Big Ten Football Power Rankings: Shaky start at the top in Week 1

The Nebraska Cornhuskers had their season opener spoiled due to weather and will now open their season with a home game against the Colorado Buffaloes. Colorado is coming off a season-opening trouncing of in-state rival, Colorado State. The Buffaloes accounted for nearly 600 yards of total offense so the Nebraska’s defense will need to be on its A-Game or we could see a high scoring affair in Lincoln next Saturday.

It took some time for the Hawkeye offense to get rolling, but Iowa came away with a near shutout win over Northern Illinois in Week 1. The Hawkeyes’ running game was rolling, totaling 209 yards, averaging 4.4 yards a carry. Iowa’s biggest concern should be that of Nate Stanley’s performance. Stanley completed under 50 percent of his passes, barely threw for over 100 yards and threw one interception.

For their Week 2 matchup, the Iowa Hawkeyes take on their in-state rival, the Iowa State Cyclones. Last season’s meeting saw this game go into overtime, with the Hawkeyes coming out on top. But another poor game from Stanley, could have the Hawkeyes on the losing end in this year’s bout.

The Northwestern Wildcats are the first team in the Big Ten Conference with a conference win in 2018. Their road win over the Purdue Boilermakers showed just how good this team can be can be this year. Despite the breakout performance from Purdue’s Rondale Moore, the Wildcats played well on both sides of the ball, totaling over 400 yards of offense and forcing three interceptions on defense.

The Wildcats host the Duke Blue Devils in Week 2, in a game that could be all defense. After an average start to the season, Northwestern will hope quarterback Clayton Thorson will shake off the rust and lead them to victory and a 2-0 start.