East Division

1. Michigan State – The Spartans rolled past JSU 45-7 on the strength of three TD’s from Connor Cook. A concern for the Spartans as they head into a huge match up with Oregon has to be their run game. Sparty averaged just 4.2 yards per carry against an FCS team.

Coming Up: Sept. 6^th at Oregon- Michigan State is dogged by 12. The game should be closer than that.

2. Ohio State – The Buckeyes survived Navy and stay at the number two ranking here. Hopefully for the OSU team J.T. Barrett has gotten the nerves out of the way before he starts his first game at The Shoe.

Coming Up: Sept. 6^th vs. Virginia Tech- These aren’t the Hokies from the late 90’s and mid 2000’s. Urban’s crew should be able to cover the spread in their home opener.

3. Michigan – The Maize and Blue jump to number three with their beat down of Appalachian State. The offensive line looks tough as the Wolverines ran for 350 yards. It also helps when Devin Gardner doesn’t give the ball away to opponents.

Coming Up: Sept. 6^th at Notre Dame- The final game in the series should be a nice test for both teams. I’d give the Irish the slight edge at home.

4. Penn State – The Lions won the game against UCF in thrilling fashion and Christian Hackenberg put forth a record setting day, but what is with the lack of a run game in Happy Valley?

Coming Up: Sept 6^th vs. Akron- Penn State should roll in its home opener against the Zips.

5. Maryland – The Terps announced their presence with authority with the 52-7 win over JMU. QB CJ Brown accounted for four scores and Maryland looks to have the offensive firepower to move up in the future.

Coming Up: Sept. 6^th– at South Florida- Maryland will get an early road test against the Bulls. The score should be closer than two touchdowns.

T-6. Indiana – The Hoosiers had a huge day on the ground as Tevin Coleman set a new career high with 247 rushing yards and the defense was stellar holding ISU to just 170 total yards. The passing game needs some refinement however, but that is what an early bye week is for

Coming Up: Sept. 6^th BYE

T-6. Rutgers – Rutgers may have been the most surprising team of the week, winning on the road against a solid Washington State squad. However, is this the real deal Gary Nova or just a peak before a valley?

Coming Up: Sept. 6^th vs. Howard- If Rutgers does not run away with this game we can lower our expectations.

West Division

1. Nebraska – The Huskers running game looked as good as ever as Ameer Abdullah ran for over 200 yards in the drubbing of the Owls. Tommy Armstrong did enough to keep the defense honest. Right now Big Red is the big dog of the west.

Coming Up: August 30 vs. McNesse State- Another yawner in Lincoln.

2. Wisconsin – Oh what could have been? Wisconsin blew a 24-7 lead to LSU to lose 28-24 in a heart breaker. The running game with Melvin Gordon looked great, but was missing in the second half. The passing game is not existent and Joel Stave is no longer available to replace McEvoy.

Coming Up: Sept. 6^th Western Illinois- Another noon BTN snoozer.

3. Minnesota – Minnesota still has issues on offense. They are a grind it out team whose QB play is shaky at best. However, they do look strong enough to jump Iowa is our rankings.

Coming Up: Sept. 6^th– vs. Middle Tennessee- The Blue Raiders are usually a tough non-con opponent to face and Minnesota has trouble finding ways to put up points.

4. Iowa – The Hawkeyes were less than impressive in win over Northern Iowa, but that’s how it is every year.

Coming Up: Sept. 6^th– vs. Ball State- Iowa should roll, but 17 points is a lot for a team who has trouble putting up big numbers. 

5. Illinois – The Illini are improved no doubt about that, but how improved? Not sure yet. They have a tough test coming up in Western Kentucky who put up 59 on the defending MAC champs.

Coming Up: Sept 6^th– vs. Western Kentucky- Expect a shootout as both defenses need to be improved.

6. Northwestern – The Wildcats laid an egg falling behind 31-7 early to a lousy Cal team. This will be a long year in Evanston if they can’t right the ship.

Coming Up: Sept. 6^th– Northern Illinois: Another tough matchup for the ‘cats as the Huskies will invade Ryan Field. This will be a close contest and don’t be surprised if Northern Illinois springs the upset.

7. Purdue – Purdue is still squarely at the bottom of the Big Ten. Yes, the offense was clicking in their win against the Broncos of Western Michigan, but the defense was lousy as they surrendered over 450 yards and 34 points to a rebuilding MAC team.

Coming Up: Sept. 6 vs.Central Michigan- Another directional MAC school comes into Ross-Ade and this one should also be a close game. Do the Boilers have the defense to pull this one out? Maybe.

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