Big Ten Football power rankings remain steady after Week 1
By Shane Lunnen
The momentum of a Week 0 victory faded Friday night in Bloomington as the Illini fell 23-20 to the Hoosiers. Illinois had opportunities to seal a win but could not capitalize.
It was not all bad as running back Chase Brown fell one yard shy of topping 200 yards on the ground. However, the Illini were done in by their four turnovers and a turnover on downs at the Indiana one-yard line with about 10 minutes to go in the game. A score there and the outcome may have been different.
Illinois will need to regroup quickly. They have another challenge next week with Virginia visiting Champaign.
Northwestern was the only Big Ten football team to not be in action this week. Taking an extra week off after their trip to Ireland will likely be beneficial. The Wildcats are back in action in Week 2, hosting Duke.
Purdue fought hard against Penn State but came up just short Thursday night at home, falling to the Nittany Lions 35-31. It was a back-and-forth contest with seven lead changes.
The Boilermakers’ biggest problems were penalties and poor tackling. They had nine penalties accepted for 92 yards, several of which that extended Nittany Lion drives. At one point they had three defensive penalties on one play.
Purdue was also done in by poor tackling. Penn State had 205 yards after the catch and a lot of it can be contributed by missed tackles by the Boilermakers.
It was a deflating loss for Purdue who could have served notice they are a contender for the Big Ten West crown. Instead, they will look to get their first win against Indiana State in Week 2.