As the season continues, the Big Ten conference remains one of the best in college football. The BIG Ten rankings is one way of seeing just how things are going in the conference. Just before week 4, though, who is the best and who is the worst in the conference so far? It’s time to rank each team before Big Ten conference play begins.
Week 4 Big Ten Rankings
1. Ohio State (3-0)
The Ohio State Buckeyes have begun the season firing on most cylinders—the No. 1 team in the nation has already started 3-0 and really hasn’t done anything wrong. They won over the then No. 1 Texas easily, putting them at one.
2. Penn State (3-0)
The Penn State Nittany Lions really haven’t looked too good in their first three easy weeks. However, at the same time, the Nittany Lions have one of the best complete teams in the nation. Sure, they haven’t done as well as other teams, but they still haven’t really done anything wrong either..
3. Oregon Ducks (3-0)
The Oregon Ducks have looked excellent to begin the season with an abundance of blowouts. Their most recent victory over the Northwestern Wildcats didn’t exactly blow anyone away. However, the Ducks are still complete and look excellent.
4. Illinois Fighting Illini (3-0)
The No. 9 Illinois Fighting Illini haven’t been tested too much this season, with their biggest victory over the Duke Blue Devils being mostly because of turnovers. In other words, it would probably be fair to say the Illini haven’t actually faced a good, ranked team that doesn’t make as many mistakes as the Devils did. However, for now, the Illini look like the team to be beaten in the BIG Ten with an 3-0 start.
5. Indiana Hoosiers (3-0)
The Indiana Hoosiers probably didn’t impress anyone with their first week. However, since, the Hoosiers who were unstoppable mostly last season have looked pretty good. There still remains the question if the 2024 season was a fluke. However, for now, Indiana will have a chance to prove it wasn’t with their game against the Illini this week.
6. Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0)
No one seems to respect the Nebraska Cornhuskers quite yet, especially since they really haven’t been truly tested so far this season. However, the fact remains that the Huskers have so far the best secondary in the BIG Ten (and the country) and the best passing offense so far in the BIG Ten. The Huskers will really be tested against the Michigan Wolverines. But it feels like they can do it this time.
7. USC Trojans (3-0)
The fact is for the No. 25 USC Trojans, they haven’t really blown anyone away, mostly because of their defense allowing more than 13 points to each team. The offense has mostly looked good, but for now, USC looks a bit overrated. The Trojans won’t be truly tested until they visit Illinois.
8. Michigan Wolverines (2-1)
The No. 21 Michigan Wolverines shouldn’t be seen as a horrible team because of one loss. However, at the same time, under freshman QB, it feels like the Wolverines can only be so good to begin the year. Michigan can really turn heads with a win over Nebraska. If they can’t defeat the Huskers, there will be questions to be answered for Sherrone Moore and his Wolverines.
9. Maryland Terrapins (3-0)
The Maryland Terrapins are definitely probably overlooked to begin the season. However, even with their 3-0 start, the question remains how good will Maryland do in BIG Ten play. There first three opponents weren’t anything notable.
10. Iowa Hawkeyes (2-1)
For the Iowa Hawkeyes, it feels like it will be the same old story. Good defense, bad offense, 8-9 wins, a bowl game, maybe a week or two of being a Top 25 team. This is a brutal take, yet the offense just doesn’t look good enough to rank Iowa high.
11. Washington Huskies (2-0)
The Washington Huskies are an incredibly unproven team. Especially with the Huskies struggling to put away the Colorado State Rams and winning only 38-21. For now, Washington is not ranked high, but they can be if they can destroy their former rival the Washington State Cougars.
12. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-0)
To be completely honest, nobody actually thinks the Rutgers Scarlet Knights can be good this season. However, perhaps the Knights are better than we think. The Ohio Bobcats aren’t a horrible team maybe. Rutgers can make a statement with a win over Iowa this Friday night.
13. Michigan State Spartans (3-0)
Maybe the Michigan State Spartans are one of the most underrated teams in college football. However, all three wins weren’t very good at all, beating Western Michigan by 17, the struggling Boston College Eagles by 2, and then the Youngstown State Penguins (yup, the Penguins) by 17. The true test begins now with their next two opponents being USC and Nebraska. In other words, good luck, the Spartans are probably going to need it.
14. Minnesota Gophers (2-1)
As for the Minnesota Gophers, there win over the Northwestern State Spartans looked really good until they got kind of smacked around by the California Golden Bears. Minnesota has got some work to do on the offensive side of things before being ranked even remotely high.
15. Wisconsin Badgers (2-1)
The Wisconsin Badgers didn’t loom horrible defensively against their first two opponents. However, after their 38-14 defeat against the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Badgers have a tough road ahead of them. The offense looks bad, while the defense couldn’t really stop Alabama. The Badgers just look- bad.
16. Purdue Boilermakers (2-1)
The Purdue Boilermakers offense looks really bad after their first three weeks. Against the Trojans, Purdue did hang on for a while. However, their unimpressive wins and 1-11 record from last season means they got some work to do before they rank remotely high.
17. Northwestern Wildcats (1-2)
Lets be honest, the Northwestern Wildcats stink and stink badly. Sure, they only lost to Oregon, the then No. 4 team by only 20. Yet, at the same time, getting walloped by the Tulane Green Wave is pretty embarrassing. The Wildcats 4-8 record from last season doesn’t help them either…
18. UCLA Bruins (0-3)
Imagine losing to the Utah Utes 43-10. Wow, then imagine losing to the New Mexico Lobos 35-10 and then losing to the Rebels. Not the Rebels in Mississippi, but the UNLV Rebels. UCLA’s second season in the BIG Ten could be very rough. Losing their first 3 games including being walloped by Mountain West opponents means a 2-10 to 0-12 season is possible for UCLA. If this team loses to Northwestern in a couple of weeks, they will be lucky to win a game this season.
Main Image: © Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
