College Football Rankings: Big Ten Conference Power Rankings After Week 3

Ranking (Last Week)

No. 1 (1) Wisconsin Badgers (3-0)

Week 3 Result: Win, 49-7 over Northern Illinois 

The Badgers once again top this week's rankings after another impressive outing by quarterback Russell Wilson and the running back tandem of James White and Monte Ball. 

Ball and White rushed for 91 yards each and three total touchdowns, while Wilson threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns of his own.  

Wisconsin's defense has given up just 24 points in their first three games of the season and have proven they will be stout on that side of the ball despite losing All-American J.J. Watt.

No. 2 (2) Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0)

Week 3 Result: Win, 51-38 over Washington  

The Cornhuskers put their offensive firepower on display against Washington last Saturday by racking up 51 points and 464 yards of total offense. 

Quarterback Taylor Martinez had a quiet game with 238 total yards and three touchdowns, but we may have seen running back Rex Burkhead's coming-out party after he dazzled fans with 120 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

No. 3 (5) Michigan Wolverines (3-0)

Week 3 Result: Win, 31-3 over Eastern Michigan 

Denard Robinson underperformed with his arm for the second straight week and threw for fewer than 100 yards, but racked up 198 yards on the ground and three total touchdowns to help the Wolverines route Eastern Michigan. 

Michigan's offensive line seems to have finally put everything together and opened up holes for running back Vincent Smith, who rushed for 118 yards on just nine carries. 

No. 4 (7) Illinois Fighting Illini (3-0)

Week 3 Result: Win, 17-14 over No. 22 Arizona State 

The Illinois Fighting Illini defense recorded six sacks and forced three Arizona State turnovers in their upset victory last weekend.  

The offense managed to pick up a mere 240 yards of total offense and had three turnovers of their own, but a late 16-yard touchdown pass from Nathan Scheelhaase to A.J. Jenkins was the difference in the game.

No. 5 (3) Michigan State Spartans (2-1)

Week 3 Result: Loss, 13-31 to Notre Dame 

The Michigan State Spartans' offensive line issues were exposed last Saturday against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Spartans recorded an abysmal 29 yards on the ground and starting offensive lineman Skylar Burkland suffered a season-ending leg injury in the loss. 

The Spartan defense held Notre Dame to fewer than 300 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers, but the Fighting Irish won the battle on special teams and picked off Kirk Cousins in the red zone with less than five minutes remaining in the game to squander Michigan State's last chance at a comeback.

No. 6 (4) Ohio State Buckeyes (2-1)

Week 3 Result: Loss, 6-24 to Miami (FL) 

Ohio State took offensive ineptitude to a new level last weekend thanks to a combined 4-for-18 and 35-yard effort from quarterbacks Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller. 

The Buckeyes were down 14-0 early after being gashed by Miami's running game and never managed to find the end zone despite numerous red-zone opportunities. 

Bauserman has now struggled for two straight weeks and the coaching staff's reluctance to give Miller, who is a true freshman, a legitimate shot under center clearly means he is not ready to see the field yet. Penn State now has some company in the quarterback issues department. 

No. 7 (9) Iowa Hawkeyes (2-1)

Week 3 Result: Win, 31-27 over Pittsburgh 

The Iowa Hawkeyes needed 21 points in the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter to top Pittsburgh on the road, but they got the job done and notched a 31-27 victory. 

James Vandenberg struggled with his accuracy early in the game and Marcus Coker never really got it going on the ground for Iowa. 

The final three touchdowns for Iowa were all through the air and the Hawkeyes defense forced three Pittsburgh turnovers in the most exciting game in the Big Ten last Saturday.

No. 8 (6) Northwestern Wildcats (2-1)

Week 3 Result: Loss, 14-21 to Army 

The Northwestern Wildcats were once again without their star quarterback Dan Persa and this time it came back to haunt them. 

Kain Colter struggled to make accurate passes against a sub-par Army secondary and was pulled in favor of freshman Trevor Siemian, who went 5-for-7 and threw for 105 yards, but came up small on the Wildcats' final drive of the game. 

The defense had trouble handling Army's triple-option attack and were gashed for 381 yards on the ground.

No. 9 (8) Penn State Nittany Lions (2-1)

Week 3 Result: Win, 14-10 over Temple

The quarterback battle in Happy Valley was thought to be over after Matt McGloin went 13-of-19 for 124 yards in relief of the struggling Robert Bolden, but neither have recorded a touchdown pass through the first three games and the two are listed as co-starters once again on this week's depth chart. 

Silas Redd's 86 rushing yards and the three turnovers forced by Penn State's defense were enough for the Nittany Lions to escape an upset-minded Temple team last weekend. 

No. 10 (10) Purdue Boilermakers (2-1)

Week 3 Result: Win, 59-0 over Southeast Missouri State 

Even the Purdue Boilermakers can look impressive once in a while. Quarterbacks Caleb TerBush and Robert Marve combined to go 21-of-25 for 234 yards and a touchdown, while a deep stable of running backs notched 393 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. 

The Purdue defense earned its first shutout since 2004 and held Southeast Missouri State to a mere 153 total yards of offense.

No. 11 (11) Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-2)

Week 3 Result: Win, 29-23 over Miami (OH) 

After dropping their first two games by a combined nine points the Minnesota Golden Gophers picked up their first victory of the 2011 season against Miami (OH) last Saturday. 

Marquise Gray threw for 163 yards and rushed for another 171 yards and the Golden Gophers scored on blocked punt with 10:23 remaining in the fourth quarter to take a 13-point lead and secure the win.

No. 12 (12) Indiana Hoosiers (1-2)

Week 3 Result: Win, 38-21 over South Carolina State 

Indiana converted 13-of-20 3rd downs and racked up 557 yards of total offense to take down South Carolina State of the Football Championship Subdivision. 

Edwin Wright-Baker had by far his best performance of the season and completed 21-of-27 pass attempts for 273 yards and two scores. Running back D'Angelo Roberts aided the Indiana offensive outburst with 102 yards and a touchdown on the ground.