CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big Ten => Topic started by: LittlePig on September 22, 2024, 07:44:49 AM
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The more things change, the more they remain the same.
1. Ohio St - schedule is weak but OSU shows it can really dominate weak opponents.
2. Penn St - back on track with dominating win
Hmmm.... Who is #3?
3. Oregon - good enough at least to beat Ore St
4. Michigan - after looking average the first 3 weeks, Mich pulls out big win against USC
5. USC. - not going to drop USC too far for losing by 3 in Ann Arbor
6. Indiana - looking really impressive so far but competition is going to get harder
7. Illinois - fighting Bert's found a way to win at Neb in OT
8. Nebraska - just when Neb looks like it's ready to step up to the next level, they blow another game in 4Q/OT
9. Iowa - Kaleb Johnson for Heisman! Iowa dominates 2nd half after struggling in first half against Minny.
10. Rutgers - Just keeps winning
11. Mich St - loses tough one in last minute against BC
12. MD - struggled against FCS school
13. Washington - well, they are better than NW, at least
14. Wisconsin - has done nothing impressive so far
15. Minnesota - was leading Iowa at halftime, then fizzled in 2nd half
16. UCLA - held strong for first half at LSU, but could not keep it up.
17. NW - needs to find some offense or it's going to be a long season.
18. Purdue - well, at least they looked better this week losing to Ore St than they did losing big against Notre Dame in week 3.
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1)tOSU
2)Ducks
3)Ninnies
4)Cheats
5)SC
6)Illini
7)Rutgers
8)Iowa
9)'Skers
10)Hoosiers
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1. Ohio State
2. Penn State
3. Oregon
4. Michigan
5. Illinois
6. USC
7. Iowa
8. Indiana
9. Rutgers
10. Nebraska
11. Michigan State
12. Minnesota
13. Wisconsin
14. Washington
15. Maryland
16. Northwestern
17. UCLA
18. Purdue
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- OSU: A bit janky looking on defense, but still gave up fewer than 300 yards of offense. Finally done with their crappy noncon.
- Oregon: Gonna give them a mulligan for their early struggles.
- PSU: Same
- Michigan: Maybe just give up on the forward pass
- USC: Gotta be kicking themselves for letting that game get away
- Indiana: Do you believe? I do
- Illinois: Surprised but they keep winning
- Rutgers: Same
- Nebraska: Looks to be a tough out every week
- Iowa: Maybe they should be higher - tough to rank these guys
- Washington: Escape the Northwestern trap
- MSU: Outgained Boston College, though they lost
- Maryland: Just a hair behind MSU
- Minnesota: Disappointing to be uncompetitive in the second half
- Wisconsin: Let's see if they come up with something over the bye
- UCLA: I'll take them out of last for being competitive for a half against LSU
- Northwestern: Fairly uninspiring
- Purdue: Good Lord. WTF! They get blown out again. They gave up 341 yards rushing. Hudson Card went 7/17 for 56 yards. What are they doing over there?
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In broad terms, a 3 point loss on the road suggests the loser is about equal to the winner.
USC had a few more yards, TOs were even, it was on the road, I'd say the teams are evenly matched in broad terms.
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In broad terms, a 3 point loss on the road suggests the loser is about equal to the winner.
USC had a few more yards, TOs were even, it was on the road, I'd say the teams are evenly matched in broad terms.
Yes, I agree.
I also view overtime wins as the equivilant to ties in power rankings. Just the winner happened to win the "tiebreaker". So until we get better data, I am going to group Illinois and Neb close together. Although I guess ILL did win in OT on the road, so that counts for a little more than an OT win at home.
Also since MSU only beat MD by 3 in an earlier game, I like to keep them close together in the rankings.
What else can you do when you only have one conference game to work with?
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Not much at all.
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Gonna have to give this some serious thought.
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The good news is nobody EVER goes back to check your early season rankings.
I think we could all agree on rough groupings, with perhaps an occasional exception.
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1. Penn State
2. Ohio State
3. USC
4. Michigan
5. Oregon
6. Illinois
7. Nebraska
8. Indiana
9. Rutgers
10. Iowa
11. Maryland
12. Washington
13. Wisconsin
14. Michigan State
15. Minnesota
16. Northwestern
17. UCLA
18. Purdue
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1. Ohio State
2. Penn State
3. USC
4. Michigan
5. Oregon
6. Illinois
7. Nebraska
8. Rutgers
9. Indiana
10. Iowa
11. Maryland
12. Washington
13. Wisconsin
14. Michigan State
15. Minnesota
16. Northwestern
17. UCLA
18. Purdue
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1. Ohio State
2. Penn State
3. Oregon
4. Michigan
5. USC
6. Illinois
7. Iowa
8. Indiana
9. Nebraska
10. Rutgers
11. Washington
12. Maryland
13. Wisconsin
14. Michigan State
15. Minnesota
16. UCLA
17. Northwestern
18. Purdue
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(https://i.imgur.com/45ReaxD.png)
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Last week in parentheses...
- OHIO STATE (1) - still know nothing
- PENN STATE (3) - Kent State has to be the worst FBS team
- OREGON (4) - bye week
- USC (2) - no shame in a 3 point road loss, but the way it happened
- MICHIGAN (5) - they have to be looking to the freshman QB at this point
- ILLINOIS (9) - Bert!
- RUTGERS (7) - finally took down the Hokies in a classic Big East showdown
- IOWA (8) - running game starting to find its footing
- NEBRASKA (6) - didn't see any way Nebraska would drop that home game
- WASHINGTON (10) - I think the defense is legit
- INDIANA (11) - will the Hoosiers be favored in every game until they host Michigan on November 9
- MICHIGAN STATE (12) - much like USC, no shame in the result, just the way it happened
- WISCONSIN (13) - bye week
- MARYLAND (14) - FCS win
- MINNESOTA (15) - their OC should be fired in retrospect, after watching JMU put up 70 on UNC
- NORTHWESTERN (16) - their OC should probably just be fired
- UCLA (17) - solid 30 minutes
- PURDUE (18) - home game against Northwestern looks like the only remaining game they might be favored in
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Updated SP+/SOR bracket
- #12 UNLV at #5 Tennessee; winner vs. #4 OREGON
- #11 Iowa State at #6 Texas; winner vs. #3 Miami
- #10 MICHIGAN at #7 Alabama; winner vs. #2 Utah
- #9 PENN STATE at #8 Missouri; winner vs. #1 Georgia
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They might want to revisit that UNLV thing.
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1) Ohio State: kicking the snot out of lesser teams since (whevever, I don't really care)
2) Penn State: winning is good.
3) Oregon: I mean, are you really that impressed?
4) Michigan: you all remember when Texas curb-stomped this team in Ann Arbor, right? So what else, excatly, have the Wolverines done?
5) USC: took an apparently ok Michigan team to the bell, and beat a probably decent LSU by one score.
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Be honest, do you have any faith in the rest of these? Indiana? Illinois? Iowa lost to the Cyclones. Lots of football to be played. If Illinois ends up in the top six in the conference, I'll be surprised. And, biased though I am, if Wisconsin ends up in the bottom half, I'll also be surprised.
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Be honest, do you have any faith in the rest of these? Indiana? Illinois? Iowa lost to the Cyclones. Lots of football to be played. If Illinois ends up in the top six in the conference, I'll be surprised. And, biased though I am, if Wisconsin ends up in the bottom half, I'll also be surprised.
I can see why you are skeptical, given their history, but that's what makes Indiana so interesting to me. They were supposed to be terrible. Indiana has a brand new coach taking over an awful team. That normally takes at least 3 years before the team is even decent, and that's if the coach turns out to be good. But Indiana is not just beating teams so far, they are flat out blowing teams out. Offense and defense both look good.
Illinois has a couple of what seem like impressive victories so far. But will those wins still be so impressive by the end of the season?
Iowa will always be Iowa. Good enough to beat the average teams. Not so great against the elite teams.
So, yes, as you say, the real tests are still coming up.
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I think in the transfer portal era, we need to toss aside the program building and momentum narratives of the past. We look at how Ferentz, Dantonio, Tiller, and the like built up non helmets,. and we try to apply that to now. Indiana may be really damn good this year, and then they lose their 6th year transfer QB, and maybe the pieces dont work next year, and then they get it right in 2026. I think we have to take non helmet teams on a year by year basis bow
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Matt McMaster has released his latest set of Big Ten Football Power Rankings.
18. Northwestern (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten)
17. UCLA (1-2, 0-1 Big Ten)
16. Purdue (1-2, 0-0 Big Ten)
15. Minnesota (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten)
14. Wisconsin (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten)
The door is still open for Tyler Van Dyke to return later this year after undergoing ACL surgery, but running an Air Raid offense with a backup quarterback is a thing of nightmares for any coach. Especially when his first start will be against a really good USC squad.
13. Maryland (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten)
12. Michigan State (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten)
11. Washington (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten)
10. Indiana (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten)
9. Iowa (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten)
It’s a good win for the Hawkeyes but I just can’t buy into this team. Kaleb Brown is a great running back - he leads the nation in rushing - but Cade McNamara threw for just 62 yards in the victory over Minnesota. Until the quarterback play gets better, I can’t mark Iowa as being legit contenders for anything this season.
8. Nebraska (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten)
A tough loss against a really good opponent. Despite falling out of the AP Top 25, the Huskers still received votes, which is appropriate. Nebraska is a good team, but the problem is still the same despite the program's resurgence under head coach Matt Rhule: they can’t close. NU had ample opportunity to secure a win but failed at every step. The Cornhuskers enter their contest against Purdue as 10-point favorites.
7. Rutgers (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
6. Illinois (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten)
5. USC (2-1, 0-1 Big Ten)
4. Michigan (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten)
3. Oregon (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
2. Penn State (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
1. Ohio State (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
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Matt McMaster has released his latest set of Big Ten Football Power Rankings.
9. Iowa (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten)
It’s a good win for the Hawkeyes but I just can’t buy into this team. Kaleb Brown is a great running back - he leads the nation in rushing - but Cade McNamara threw for just 62 yards in the victory over Minnesota. Until the quarterback play gets better, I can’t mark Iowa as being legit contenders for anything this season.
Lol, dude mixed up Iowa WR Kaleb Brown with Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson. I guess it's a sign that it's still early in the season and being the leading rusher in the nation does not mean much at this point.
But I predict unless he gets hurt, everybody will know Kaleb Johnson's name by the end of season. He currently on pace for the Doak Walker award if he keeps it up.
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hah, Matt has an easy name
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The Wisconsin backup is not starting his first game.
He started 3 last season.
Clearly this guy is a tool.
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hah, Matt has an easy name
I guess I could look it up, but who is Matt McMaster?
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no idear
probably a hack
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no idear
probably a hack
Well, let's not be too hard on the guy. Keep posting his lists. It's good for conversation.
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yes, and it takes less time and thinkin for me to copy & paste his list
guess I'm the hack
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4) Michigan: you all remember when Texas curb-stomped this team in Ann Arbor, right? So what else, excatly, have the Wolverines done?
Beat USC who has a good win under their belts. Penn State struggled mightily against Bowling Green and Oregon struggled against Idaho and Boise State. Michigan's SOS ytd is top 4 amongst most ranking services so far, which will obviously change with their upcoming schedule, but we don't have a clear grasp of the conference yet outside of knowing Michigan is nowhere near Texas, but not many teams may be and Ohio State has played no one, but they execute at a very high level against less than average teams. Outside of that flip coins so far.
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Yeah--look, I put Michigan here despite what I see as an unimpressive start. They are here because they are Michigan. Same with Oregon, Penn State, and USC--heck, even Ohio State. Everyone--national media included--puts these teams here at this point in the season because of what they've done before. It's not illogical. It's the same reason I think the Badgers will finish in the top half--because it's what I'm used to. And in the current world of NIL money and unrestricted transfers, the rich are getting richer. Michigan is rich. So are Oregon, USC, Penn State, and Ohio State (and probably Washington to some degree, but they lost to Wazzu in Seattle, so that's going to knock you down a peg).
If Michigan had beaten Texas, they would be at 1 or 2, but they got smoked, so they move down (and their other wins haven't been that good--but the win over USC looks nice...right now).
The rest of the teams, per someone's comment above--ELA, maybe?--are even harder to guage in the current environment. Yeah, maybe Indiana and Illinois are going to finish really strong, but you and I (and most of the other folks here) have been watching this sport long enough to maintain a healthy level of skepticism.
Is Nebraska really that much better than they have been since they joined the conference? Or are they still Nebraska--a helmet team with an old following of fans and media who are used to seeing Nebraska play at a high level--even if they haven't for over a decade. As a Big Ten West guy, I'm leaning into the "show me" line of thinking.
My point is only that based on what I've seen this season (which is a little more than usual for the last few years, but still not that much), I'm not convinced by any of these teams, but I am ready to keep the wealthy helmet schools in an order that makes some semblance of sense based on the current results. And the rest of them, it's a toss up, but I'm not letting go of my memories/biases on them, either.
So yeah, do I think Michigan is better than Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana...yup. I've got too many memories to dispel that notion. But do I think Michigan is better than Penn State, Oregon, or Ohio State? Not yet, but they might be. Ohio State is acting the most like we expect these teams to act at this point in the season--which, again, comports with my long-lasting memory of how these teams finish. Michigan has an obvious blemish that Oregon and Penn State don't have. But don't you worry, when they rack up the wins, I'll give them credit for it.
But I do like needling Michigan fans. There is that. :-)
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So glad to have you back here, @SFBadger96 (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=51) , even if it's only a little here and there. You make the place better.
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So glad to have you back here, @SFBadger96 (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=51) , even if it's only a little here and there. You make the place better.
This is the most accurate statement I have seen posted on here in a long while. Definitely a better place when he's here!!!
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Lol, dude mixed up Iowa WR Kaleb Brown with Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson. I guess it's a sign that it's still early in the season and being the leading rusher in the nation does not mean much at this point.
But I predict unless he gets hurt, everybody will know Kaleb Johnson's name by the end of season. He currently on pace for the Doak Walker award if he keeps it up.
In Urban Meyer's first interview after Braxton Miller's season ending 2014 injury, he kept calling JT Barret "TJ Barnett."
They had a safety on the roster named CJ Barnett which explains the flub, but the dude didn't even know the name of his starting QB on a team that went onto win the NC.