Big Ten Week 1 Power Rankings: Illinois Makes Strong Opening Claim

Opening weekend of college football is behind us, and the Big Ten was one of the lone conferences not to take a major blow over the weekend.

Within the Big Ten, the conference almost remained exactly how it started. Ohio State and Michigan both finished their opening week with impressive wins, while teams like Wisconsin proved they may belong in the top 25.

It may only be one week into the season, but there’s already moves in this conference, and the NCAA as a whole. After major upsets and blow outs, the top 25 won’t look nearly the same.

For the Big Ten, their power rankings will change almost weekly. With some teams proving a lot, and some proving nothing, the conference is still anyone’s game.

This week’s Big Ten Power Rankings:

No. 14 Rutgers

Week 1 result – 48-13 loss to Washington

Rutgers opened up their 2016 season on the worst note possible, getting blown out by Washington. Yes, Washington is a top 20 school, and is looking to have one of their best years in the school history. But the end result still doesn’t look good on the Scarlet Knight’s resume.

Rutgers wasn’t a team heading into 2016 with high expectations. Their chances of winning the Big Ten were gone well before the season began. That doesn’t mean they couldn’t make games enjoyable, though.

Washington may have been a much better team, but Rutgers needed to show some light if they want any chance of making noise in this conference.

They’ll need to fix a lot before conference play begins if they have any hope this season.