BIG 1G Rankings: Week 8
Boston Mountain Publishing, Friday, October 21, 2022 8:20 AM
We have ranked the TOP 8 BIG TEN Teams through Week 7 and discuss their outlooks going forward.
BIG 1G TEAM POWER RANKINGS
Game of the Week
Michigan bulldozed Penn State in the Big House 41-17 on Saturday afternoon. Penn State didn't show up in the second half, and the Wolverines took advantage by running through the defense, and over, and outside, over and over until the game was over. Michigan moves to 7-0, and Penn State drops to 5-1 on the year.
Heading into Week 8, the BIG 10 has 2 teams in the Top 10 and 4 teams in the Top 25.
Two teams are undefeated, both divisions are still up for grabs, and two players headline the Heisman race at the mid-way point in the 2022 season.
There are still several big games to be played, even bigger than last weekend's headline matchup.
BIG 10 Top Games of the Week
IOWA @ OHIO STATE
MINNESOTA @ PENN STATE
PURDUE @ WISCONSIN
#8 - IOWA HAWKEYES 3-3
WEST (1-2)
The Hawkeyes are coming off a BYE Week and face #1 Ohio State after their break. They have had 2 weeks to prepare for this game and that probably is still not enough time to prepare for this one. Their last game, two weeks ago, was a loss against Illinois 9-6 in a snoozer.
The Offense is middle to the bottom in most statistical categories so they will mostly depend on their defense here on out.
The Defense ranks 3rd nationally allowing only 9.83 points per game, and they rank 2nd in conference only giving up 154 yards passing per game.
Seth Benson leads the D averaging 8.5 tackles per game ranking 5th in conference.
Cooper DeJean has 3 INTs through 6 games.
Upcoming Games:
Saturday October 22
Iowa
@ Ohio State
Saturday October 29
Northwestern
@ Iowa
#7 - MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS 4-2
WEST (1-2)
The Offense is rushing for an average 227.8 yards per game (3rd in conference), and the Defense is allowing 104.5 yards rushing per game (6th in conference).
Minnesota's Offense and Defense is ranked 5th in the league in both Offensive and Defensive efficiency.
The Defense is ranked 3rd in conference, only allowing 159.2 yards passing per game to go along with 6 INTs on the year.
This weekend's matchup should be a good game between the Gophers and Nittnay Lions and could come down to the wire.
Upcoming Games:
Saturday October 22
Minnesota
@ Penn State
Saturday October 29
Rutgers
@ Minnesota
#6 - MARYLAND TERRAPINS 5-2
EAST (2-2)
The Terrapins 2 losses on the season unfortunately came in conference games, one to Michigan by 7 and another to Purdue by 2 points.
QB Taulia Tagovailoa leads the offense passing for 285.9 yards per game to rank 3rd in conference. He completes 72.5% of his passes and has 2,001 yards passing to date.
RB Roman Hemby leads the running game averaging 71.7 yards per game for Maryland. He's averaging 6.2 yards per carry with 4 TDs on the year.
The Defense has 7 sacks on the year, tied for 3rd in conference.
Upcoming Games:
Saturday October 22
Northwestern
@ Maryland
Saturday October 29
BYE
#5 - PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS 5-1
EAST (2-1)
Coming off a tough loss to Michigan this past weekend, Penn State looked tired. Their D line was run over by Michigan RB Blake Corum all day. Their schedule doesn't get any easier over the next 2 weeks but at least both games are at home.
Their Offense is ranked 6th in the conference averaging 31.5 points per game.
RB Nicholas Singleton is leading in the backfield, running for 80.3 yards per game with 5 TDs.
The Defense is ranked 6th in conference allowing 19.6 points per game.
Upcoming Games:
Saturday October 22
Minnesota
@ Penn State
Saturday October 29
Ohio State
@ Penn State
#4 - PURDUE BOILERMAKERS 5-2
WEST (3-1)
QB Aiden O'Connell is leading the conference passing for an average 325 yards per game. He has a 66.2% completion rate while attempting the 2nd most passes in the Big Ten.
RB Devon Mockobee is leading the running backs for Purdue, ranking 9th in the conference with an average of 75.5 yards per game on the ground to go with 5 TDs.
WR Charlie Jones is averaging 105 yards receiving per game which ranks 2nd in conference. He has 735 receiving yards through 7 games.
The Defense has 10 INTs and returned 2 for TDs this year.
Upcoming Games:
Saturday October 22
Purdue
@ Wisconsin
Saturday October 29
BYE
#3 - ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI 6-1
WEST (3-1)
In Head Coach Bret Bielema's 2nd year leading the Illini, he has brought back the enthusiasm in Champaign that hasn't been seen since 2001. Their 1 loss came against Indiana in the 2nd game of the year. Illinois had the lead with 2 minutes to go, but the Hoosiers marched down the field in 13 plays and punched it in for the score with :23 seconds left on the clock. Tough defeat for the Illini, but they have recovered nicely over the last 5 games.
RB Chase Brown is leading the Big Ten and is ranked #1 nationally with 1,059 rushing yards this season.
The Illinois Defense is leading the Big Ten and is ranked #1 nationally only allowing 8.86 points per game.
Upcoming Games:
Saturday October 22
BYE
Saturday October 29
Illinois
@ Nebraska
#2 - MICHIGAN WOLVERINES 7-0
EAST (4-0)
As most years in the Big Ten, the season will probably come down to the last game in the regular season to decide who goes to the Big 10 Championship game. Michigan @ Ohio State this year.
The Offense ranks 2nd in the conference and 7th nationally averaging 42.7 points per game.
RB Blake Corum is 2nd in the Big Ten and is ranked #2 nationally with 901 yards rushing on the season.
The Defense ranks 4th in the conference and 5th nationally only allowing 12.14 points per game.
Upcoming Games:
Saturday October 22
BYE
Saturday October 29
Michigan State
@ Michigan
#1 - OHIO STATE BUCKEYES 6-0
EAST (3-0)
Repeating again, as most years in the Big Ten, the season will probably come down to the last game in the regular season to decide who goes to the Big 10 Championship game. Michigan @ Ohio State this year.
QB C.J. Stroud is the leading candidate to win the Heisman Award through Week 7. He has a 70.6% completion rate and has thrown 24 TDs for the Buckeyes.
The Offense ranks #1 nationally, scoring 48.8 points per game.
The Defense ranks 5th in the conference and 10th nationally only allowing 15.67 points per game.
Upcoming Games:
Saturday October 22
Iowa
@ Ohio State
Saturday October 29
Ohio State
@ Penn State
Check out the SEC here:
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