Big Ten Football Power Rankings: Week 4 edition

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Who tops our Big Ten football power rankings after Week 4 action and where do the Spartans stand?

Another week has passed and we are entering into Week 4 of the college football season. When we are this far into the year, that usually means Big Ten football action is beginning and that holds true with plenty of conference matchups on tap this week.

About a fourth of the way through the regular season, college football fans are already thinking to themselves “slow down” since the offseason was long enough. College football seems to fly by every year and we are left waiting for the next season to begin.

The Big Ten showed up and showed off in Week 3 against tough opponents, for the most part. While there were a couple of teams that struggled with inferior opponents — looking at you, Iowa and Wisconsin — three conference programs took down ranked foes, two of which came on the road.

Ohio State traveled to Oklahoma and stole a win while Michigan State went down to South Bend and came out victorious over Notre Dame. Nebraska secured a nice early-season victory over Oregon at home as well.

Let’s take a look at this week’s Big Ten football power rankings,

Purdue Boilermakers

1-1, Last Week: 13

Purdue got a much-needed bye week after losing 38-20 to Cincinnati at home. Darrell Hazell and the Boilermakers don’t seem to be improving much throughout the past few seasons and that might spell the end of the once-promising head coach’s tenure following the 2016 campaign. He will need to end non-conference play with a win over Nevada this week.

This week: vs. Nevada

Illinois Fighting Irish

1-2, Last Week: 11

The Lovie Smith era is off to an incredible slow start in Champaign. The former NFL head coach took over the program this offseason and it looked to be a great hire and a potential boost for recruiting as well. However, he has seen the Fighting Illini lose two of three games to start the year, including a 48-23 loss to North Carolina at home last week and a 34-10 defeat at the hands of Western Michigan at home this week. The Fighting Illini are in desperate need of a victory, but a bye week looms.

This week: Bye week

Sep 17, 2016; Evanston, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats slotback Garrett Dickerson (left) celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver Flynn Nagel (center) and running back Justin Jackson (21) during the first half against the Duke Blue Devils at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

Northwestern Wildcats

1-2, Last Week: 13

Northwestern was reeling before a Week 3 victory against Duke at home. The Wildcats were in danger of dropping to 0-3 and surely in 14th place in our weekly power rankings, but Clayton Thorson stepped up and delivered a career performance and a nice win. He passed for 320 yards and three touchdowns in the victory, but his two interceptions and 18-of-39 completions raised some eyebrows. Justin Jackson added 98 yards on the ground and senior wide out Austin Carr might be a true Big Ten Receiver of the Year candidate.

This week: vs. No. 20 Nebraska

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

2-1, Last Week: 12

It wouldn’t be a football season if we weren’t talking about how Rutgers was near the bottom of a conference ranking. Heck, the same could be said for basketball season, but there’s a new feeling around the campus as Chris Ash is set to turn the program around. The Scarlet Knights already have half the wins they had in all of 2015 and they’re coming off a 37-28 victory against New Mexico this past week. Not the most impressive of wins, but a triumph, nonetheless.

This week: vs. Iowa

Maryland Terrapins

3-0, Last Week: 10

Don’t look now, Maryland is 3-0 to start the season. The program that went just 3-9 all of last year has matched its win total from a season ago but don’t get too ahead of yourself, the Terrapins and new head coach D.J. Durkin haven’t played anyone worth mentioning. Maryland has beaten Howard, Florida International and Central Florida to begin the season. Heck, it took overtime for the Terrapins to defeat the Knights who went 0-12 last season. Still, any non-conference road win deserves some praise.

This week: Bye week

Sep 17, 2016; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes defensive back Desmond King (14) reacts after a play during the second half against the North Dakota State Bison at Kinnick Stadium. North Dakota State won 23-21. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Iowa Hawkeyes

2-1, Last Week: 5

What a forgettable week it was for the Iowa Hawkeyes. I was ready to move Iowa up in the power rankings if it kept winning, but hosting FCS national champion North Dakota State spelled trouble for the Hawkeyes. That’s just a major scheduling mishap seeing as it’s a lose-lose season for the Hawkeyes playing against a team that had won five straight FCS titles. C.J. Beathard had a tough game, completing just 11-of-22 passes for 152 yards and the run game had only 34 yards on 25 carries. Woof.

This week: at Rutgers

Indiana Hoosiers

2-0, Last Week: 8

Indiana is another Big Ten team coming off a bye week and looking to get on track with a third win to start the 2016 season. Last year, Indiana started off this hot as well and nearly defeated Ohio State to move to 5-0 on the campaign, but a tough loss sent the Hoosiers spiraling out of control. They would lose six games in a row before winning the last two to become bowl eligible. The Hoosiers have a tough game against Michigan State to start conference play next weekend, but will need to get past Wake Forest this week first.

This week: vs. Wake Forest

Penn State Nittany Lions

2-1, Last Week: 9

Temple presented a tough test to the Nittany Lions the week following a defeat at the hands of in-state foe Pittsburgh, the Penn State rose to the occasion and took a 34-27 victory. The Nittany Lions are a program trending in the wrong direction under James Franklin, but this win means they’re moving up in our power rankings a couple of spots. Trace McSorley is becoming a solid quarterback for the Nittany Lions while the duo of Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders might just strike fear into opponents’ eyes.

This week: at Michigan

Sep 17, 2016; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers Nate Gerry (25) celebrates during the final moments of the game against the Oregon Ducks in the second half at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska won 35-32. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota Golden Gophers

2-0, Last Week: 7

Minnesota got a bye on Saturday after beating Oregon State and Indiana State to start the season. The Golden Gophers could be a dark-horse candidate that could contend for a Big Ten West crown, but they will need to take care of business against lesser opponents. Nearly losing to the hapless Beavers at home to start the season was somewhat of a disappointment. Mitch Leidner is one of the conference’s top quarterbacks, which is a scary thought, while Kobe Mccrory is a name to watch in the run game.

This week: vs. Colorado State

Nebraska Cornhuskers

3-0, Last Week: 6

Losing six games by one score or less last season was devastating for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and head coach Mike Riley. However, his team seems to be turning a corner this year. The Cornhuskers hosted No. 22 Oregon on Saturday and scored a game-winning touchdown in the final minutes to win, 35-32. The Cornhuskers have jumped to No. 20 in the AP Poll after a 3-0 start and Tommy Armstrong Jr. is looking like a true leader. As long as he can improve his completion percentage and decision-making, the Huskers will be near the top of the power rankings in no time.

This week: at Northwestern

Wisconsin Badgers

3-0, Last Week: 2

Wisconsin opened the season with a victory over No. 5 LSU at Lambeau Field and the Badgers have a chance to win another game against a top-10 opponent away from Camp Randall this week. Georgia State gave the then-No. 9 Wisconsin Badgers a heck of a fight in Week 3, taking them down to the wire. The Badgers were forced to make a fourth-quarter come-from-behind run and win 23-17. Bart Houston was benched and Alex Hornibrook took over and engineered the comeback win. Could there be a quarterback controversy this week?

This week: at No. 8 Michigan State

Sep 17, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans wide receiver Donnie Corley (9) celebrates after MSU defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 36-28 at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan Wolverines

3-0, Last Week: 3

Another week, another home game against an unranked opponent for the Michigan Wolverines. It might seem odd to keep the Wolverines put at No. 3 in the power rankings even though they’re No. 4 in the AP Poll, but until they beat a team of note, they’ll remain in this spot. Michigan had major trouble with Colorado early in the game, falling behind 21-7 but the Buff’s starting quarterback, Sefo Liufau, went down with an injury in the third quarter and didn’t return. That was the true difference in the game as Michigan won 45-28.

This week: vs. Penn State

Michigan State Spartans

2-0, Last Week: 4

Coming off a bye week, the Spartans faced their toughest competition of the season to date, traveling to South Bend to take on No. 18 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were tough early on, but the Spartans went on a 36-0 run thanks to blitz packages on defense, solid play in the pass game and an elite rushing attack. If Michigan State can play like that instead of the team that showed up in the late-third and fourth quarters to give up 21 straight points, they will be pretty solid this year.

This week: vs. No. 11 Wisconsin

Ohio State Buckeyes

3-0, Last Week: 1

Ohio State is going to remain No. 1 on the list until someone proves it otherwise. The Buckeyes opened the year with a couple of easy wins against Bowling Green and Tulsa but Week 3 was the true test for Urban Meyer’s squad. Ohio State went into Norman and defeated No. 14 Oklahoma by double-digits. J.T. Barrett’s Heisman campaign continued with four touchdown passes and 77 yards on the ground while Detroit-native Mike Weber is stepping up nicely in the run game to replace Ezekiel Elliott. This team has officially reloaded instead of rebuilt.

This week: Bye week