The 2016 college football season is off and running, and the opening weekend was kind to the Big Ten. While the SEC underachieved in a big way, the Big Ten was largely immune from that plague, with only Northwestern and Rutgers (yikes) suffering defeats.
Videos by FanBuzz
If you missed it from prior to kick-off, our preseason Big Ten power rankings exist and, for the most part, the top of the league did not change drastically. It should be noted that while Ohio State and Michigan dominated the competition in their respective openers, it was actually Wisconsin (who downed LSU) that made the most significant impression on the rest of the college football world.
The upside that the Badgers actually possess remains to be seen, but Paul Chryst's team was highly impressive defensively. Beyond that, the return of Corey Clement to full strength certainly adds another layer of intrigue on a national scale and Wisconsin's schedule is highly manageable outside of a road trip to Ann Arbor on Oct. 1.
Now, let's get to the rankings in a post-Week 1 world.
Big Ten Power Rankings: Week 1 (preseason rank in parentheses)
- Ohio State (?")
- Michigan (?")
- Wisconsin (?' 2)
- Iowa (?" 1)
- Michigan State (?" 2)
- Nebraska (?")
- Penn State (?")
- Indiana (?' 2)
- Minnesota (?" 1)
- Illinois (?' 2)
- Northwestern (?" 2)
- Maryland (?" 1)
- Purdue (?' 1)
- Rutgers (?" 1)
