Big Ten Power Rankings updated after Week 3 of college football

On3 has updated their Big Ten Power Rankings following some invigorating action during Week 3 of the college football season.

Six teams in the conference remain undefeated, and five of them hail from the Big Ten East. The usual suspects, like the Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes and Penn State Nittany Lions kept it rolling, but the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Maryland Terrapins also haven’t lost in 2023. They’ll all be looking to keep that the standard in Week 4.

We’re almost through a month of the college football season, and Big Ten play is about to start ramping up. Before the rubber meets the road in Week 4, here’s where On3 has each squad at the moment, following their performances from last weekend.

1) Michigan Wolverines (3-0)

Michigan’s quality of opponent through three weeks may irk some, but the Wolverines kept it rolling with another victory on Saturday. Their victim in Week 3 was Bowling Green, and it was a 31-6 final score in Ann Arbor.

It’s a battle of undefeated Big Ten squads in Week 4, as Michigan will stay at home and welcome Greg Schiano and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights to town. The Wolverines are three-touchdown favorites, and Jim Harbaugh will return to the sidelines, so there will be plenty of juice to go around come kickoff.

2) Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0)

Reports of an Illinois upset in Champaign were great exaggerated. Penn State took care of the Fighting Illini and then some, getting back on the plane with a 30-13 Big Ten win on their resume.

Drew Allar didn’t have his best afternoon, passing for only 208 yards against the Illinois defense. It’ll be another tough matchup with Iowa this weekend, but at least it’ll take place at home for the Nittany Lions.

3) Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0)

After all the hoopla surrounding their offensive struggles, Ohio State seems to have figured it out. Kyle McCord was phenomenal on Saturday against Western Kentucky, passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns en route to a 63-10 win.

However, Ohio State will face their biggest test of the season by a country mile on Saturday, in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. All the hype will be behind this game, and College GameDay will be in town, but the Buckeyes will have to make it their mission to leave South Bend victorious.

4) Iowa Hawkeyes (3-0)

Iowa helped out their offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz with a great performance on Saturday, scoring 41 points in the process. The Hawkeyes are slowly moving up the AP Top 25 Poll, but they’ll have a shot at a huge jump this coming Saturday night.

As mentioned earlier, Iowa will travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State in a highly anticipated showdown. A victory would mean the Hawkeyes are for real, and they’ll be wanting to prove that to the world.

5) Wisconsin Badgers (2-1) (+1)

After a disappointing loss in Week 2, Wisconsin bounced back in a big way. The badgers dismantled Georgia Southern on Saturday, sending them home with a 35-14 loss on their forehead.

Running back Braelon Allen had a signature performance, rushing for 94 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. A short-week, Friday night showdown on the road at Purdue awaits Wisconsin, so they better have their best ready for the Boilermakers.

6) Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-1) (-1)

Many believed Minnesota could go into Chapel Hill and leave with at least covering the spread, if not victorious. Alas, that wasn’t the case, as the North Carolina Tar Heels sent the Golden Gophers back to Minnesota with a 31-13 loss.

They only lose one spot in the power rankings, and Minnesota will at least have a slight reprieve this weekend. The Golden Gophers will travel to face Northwestern, a team they’ll have to handle if they want to make up some ground in the Big Ten.

7) Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-0)

Rutgers is starting to look like they could be slight for real in 2023. Greg Schiano has the Scarlet Knights rolling, as they handled Virginia Tech with relative ease on the way to a 35-16 win over the weekend.

Running back Kyle Monangai has been the star, accumulating 357 yards and five touchdowns on the season thus far. However, a trip to Ann Arbor could provide a dose of reality to the Scarlet Knights, unless they get their long elusive victory against Michigan this weekend.

8) Maryland Terrapins (3-0)

The Terrapins enjoyed their weekend in style, as their work was done on Friday. Maryland defeated the Virginia Cavaliers by a score of 42-14 in the first Big Ten game of Week 3, and got to watch their counterparts play on Saturday.

They’ll hope to stay undefeated this weekend, as they take on Michigan State in East Lansing. The Spartans are reeling, and the Terrapins are hoping to continue putting the hurt on their conference rival.

9) Michigan State Spartans (2-1)

It got ugly quick for Michigan State in Week 3, as the Spartans fell to Washington by a score of 41-7. It was 41-0 until a late Katin Houser touchdown run got them on the board, but many of the fans in green were gone by that time anyway.

The Mel Tucker situation has spawned a black cloud over the season, and Michigan State needs any kind of spark they can find. Time will tell if Week 4 against Maryland can provide them with one.

10) Nebraska Cornhuskers (1-2) (+3)

Matt Rhule is officially on the board. Quarterback Heinrich Haarberg stepped in and stepped up, leading Nebraska to victory over Northern Illinois on Saturday by 24 points.

Now that Rhule has his first victory under his belt, he’ll hope the good times continue rolling into Week 4. Nebraska will welcome Louisiana Tech to town, as another winnable game for the Cornhuskers is on the docket.

11) Indiana Hoosiers (1-2) (-1)

Indiana fell behind by 21 early against Louisville, and their comeback attempt was too little, too late. In the end, the Hoosiers fell by a touchdown to the Cardinals, but they’ll have a shot to bounce back in Week 4.

They’ll welcome Akron to town, another 1-2 team, in a Saturday night showdown in Week 4. Before Big Ten play really ramps up, Indiana needs some wins. We’ll see if they can get one on Saturday.

12) Purdue Boilermakers (1-2) (-1)

It’s been a disappointing start to 2023 for Purdue. The Boilermakers fell to 1-2 on the season, by virtue of a 35-20 loss to Syracuse over the weekend.

Purdue was in all three of their contests to start the season, but they’ve only managed to find victory in one of them. As the Big Ten games on their schedule begins this weekend, a long next couple of weeks could be on the horizon for the Boilermakers.

13) Illinois Fighting Illini (1-2) (-1)

From sleepers Big Ten West champion to the bottom tier of the power rankings, Illinois has fallen fast in 2023. Quarterback Luke Altmyer threw four interceptions on Saturday, as an ugly contest took place against Penn State in Champaign.

However, it was always a long shot that Illinois would’ve beaten Penn State. They’ll have a shot at a win on Saturday against Florida Atlantic, before their conference schedule kicks in.

14) Northwestern Wildcats (1-2)

While the grades on the field were high, only one team ran up the scoreboard on Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium, and that’s the Duke Blue Devils. Northwestern was severely overmatched in Week 3, and fell by a score of 38-14.

There’s no rest for the Wildcats in Week 4. They’ll welcome a pissed off Minnesota team to town, as the Golden Gophers look to rebound after their loss to North Carolina in Week 3.

As you can see, the Big Ten saw some serious movement in Week 3, and Week 4 should provide that and then some. There are some marvelous matchups taking place within the conference this weekend, and we can’t wait until kickoff.

On3’s Steve Samra contributed to this article.