Big Ten Power Rankings Week 3: Grading the Teams on Their Early Returns

Now that two weeks of the Big Ten season have come and gone, we are starting to get a feel for who the really good and bad teams are.

Some teams have lived up to expectations so far, while others have looked rather disappointing.

Here's a grade on all 12 Big Ten teams, and whether they've played better or worse than what was expected of them so far.

12. Indiana

Coming into the season, Indiana was expected to be the worst team in the Big Ten and so far they've looked like it.

Their opening loss to Ball State was extremely embarrassing, but they did come back and redeem themselves by almost beating Virginia.

Even though they are 0-2 right now, they showed significant improvement against the Cavs.  They better beat North Texas on the road, or the Hoosiers could be in danger of winning only one or two games this year.

11. Minnesota

Minnesota looked extremely impressive in their opener, as they went on the road and nearly beat USC.  Even though they lost that game, there was hope that this could be a successful debut season for Jerry Kill.

However, the hope faded somewhat as they came back home last week and shockingly lost to New Mexico State.

Seeing as how New Mexico State is not good at all, it was an extremely embarrassing loss for Minnesota.

This could end up being a longer year for Minnesota than some originally thought.

10. Purdue

Purdue has looked worse than expected so far, but a big reason for that is because of Rob Henry's injury.

Caleb TerBush has been forced to play quarterback, and as a result Purdue is 1-1.  They are actually quite lucky that they aren't 0-2, as they barely escaped with a victory over Middle Tennessee State.

Even though Robert Marve is coming back, it will be extremely hard for Purdue to make a bowl game.

Look for them to win five or fewer games, and be near the bottom of the Big Ten.

9. Illinois

The fact that Illinois is No. 9 on this list just shows you the kind of depth that the Big Ten has.

Illinois hasn't been disappointing at all so far.

Although they struggled at times against Arkansas State, they came back and demolished South Dakota State.

The Illini have a huge game this weekend against Arizona State.  Illinois should go on to have a very solid season, possibly winning as many as eight games.

8. Iowa

Iowa has looked extremely disappointing so far.  They beat Tennessee Tech easily enough, but then came back and inexcusably lost to Iowa State.

If they can't even beat Iowa State on the road, how are they going to win at places like Penn State and Nebraska?

The defense is what really let the Hawkeyes down on Saturday.  They need to get that straightened out.

It's actually tough to judge Iowa right now, as they could go on to have a disappointing season, or they may bounce back and have a solid year.

7. Northwestern

Northwestern has looked extremely impressive so far.  The fact that they are 2-0 without Dan Persa really says something.

Going into Boston College and winning in the opener was somewhat of a surprise.

Even though it's only Army, Northwestern has to be careful this weekend, simply because it's a road game.

We'll see where the Wildcats are at once they get Persa back, but this could be a dangerous team to deal with in the Big Ten.

6. Michigan

Michigan looked good in their blowout win of Western, and then came back and got an extremely impressive win over Notre Dame.

It's tough to judge this Michigan team though, as they looked bad at times against Notre Dame, and then very good at others.

We may not learn how good Michigan is for a while.  Their next three games are against Eastern Michigan, San Diego State and Minnesota.

The real test will come when Michigan travels to Northwestern on Oct. 8.  We'll learn a lot about both teams when they meet.

5. Michigan State

Michigan State is also a very hard team to judge so far.  They looked horrible in their opener against Youngstown State, but then came back and blew out Florida Atlantic.

Their current AP rank of No. 15 seems a bit high, but we'll learn if they deserve it or not when they travel to Notre Dame this weekend.

If State loses that game, they could end up losing as many as four or five games this year because of a brutal schedule.

4. Ohio State

Like so many of the other Big Ten teams, we just don't know a lot about Ohio State yet.  Are they going to go on to have a good year, or disappoint like so many people predicted?

Was the Toledo game just a fluke? Or a sign of things to come?  We may not get those answers this weekend when the Bucks travel to Miami.

Miami is good, but certainly not great.

A victory over the Canes just wouldn't tell us a whole lot yet.  We'll learn if this team is going to disappoint or not once Big Ten play starts.

3. Penn State

Even though Alabama basically handled Penn State, they are still one of the better teams in the Big Ten.  Alabama just might be the best team in the country, so you can't fault Penn State too much for what happened.

Penn State's schedule starts out so easy, it's not out of the question that the Lions start 9-1.

If they get their situation at quarterback figured out, this team could be very dangerous.

2. Nebraska

Nebraska has looked both good and bad at times this year.  They took care of Chattanooga, and looked okay against Fresno State.

People who say the Huskers will roll through the Big Ten this year and win the conference are mistaken.

Nebraska will lose at least two or three games this year, but still probably win the Legends Division.

1. Wisconsin

Wisconsin was expected to be the best team in the Big Ten coming into the year and so far they've lived up to expectations.

They've rolled through their first two opponents, and it looks like it's going to be tough for anyone to beat them this year.

They will probably end up losing one, maybe two games this year.  They should certainly win the Leaders Division and honestly, it would be a surprise if they didn't win the Big Ten.