

Still, Cignetti was less than pleased during his postgame news conference and acknowledged how much better Indiana needs to be moving forward. 

Result: 20-17 win over Cincinnati on a neutral field

The Cornhuskers’ faithful flooded Arrowhead Stadium to transform what was supposed to be a modified home game for Cincinnati into what felt like a home-field advantage for Nebraska on Thursday night. Head coach Matt Rhule and his team checked a number of important boxes by securing the narrow win over a power-conference opponent, most notably their emergence from a one-score game, something that has confounded the program for years. A critical interception by defensive back Malcolm Hartzog Jr. with 34 seconds remaining sealed Nebraska’s victory to kickstart what many around the Cornhuskers feel could be a special season.

Quarterback Dylan Raiola, now a sophomore, completed 33 of 42 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to newly arrived playmakers via the transfer portal in former Cal wideout Nyziah Hunter (six catches, 65 yards, 1 TD) and former Kentucky wideout Dane Key (six catches, 51 yards, 1 TD). Raiola’s production through the air was complemented by 25 hard-charging carries for tailback Emmett Johnson, who bludgeoned his way to 108 yards.

Nebraska’s defense had a difficult time stopping the run as Cincinnati’s dual-threat quarterback, Brendan Sorsby, racked up 96 rushing yards and two scores in a game when the Bearcats surpassed 200 rushing yards as a team. But the Cornhuskers only surrendered 69 passing yards and forced the Bearcats to become one-dimensional down the stretch.  

Result: 73-13 home win over Missouri State

Regardless of the opponent — and in this case it was FCS-level Missouri State — it’s downright impressive whenever a team scores 70-plus points in a major college football game, especially considering how much pressure USC faces entering Year 4 under embattled head coach Lincoln Riley. The final tally of 73 points was the Trojans’ most in a single game since they waxed Cal, 74-0, way back in 1930.

Every facet of Riley’s offense seemed liked it worked to perfection as nine different players accounted for 10 total touchdowns. Quarterback Jayden Maiava, who supplanted last year’s starter, Miller Moss, partway through the year, completed 15 of 18 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns — plus an additional score as a runner — before giving way to highly touted freshman Husan Longstreet in the second half. Even Longstreet, a five-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle, completed all nine of his passes for 69 yards and a touchdown, while also chipping in 54 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground. 

On defense, where USC is hopeful about taking another step forward under second-year defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, the Trojans forced three turnovers and limited Missouri State to just three third-down conversions on 14 attempts, surrendering a paltry 2.2 yards per rush along the way. 

Result: 34-7 home win over Albany

So much of the offseason discussion surrounding Iowa, which dealt with a revolving door at quarterback in 2024, centered on the arrival of highly-touted transfer Mark Gronowski from South Dakota State, a legitimate dual-threat player with multiple FCS national championships to his name. Gronowski was supposed to enliven the Hawkeye’s putrid passing attack — they finished 130th with 131.6 passing yards per game last season — and ease the workload on its running backs following the departure of star rusher Kaleb Johnson, who accounted for 1,537 yards and 21 scores. But almost everything about Iowa’s season-opening victory over Albany felt like more of the same as Gronowski, who exited in the third quarter due to cramping issues, completed just eight of 15 passes for 44 yards and a touchdown.

Instead, it was Iowa’s rushing game that once again shouldered most of the responsibility by producing 310 yards and three scores on 51 carries. The group’s new leader appears to be redshirt freshman tailback Xavier Williams, a former three-star prospect and the No. 1,000 overall player in the 2024 cycle, who chipped in a game-high 122 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. How and when Iowa’s downfield passing game will come to life remains to be seen entering a high-profile showdown against rival Iowa State this weekend (Noon ET Saturday on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

Result: 38-21 home win over Colorado State 

A game that was tied, 21-21, near the midway point of the third quarter finally tilted Washington’s way when head coach Jedd Fisch’s group reeled off 17 unanswered points in a little more than 11 minutes to secure the program’s 21st consecutive home victory. The Huskies’ stars stepped forward when it mattered most as quarterback Demond Williams Jr. connected with wideout Denzel Boston for a 12-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, which proved to be the winning score, and standout tailback Jonah Coleman sealed it via a 3-yard run with 6:57 remaining in the fourth. Coleman turned in one of the best performances of his career by carrying 24 times for 177 yards and two scores, forming a dynamic one-two punch with Williams, the dual-threat signal-caller who chipped in 68 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Such effectiveness in the running game allowed Williams, a sophomore, to dice Colorado State’s cautious secondary for 226 yards and a touchdown while completing 18 of 24 passes. 

The Huskies’ defense also performed well in its first game under new defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, formerly the head coach of Purdue. Walters’ unit allowed just 85 rushing yards on 27 carries and limited the Rams to three third-down conversions on 13 attempts. Washington held the Rams scoreless for the final 23 minutes. 

The Rest

Result: 23-10 home win over Buffalo

Slowly but surely, Minnesota’s offense chugged to life as new starting quarterback Drake Lindsey, a former three-star recruit, settled into a rhythm. Lindsey completed 19 of 35 passes for 290 yards, two touchdowns and one interception to provide some ballast for star running back Darius Taylor, whose 30 carries produced 141 hard-fought yards. 

Result: 17-0 home win over Miami (Ohio)

Wisconsin overcame an early injury scare to quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., a transfer from Maryland, to beat the RedHawks on the strength of an impressive defensive effort. The Badgers intercepted two passes and did not allow a single third- or fourth-down conversion while limiting Miami to just 117 yards of total offense. 

Result: 39-7 home win over Florida Atlantic

The story of Maryland’s win over the Owls was an incredible defensive effort that produced a staggering six interceptions by six different players, the Terrapins’ most in a game since 1998. But what fans will be even more excited about was the debut of true freshman quarterback Malik Washington, the No. 99 overall prospect and No. 10 quarterback in the 2025 recruiting cycle. He completed 27 of 43 passes for 258 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. 

Result: 23-6 home win over Western Michigan

It was a mixed bag for Michigan State as it began Year 2 under head coach Jonathan Smith, formerly of Oregon State. Turnover-prone quarterback Aidan Chiles completed 17 of 23 passes for 155 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, but he still fumbled twice and saw one of them recovered by Western Michigan. The Spartans’ offense also failed to score a point in the second half.  

Result: 34-31 home win over Ohio

On a night when Rutgers squandered a 17-point lead and saw its defense gashed for 440 yards of total offense, including 201 on the ground, the Scarlet Knights escaped thanks to a 26-yard field goal by kicker Jai Patel in the fourth quarter. There is plenty for head coach Greg Schiano and his staff to fix as Rutgers allowed the second-most yards of any Big Ten team to begin the season, narrowly eclipsing UCLA. 

Result: 31-0 home win over Ball State

This was quite a debut for Purdue head coach Barry Odom, who took over one of the most difficult situations in the Big Ten after resurrecting UNLV the last two seasons. Quarterback Ryan Browne completed 18 of 26 passes for 311 yards and two scores as the Boilermakers topped 30 points in a non-overtime game for the first time since their 2024 opener against Indiana State.  

Result: 43-10 home loss to Utah

The Nico Iamaleava era began in rough fashion on Saturday night when the Bruins were obliterated by Utah at home. Iamaleava, the high-profile transfer from Tennessee, completed just 11 of 22 passes for 136 yards, one touchdown and one interception while battling accuracy and timing issues throughout the game. Without some rapid improvement, things could get ugly for head coach DeShaun Foster. 

Result: 23-3 road loss to Tulane 

Things couldn’t have gone worse for Northwestern in its tricky opener against Tulane, one of the better programs outside the Power 4 conferences. Transfer quarterback Preston Stone threw four interceptions as the Wildcats turned it over five times and were outgained 421-237 in total offense.

Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.

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