Big Ten Power Rankings Week 2: Foo Fighters Style

Just like Dave Grohl in this picture, the Big Ten is mostly full of smiles after a 10-2 opening weekend, considering one of the losses was a narrow two point defeat by Minnesota at USC.

The only big disappointment happened where the Big Ten will crown a champion in December, as Ball State shocked new Hoosiers coach Kevin Wilson.

However, the positives far outweighed the negatives with teams like Michigan and Ohio State surviving Week 1 with new head coaches and Wisconsin looking like a true national title contender.

Without further ado, let's Learn to Fly...

12. Indiana: 0-1

Theme Song - Next Year

Only one week into the 2011 campaign and Kevin Wilson's coaching tenure, Hoosiers fans are already looking forward to next year. Wilson will be bringing in some good talent on offense, but the lackluster performance against Ball State will not get it done this season.

Edwin Wright-Baker threw for 272 yards in the opening weekend, but he received absolutely no help from the running game. That will need to change against a Virginia team that can load up against the pass and force more turnovers if Wright-Baker is not careful.

A long season awaits the Hoosiers.

11. Minnesota: 0-1

Theme Song - Resolve

Turns out, Minnesota does have a new tough attitude under head coach Jerry Kill. Previous iterations of the Golden Gophers may have simply been content to be within 20 points of USC on the road at halftime, but not this Minnesota team. If not for some solid defense at critical junctures, USC would have lost this game.

Marqueis Gray is going to be tough to stop for Big Ten defenses this season, which will give Minnesota a chance to be competitive right away. Things are looking up for the Gophers, even if they are not heavily involved in the conference race this season.

10. Purdue: 1-0

Theme Song - Cheer Up Boys

Purdue may not have put the best performance on the field in Week 1, but they did escape with the win after blocking a last second field goal by Middle Tennessee. Caleb Terbush managed the game nicely and did not buckle under pressure with the Boilermakers behind most of the game.

One surprising development is a solid running game led by Ralph Bolden. Assuming Bolden can keep it going against Rice this weekend, Purdue could be cheerfully surviving this opening stretch leading to the Notre Dame game.

9. Illinois: 1-0

Theme Song - Big Me

Although Arkansas State pushed Big Ten teams to the limit the past two seasons, Illinois opened strong with an 18 point victory against the Red Wolves.

Nathan Scheelhaase has clearly developed a lot in the offseason and could build on his big numbers (267 passing yards and two touchdowns) against an overmatched South Dakota State squad.

Receivers AJ Jenkins and Darius Millines each had 100 yard receiving games to start the season, but Illinois needs to develop a third and fourth threat in the passing game to be a dominant offense this season. Illinois certainly has a chance to move up these rankings

8. Michigan: 1-0

Theme Song - Best of You

Michigan may not have seen the best of Denard Robinson in his first game at the helm of a pro style offense, but he may continue his streak of breakout performances against Notre Dame in Week 2. Robinson will be able to find some openings in the Irish secondary, but the key will be can he hit his experienced trio of wide receivers?

Greg Mattison showed that his defense is making some improvements against Western Michigan, but most of those improvements came in turnover production at key times. Michigan will need to be much better to survive the grind of Notre Dame and the Big Ten season.

If Minnesota keeps improving, Michigan may struggle to stay out of the basement of a very good Legends division.

7. Iowa: 1-0

Theme Song - Everlong

Iowa shook off any issues of having 13 new starters with an easy win against Tennessee Tech, but the competition will be a bit stiffer against rival Iowa State this week. James Vandenberg and Marvin McNutt are definitely on the same page and will continue to put up big numbers against a below average Cyclones defensive backfield.

Iowa keeps on plugging along, no matter how many new starters or veterans take the field. There's room to move up a couple of slots in the rankings this week with tougher games for two teams who struggled right above them.

Hopefully the new Cy-Hawk Trophy will not be as misplaced as the last one, but there will be no excuse if that trophy does not come home with the Hawkeyes this week.

6. Penn State: 1-0

Theme Song - Let It Die

Perhaps someone needs to pull aside Joe Paterno and let him know that picking one bad quarterback and letting the controversy die may actually lead to better play from both quarterbacks in the long run. Competition has not made Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden better, so it is time to think outside the box before the season slips away.

This week will be a tough assignment at home against Alabama, which brings the best defense in the country to State College to challenge the Nittany Lions. This game could be a launching pad for a national title run if the defense pulls a rabbit out of the hat, but the offense is just simply not good enough from what we know so far.

5. Michigan State: 1-0

Theme Song - The Pretender

Coming off a Big Ten championship, a better opening performance against FCS Youngstown State was expected. However, Kirk Cousins and the Michigan State defense do appear to be on track to be ready for the big games upcoming against Notre Dame and Ohio State.

For this week, Florida Atlantic will provide one more tune up before the trip to South Bend. Edwin Baker and the offensive line will need to continue developing a strong running game to keep the Irish from sitting back in heavy coverage when Cousins brings the Spartans to the big game next weekend.

Is MSU a contender or just a pretender in the national and Big Ten races? Too hard to tell at this point.

4. Northwestern: 1-0

Theme Song - My Hero

Dan Persa might be the hero for Northwestern, but backup Kain Colter had an admirable performance nabbing the biggest opening weekend win for the conference. Colter threw for 197 yards and added 71 rushing against a solid Eagles defense.

If Colter can keep playing like this with the easier non-conference games coming up, then Persa may not be absolutely necessary for the Wildcats to make a run in the Legends division. The bigger question is whether Pat Fitzgerald's defense will continue to make big plays like they did to win the game in Week 1. Northwestern is the team of the week and should win again this week against Eastern Illinois.

3. Ohio State: 1-0

Theme Song - I'll Stick Around

Luke Fickell may not have made a friend in the Akron coaching staff, but his team lived up to his expectations to play all 60 minutes in a dominant 42-0 win against the Zips. Akron is the worst team in the MAC and does not pose much of a test, but the defense appears to keep reloading and could shut down a much better MAC team Toledo this weekend.

Fickell may stick around if his team continues to play as well as last weekend, but the biggest good news from the opener is that senior quarterback Joe Bauserman looks more than ready to guide the team this season. Braxton Miller may have more flash and a better arm than Terrelle Pryor ever did, but Bauserman is the type of quarterback Ohio State thrives with.

The big test is not until next weekend at Miami, but more will be known about the Buckeyes after playing the Rockets, who are much better than most will give them credit for.

2. Nebraska: 1-0

Theme Song - DOA

Nebraska cracked the Top 10 in national rankings after a comfortable win over Chattanooga, but the Mocs might as well have been DOA upon arriving at Memorial Stadium. The next three opponents may be the same although Washington will certainly have the Cornhuskers's attention after beating them soundly in the bowl game last year.

Taylor Martinez rushed for more yards than passing yards in Week 1, which is not a good development if Nebraska wants to keep him healthy throughout the season. Rex Burkhead should take a larger role in setting up the running game this week against Fresno State, which never plays well outside of California.

Nebraska may not have a chance to fall in these rankings until Week 5, at least not by their own actions.

1. Wisconsin: 1-0

Theme Song - Stacked Actors

The Badgers are absolutely stacked this season thanks to the addition of Russell Wilson, who passed his first test on national television Thursday night with flying colors. Wilson threw for 255 yards and the Wisconsin offense would not be stopped with James White and Montee Ball tearing through a strong offensive line.

Perhaps the more impressive side of the Wisconsin blowout of UNLV was the defensive performance. The Badgers may have a stronger team coming to Madison in Oregon State this weekend, but Wisconsin's defense should shut down the slow-starting Beavers.

Wisconsin is on a roll and Nebraska has to take serious notice of the hot start coming their way at the beginning of the Big Ten season.