Did the Bowling Green scare impact Penn State football in the Big Ten power rankings?

Week 2 is now complete. The national landscape changed slightly with several teams struggling in the Big Ten against lower-level opponents, including Penn State football. As a result, some shifting is going on with this week’s power rankings. Did the Nittany Lions slip in the power rankings after the scare to Bowling Green?

18. Minnesota, 1-1 (Last week 18)

Minnesota bounced back from their Week 1 loss to North Carolina with a shutout of Rhode Island. An expected easy win against a FCS team does not move the needle much so the Gophers remain at the bottom of this week’s power rankings. Up next is a home date against Nevada.

17. Purdue, 1-0 (Last week 17)

The Boilermakers had the week off to prepare for their home matchup against Notre Dame. The Irish are coming off their upset loss against Northern Illinois so could be a bad time to be Purdue. The Boilermakers have not won in the series since 2007.

16. Indiana, 2-0 (Last week 16)

This past Friday night Indiana annihilated an overmatched Western Illinois team 77-3. The point total was a single-game scoring record for the Hoosiers, which was set at 76 points in 1901. The Hoosiers travel to UCLA this weekend, their first trip to the Rose Bowl stadium since 1968 for its Big Ten opener.

15. Northwestern, 1-1 (Last week 13)

The Wildcats drop a couple of spots this week after their 26-20 loss to Duke in double overtime Friday night. The game was mistake-prone, with the teams combining for 16 accepted penalties and each side committing two turnovers a piece. The Blue Devils finished both of their overtime drives in the endzone to outlast the Wildcats. Northwestern should bounce back against Eastern Illinois this coming Saturday which could help their Big Ten power rankings next week.

14. UCLA 1-0, (Last week 14)

The Bruins enjoyed an early season bye to prepare for their first-ever Big Ten conference game against Indiana. With a matchup against Penn State football on the horizon.

13. Maryland, 1-1 (Last week 9)

The Terps fell to Michigan State in the Big Ten conference opener for both teams. It was a back-and-forth affair but Michigan State scored the game’s final 10 points including the game-winning field as time expired. The Terps secondary was exposed for over 360 yards through the air although the defense did notch three interceptions. Maryland will look to bounce back Saturday night at Virginia.

12. Illinois, 2-0 (Last week 15)

The Illini rallied in the fourth quarter to upset the then-19th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks, avenging last year’s loss to them in Lawrence. It was the first ranked win for the Illini at home over a nonconference foe since 2011. Could Illinois stroll into Happy Valley to play Penn State football at the end of September as a ranked team? It looks like a stronger possibility than it did in preseason. The Illini host Central Michigan next before heading into Big Ten play.

11. Rutgers, 2-0 (Last week 11)

The Scarlet Knights took care of business against Akron, defeating the Zips 49-17 at home. Running back Kyle Monangai was magnificent running for over 200 yards and three scores. Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis also tossed three scores. Rutgers now gets an off week to prepare for their matchup at Virginia Tech.

10. Iowa, 1-1 (Last week 8)

Last week the Hawkeyes scored 40 points while Kirk Ferentz served a one-game suspension for a violation during the recruitment of Cade McNamara. This week Kirk returned to the sidelines and the Hawkeyes scored less than half than they did a week ago in their 20-19 loss to rival Iowa State. The Hawkeyes still have a very favorable schedule but their playoff chances took a big hit with the loss.

9. Michigan State, 2-0 (Last week 12)

Nice conference win for Michigan State. The Spartans had nearly 500 yards of total offense and were able to just outlast the Terps in College Park. Quarterback Aidan Chiles tosses three touchdowns but also three interceptions. The Spartans will look to build off the momentum though against Prairie View A&M this Saturday back in East Lansing.

8. Nebraska, 2-0 (Last week 10)

The Huskers rode a 28-0 halftime lead to a 28-10 victory over rival Colorado. It was a strong defensive performance for Nebraska, but they could only manage punts on every possession in the second half. Still a great start to the season for Nebraska and they will look to go 3-0 when they face Northern Iowa on Saturday.

7. Michigan, 1-1 (Last week 5)

The non-Michigan fans were waiting for this one for a while. The Wolverines were defeated by Texas 31-12 in Ann Arbor. They had zero answer for the Longhorns, coughing up the ball to Texas three times. Texas certainly looked like the better team entering the contest and they proved it early, leading 24-3 at halftime and never looking back.

Michigan hosts Arkansas State on Saturday before starting conference play against USC.

6. Washington, 2-0 (Last week 7)

Washington took down an overmatched Eastern Michigan team 30-9. The Huskies put up nearly 300 more yards than the Eagles. The Huskies may not be last year’s national championship runner-up team but so far so good for the rebuilding. Next up is the Apple Cup against rival Washington State.

5. Wisconsin, 2-0 (Last week 6)

Another tune-up game for the Badgers as they defeated South Dakota 27-13. It was just an OK performance but the Badgers are going to need more this upcoming Saturday as they are on Alabama in Madison.

4. Oregon, 2-0 (Last week 3)

For the second consecutive week, the Oregon Ducks did not look impressive against an inferior opponent. They ultimately prevailed over Boise State with a game-ending field goal to win 37-34. This could still be a good team working out early issues. Oregon travels to Oregon State next.

3. Penn State, 2-0 (Last week 2)

© Alex Disabella / Basic Blues Nation, 2024.

Not even sure what that defensive performance was for Penn State in the first half of their 34-27 over Bowling Green. Credit to the Falcons though. They played an outstanding first 30 minutes of the game. The Penn State football team made the adjustments needed at halftime and only yielded three points and 81 total yards to the Falcons in the second half.

For once the Nittany Lion offense was mostly up to the task and bailed out the defense while they tried to regain their footing. Drew Allar had command for most of the game and besides throwing a poor interception in the back in the endzone, he had a solid day. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen were superb, each going over the century mark on the ground.

Penn State will need to work on what went wrong in that second half and not repeat it moving forward. Perhaps it was just overlooking an opponent but for a MAC team, Bowling Green is one of the most experienced with 32 seniors. The Nittany Lions got a bye week to correct some of the issues before hosting Kent State in two weeks and saw a slight dip in the power rankings.

2. USC, 2-0 (Last week 4)

USC followed their impressive win over LSU last week with a 48-point shutout of Utah State. The quality of the opponent should be factored in, but the Trojan defense getting a shutout is impressive against any opponent. This Trojans team may be better than predicted. They have a bye week before traveling to Ann Arbor in two weeks.

1. Ohio State, 2-0 (Last week 1)

Ohio State rolled against Western Michigan, posting a 56-0 shutout of the Broncos. The Buckeyes had over 683 total yards on the day. It is all fine right now racking up the wins but the Buckeyes do not look to get a real challenge until the meatier part of the schedule in mid-October. They have a bye week followed by their final non-conference game against Marshall and stand atop of the power rankings.

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