Big Ten Power Poll: Week 1

BadgerBlitz.com's power poll is back for another season, where Jon McNamara, Jessi Schoville and I will rank the Big Ten teams after each week of action.

Our ranks following the first week of the season are included below.

The Buckeyes beat Bowling Green 77-10 on Saturday, with quarterback J.T. Barrett throwing six touchdown passes. Barring a major upset, we're expecting Ohio State to be the conference favorite at least until their showdown against Michigan at the end of the year.

The Wolverines ended up starting Wilton Speight at quarterback over John O'Korn, and apart from an early interception Speight handled his first game well. Speight threw three touchdown passes in Michigan's 63-3 win over Hawaii, and the Wolverines should be in the thick of the Big Ten race until the last week of the season.

The Hawkeyes easily handled Miami (OH) in their home opener, with quarterback C.J. Beathard throwing for 192 yards and one touchdown. Iowa brought a lot of talent back from last year's team, but they'll have to be on their guard this week against in-state rival Iowa State.

The Badgers knocked off the No. 5 team in the country on Saturday in Lambeau Field, and deserve more credit than people were giving them in the pre-season. They have a few more chances to prove themselves in Big Ten play, so we'll see just how far this team can go.

The Spartans did what they needed to do to take out Furman with a 28-13 win, but people were expecting a little more flash from the returning conference champs. Still, it would be a mistake for anyone to over look the Spartans this year.

Nebraska handled Fresno State 43-10 in part because they were able to establish the run and open up their passing game later in the game- a formula they might need to master to win the Big Ten West this year.

The Gophers had a bit of trouble with Oregon State in their season opener, and they'll need to iron out some inconsistency issues on both sides of the ball if they want to compete for a division championship.

The Nittany Lions are going through a transition period, so you can understand them struggling out of the gate against Kent State. But with three heavy weights at the top of their division it's hard to see Penn State having much success in conference play this year.

The Hoosiers needed a late surge to put Florida International away, but allowing just 13 points is a good sign for a team that has struggled to field a competent defense to pair with their offense.

Illinois put on a show with their 52-3 win over Murray State, giving Lovie Smith his first win in Champaign. But the real test comes this week when the Illini take on North Carolina- we'll see just how much progress they've made.

D.J. Durkin's tenure at Maryland got off to a solid start with a 52-13 win over Howard, but it's going to be a tough slog for them in the Big Ten East. If they can compete with their division rivals or even steal a win it could be a sign of good things to come.

The Wildcats had a lot of breaks go their way last year, but saw a few swing the other way in their season-opening loss to Western Michigan. We'll see if that game was an aberration or a sign of more trouble to come.

Purdue handled Eastern Kentucky 45-24, but the Boilermakers will have to show they can compete with and beat other Big Ten teams to get Darell Hazell off of the hot seat.

I doubt a 48-13 loss to Washington was the way new Rutgers head coach Chris Ash wanted to start off his tenure with the Scarlet Knights, but it's still clear that they are in for a long-term rebuild.