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Week 3 brought some fun games, but not quite as much chaos as last week (I see you, Pitt). Yet we have had movement in these rankings as some teams have to win and some teams have to lose.
Let’s be clear: these rankings reflect a team’s quality of play, not records, polls, number of NIL agreements signed by players, etc.
Simply put, Team # 1 would beat Team # 2 on neutral ground at least 51 times out of 100. Team # 2 would beat Team # 3, # 3 would beat # 3. ° 4, etc., etc.
Let’s go!
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, WE ARE!
Penn State has played the Big Ten’s toughest schedule and is 3-0. There can be no other position for the Lions for three weeks as PSU handled # 22 Auburn 28-20 under the lights and intensity of the White Out. Some respite looms as Villanova arrives in town, before the schedule gets tough again. But for now? Bay-bay number 1!
2. Iowa
A 30-7 win over Kent State. Really not much else to say here. Iowa will smother you on defense and be fine on offense, and will forever and ever.
Dude, wouldn’t it have been something if Tulsa had beaten OSU? It wasn’t, as the Buckeyes took the 41-20 victory, but once again Ohio State didn’t look so good. However, I still find it hard to think that OSU would beat most of the teams in the conference, so until they drop another (or two or three or four), I leave them in third place. .
4. Wisconsin
BYE at the start of the season for the Badgers.
5. Michigan
“Member when Michigan was not good?” It was fun. With three games against a weak schedule, Michigan looks GOOD. The defense is tough, the running game is tough, the passing game is meh. But a lot of B1G teams have won a lot of games with strong defense and strong running play. We’ll see how long the Wolverines can hold out.
6. Maryland
Maryland only beat Illinois 20-17, but they won. Still, the Terrapins continue their Jekyll-and-Hyde act, which makes it maddening as to where to place UMD.
Speaking of Michigan teams that used to be bad but aren’t bad now, what about Sparty? MSU knocked out a ranked Miami team on Route 38-17, in what has to be one of the most improved teams of 2020 (Penn State obviously being the most improved). Don’t you just love that Penn State’s schedule seems to get harder and harder with each passing week?
The Hoosiers gave # 8 Cincinnati all they could manage for about three quarters, but ultimately the Bearcats pulled out, winning 38-17. I still don’t believe Indiana is Wrong per se, but the luster seems to have faded since the magic season 2020. Be nice to have a pretty easy game for Penn State in a few weeks.
The Scarlet Knights topped FCS Delaware at 45-13. UDel is by no means a bad FCS team, so a 30-point win is actually pretty good. Once again, I love how tough the Penn State program is this year!
So here’s what’s funny. Texas A&M, apparently a top 10 team, battled Colorado, winning just 10-7. Then Minnesota went and booed the Buffaloes 30-0. By that calculation, Minnesota would beat TAMU by 27 points, right?
I was really in favor of the Boilermakers against Notre Dame, but they just didn’t seem to get ahead of the Domers and ultimately succumbed 27-13. Purdue may still be a tough team to manage, but if they can play ‘good’ football and still lose by two touchdowns to a strong team, I don’t know how much noise they’ll make at West.
Is Nebraska Secretly Good? Or is Oklahoma secretly bad? My money is on the latter, as the Sooners barely beat Big Red 23-16. It’s my claim that other than maybe Alabama (which looked deadly against Florida), there really aren’t any really dominant teams in college football this year. I’m getting some serious vibes for 2007 this year, and I think it’s only a matter of time before OU – and a bunch of other top 10 teams – are on display.
13. Northwest
In a battle of nerds, Northwestern lost to Duke 30-23. Apparently, the Blue Devils’ mathematical approach to the game was fundamentally more solid than that of the Wildcats. Better luck next time!
Speaking of 2007, Illinois is just a chaos team. They didn’t beat Maryland, but they took a seemingly powerful Maryland team and held them down to just 20 points. Will the Illini trip up a random team along the way? Who knows! But that wouldn’t surprise me at all.
GIVE ME SOME SQUIGGLES:
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YOUR NITTANY LIONS FROM PENN STATE TAKE FIRST PLACE. Iowa is falling due to the rise of Penn State, while OSU and Wisconsin stand tall. Michigan is climbing fast, while Maryland is treading water. The state of Michigan climbs even faster, while Indiana plunges. Rutgers and Minnesota hold the standings, while Purdue falls. Nebraska, the Northwest, and Illinois all hold the bottom.
HELLO TO THE KING!
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