Big Ten Power Rankings Week 3, featuring Tim McGraw

With the Big Ten getting ready to go off the radar effectively in week 4 (the best matchups are Michigan against San Diego State and Ohio State against Colorado), it's time go off the beaten path to country music for theme songs in this week's rankings.

Tim McGraw has dominated the Nashville scene like few others over the past two decades, similar to Ohio State's dominance of the past decade in the Big Ten.

However, this week finally proved that the six-time returning champion may be dethroned this year.

The Buckeyes joined Michigan State as ranked Big Ten teams who were throttled in their biggest road tests of the non–conference slate. With the exception of Northwestern, the rest of the league held serve for a 9–3 overall record. However, the movement is heavy this week with three of the top six teams in last week's rankings being the three losers on Saturday.

Without further delay, and Not a Moment Too Soon, let's jump into the rankings with Mr. McGraw.

12. Indiana (1–2)

Theme Song–She's my Kind of Rain

South Carolina State was just what the doctor ordered for Kevin Wilson's Hoosiers, who needed a confidence boost after two tough losses. The Hoosiers offense kept up the good vibes generated in the second half against Virginia, rolling up over 550 yards of total offense.

However, Indiana struggled to put away SCSU in large part because of a school record 20 penalties for 176 yards. It was raining yellow flags more than pass completions last weekend. 

On two occasions the Hoosiers managed to have two false start penalties in a row. That kind of discipline will not be a recipe for success once Big Ten play begins.

Thankfully that schedule does not start for another week, as a winnable road game at North Texas looms this week. Indiana slips a slot thanks to all the penalties and Minnesota's more impressive win, but finally having a win is worth more than anything to the Hoosiers.

11. Minnesota (1–2)

Theme Song–Welcome to the Club

Marqueis Gray put up a dominant performance against a solid Miami team that won the MAC Championship a season ago. Gray threw for 163 yards and added 171 more on the ground. Perhaps the only downside is that Gray is not getting much help from the other athletes on his team.

Minnesota's defense was gashed for 325 yards passing, but held strong against the run and came up with the defensive stop at the goal line as time ran out to seal the first victory of coach Jerry Kill's tenure.

Speaking of Kill, the best news for the Gophers program was seeing him right back on the sideline–one week after suffering a scary seizure on the sideline. Hopefully those problems do not crop up again, and the winning ways might continue for the Gophers.

10. Purdue (2–1)

Theme Song–Unbroken

Robert Marve's surgically repaired knee is unbroken now, and the Purdue offense jumped to a quick start with his return.

Granted, Southeast Missouri State put up little resistance, especially against the running game. However, rolling up 600 yards of total offense against any team is a good sign for the future.

The Boilermaker defense limited the Redhawks to 153 total yards, the unit's best performance in seven-years. Purdue now gets a week to rest and prepare for a big showdown against Notre Dame.

As long as the boilermakers can continue to run the ball against the Irish, then there's a good chance for an upset.

9. Northwestern (2–1)

Theme Song–Some Things Never Change

Just when Northwestern appeared to have turned a corner, the bottom falls out in a surprising upset at Army.

The Golden Knights used the triple-option to full effect, rushing for 387 yards on 75 carries while only completing one pass for six yards. The Wildcats' defense just could not find a way to contain all the runners throughout the game.

Quarterback Dan Persa will be back for the Big Ten opener at Illinois in two weeks, but he was sorely missed once again. Kain Colter struggled to make big plays and was pulled for third string quarterback Trevor Siemian in the fourth quarter. Siemian almost led the Wildcats back, but the effort was too little too late.

Considering the big opening win against Boston College looks worse with every loss the Eagles suffer, the likelihood of Northwestern being a factor in the Big Ten race appears to be shrinking rapidly. The week off before the rivalry game will be crucial.

8. Ohio State (2–1)

Theme Song–Suspicions

Many fans had suspicions on whether Ohio State would actually be able to successfully traverse the first five games of their schedule without the four suspended star players lost in the tattoo scandal. As it turns out, those troubles were perhaps understated on the offensive side of the ball.

Both quarterbacks Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller struggled, as the team only completed two passes for 13 yards in the first 59 minutes of the game. Although Jordan Hall and Jamaal Berry returned to boost the running game, the Buckeye offense could not come back relying solely on the run after their defense dropped into a quick 14-0 hole.

The Buckeyes look nothing like a team that will actually have a chance to defend their conference championship streak, and thus they drop significantly this week.

7. Penn State (2–1)

Theme Song–My Next Thirty Years

Although not quite 30 years, Joe Paterno has never lost to in-state rival Temple (28–0 after this weekend's win). Perhaps Temple will steal a win in this series in the next 30 years, but it will be difficult to have a much better chance than what the Owls had Saturday, when they held a lead in the fourth quarter at home.

The offensive struggles continue and the quarterback controversy is still unsolved, but Silas Redd continues to be effective running the ball to keep the ball moving. Matt McGloin was the better of the two quarterbacks this week, so expect McGloin to start against Eastern Michigan this week.

Penn State lands in this spot this week, because escaping with a win on the road despite having no offense is slightly better than being blown out with no offense, like the Buckeyes.

6. Iowa (2–1)

Theme Song–Real Good Man

Pittsburgh thought they were in good shape with a field goal to go up 17 at Kinnick Stadium with 12 minutes left on Saturday, but then James Vandenberg proved he is the right-man for the Iowa quarterback job with a 21-point fourth quarter to win the game.

Vandenberg ended with 399 passing yards and looked more impressive than two-years ago when he was thrust into the fire at Ohio State.

Iowa still has a lot of growing to do, especially on defense, as Pittsburgh quarterback Tino Sunseri threw for over 250 yards to push the Panthers to the big lead. However, Kirk Ferentz appears to have another Hawkeye team that makes clutch-plays when absolutely necessary to win games.

Although Big Ten play may be an adventure, Iowa gets a layup this week against Louisiana Monroe. Expect a big win leading into the conference opener.

5. Michigan State (2–1)

Theme Song–Indian Outlaw

Michigan State received three turnovers from Notre Dame and outgained the Irish by nearly 100 yards, yet the scoreboard shows a complete blowout in favor of Notre Dame 31-13.

Unlike the escape in East Lansing a season ago, special teams failed the Spartans this time. The fake field goal was stopped this year, and a kickoff return kept the Spartans in a big hole all game.

So just how good is this Michigan State team? Considering the inconsistent play from Iowa, Penn State, and Ohio State, the Spartans might still be in the upper echelon of the conference. Not much will be told by this week's showdown against the Chippewas of Central Michigan.

However, a much better effort will likely be needed than they gave Saturday to beat a wounded Buckeyes team in Columbus in two weeks.

4. Michigan (3–0)

Theme Song–I Like It, I Love It

The Wolverines came out flat against Eastern Michigan and actually trailed 3–0 after allowing the Eagles to drive into Michigan territory on their first five offensive drives. Then Denard Robinson took the game over once again with his feet primarily, rushing for nearly 200 yards and 31 unanswered points.

Although Eastern Michigan is not an offensive powerhouse, the ability of Michigan's defense to shut down opposing offenses such as Notre Dame and EMU in the second half has been critical to the undefeated start.

Michigan is nationally ranked once again and may stay for a while with a game against coach Brady Hoke's prior employer San Diego State on the docket this weekend.

The best news of all? Michigan is ranked on the week when a seven-year run of being ranked ends for Ohio State. Come November, this rivalry should have much more juice than recently.

3. Nebraska (3–0)

Theme Song–Just to See You Smile

The rubber match against Washington turned out well for the Huskers, as the explosive Nebraska offense pulled away in the third quarter for a 51–38 victory.

Despite the big margin of victory, giving up 21 points in the fourth quarter and 38 points, overall continues the troubling trend for the Blackshirts defense, which has been unimpressive the last two weeks.

However, coach Pelini was just happy with the victory against the Huskies, at least publicly. One would hope that behind the scenes, the defensive breakdowns against Fresno State and Washington are beginning to be addressed before the road game at Wyoming this week.

The Cowboys might not provide much of a test, but Wisconsin and Ohio State will be a big step up in just two weeks. The time is now to figure out how to make the defense dominant again.

2. Illinois (3–0)

Theme Song–For a Little While

Michigan is not the only newly ranked team in the conference this week, as Illinois jumps into the rankings after their first win against a ranked team in four seasons.

I spoke at length about how Illinois suddenly looks like a serious threat to Wisconsin in the Leaders Division in this article, but the most important aspect of the 3–0 start is the defense Illinois is playing.

Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler threw for over 250 yards against the Illini, but the defense pressured him all game, which led to three crucial turnovers that made the difference in a narrow three-point victory. Nathan Scheelhaase needs a bit more help on offense, but Illinois looks to have one of the best defenses in the conference at this point.

Which is enough to push the Illini to second on the list, but not quite first, at least not yet.

1. Wisconsin (3–0)

Theme Song–Red Ragtop

Wisconsin sets up the non-conference opponents and knocks them down mightily, exactly as planned.

Northern Illinois was no match for the Badgers, as Wisconsin rolled up 621 yards of total offense and improved quarterback Russell Wilson's Heisman credentials in the process.

It is clear that Wisconsin is good again. How good?

Nobody knows. Thanks to the low-level of competition thus far.

One final warm-up game remains against South Dakota before Nebraska comes calling. The Badgers completely shut-down the Huskies running game, which bodes well when looking ahead to the game against the Cornhuskers.

Expect another heavy dose of Montee Ball and James White this week, although most of the starters will likely be pulled by halftime to prevent any injuries going into the biggest game of the year. Wisconsin keeps on rolling and remains a lock for No. 1.

Thanks for reading again and I'll return later in the week with the picks for all 10 conference games this weekend. Here's a hint: it should be a good week for the Big Ten.