Ranking Big Ten football teams after Week 4: Illinois rises, Minnesota plummets

Gophers have blown two halftime leads at home to sink near the bottom of the Big Ten.

Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer (9) drops to throw against Nebraska Cornhuskers linebacker MJ Sherman (48) during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Has your opinion of the Big Ten changed after four weeks of college football? Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan and Penn State were top dogs at the outset of the season and that's mostly unchanged, but Illinois has launched itself into the conversation and the Iowa Hawkeyes might have something to say after a dominant performance in Minnesota. Let's re-rank all 18 teams in the Big Ten....

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0)

Blowout wins over Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall were expected. Now they open Big Ten play at Michigan State before a gauntlet that will see them face Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska and Penn State.

2. Oregon Ducks (3-0)

Are we ranking the Ducks too high? They struggled to pull away from Idaho in Week 1 and then trailed Boise State in the fourth quarter and needed a field goal at the buzzer to win. They obliterated Oregon State on Sept. 14 and they should be favored to take down UCLA and Michigan State the next two weeks before a showdown with Ohio State.

3. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0)

After struggling to beat Bowling Green, the Nittany Lions roasted Kent State 56-0 on Saturday. We'll find out a lot more about Penn State when Drew Allar and company face Illinois this coming Saturday night.

4. Michigan Wolverines (3-1)

Michigan has a high-end defense and top-notch running game but they flat out stink when it comes to throwing the football. The Wolverines made the QB change to Alex Orji and the result was 32 passing yards in a tight win over USC on Saturday. As long as Kalel Mullings keeps running like he has — 312 yards on 32 carries the past two weeks — the Wolverines will be tough to beat.

5. Illinois Fighting Illini (4-0)

Going to Lincoln and beating Dylan Raiola and Nebraska in overtime was a statement win for Brett Bielema's team. Luke Altmyer has been outstanding with 10 passing touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 71.2% of his passes. If they win at Penn State this week, the sky is the limit.

6. USC Trojans (2-1)

Miller Moss is the real deal at quarterback but his pick-six into the hands of Michigan's Will Johnson was a killer in Saturday's 27-24 loss at Michigan. Despite that, he helped bring the Trojans back from down 20-10 to leading 24-20 in the fourth quarter.

7. Iowa Hawkeyes (3-1)

Losing by one point at home to Iowa State was tough and then the Hawkeyes defense didn't look great against Troy, but the way Iowa manhandled Minnesota on national TV Saturday night is a statement that they are not a unit to be messed with. Kaleb Johnson could be the best running back in the country.

8. Indiana Hoosiers (4-0)

The Hoosiers have quietly averaged 50 points per game and are the proud owners of four blowouts. They have a big game this week against Maryland and if they win they'll go to Northwestern with a chance to start 6-0.

9. Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-1)

Dylan Raiola is clearly a special quarterback with an extremely bright future, but Illinois made him and the Cornhuskers look pedestrian in overtime on Friday night. Losing at home was rough and now the true freshman QB has to respond.

10. Washington Huskies (3-1)

Will Rogers and Washington dropped a rivalry game to Washington State (4-0) at a neutral location before easily handling Northwestern this weekend. Giles Jackson is a big-time receiving threat; he's 24th in the nation with 342 yards. That ranks second in the Big Ten behind a Maryland receiver we're about to mention...

11. Michigan State Spartans (3-1)

Losing to Boston College isn't bad at all because BC hung with Florida State in the opener and then nearly won at No. 6 Missouri in Week 3. The fact that the Spartans are playing this well in the first year under head coach Jonathan Smith is incredible. If sophomore QB Aidan Chiles stops throwing interceptions (he has 7 already), Michigan State will be in good hands.

12. Maryland Terrapins (3-0)

Tai Felton is third in the country with 604 receiving yards. He's hauled in 41 passes, five of them for touchdowns, to help quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. early on. Edwards has completed 75% of his attempts and the Terrapins throw the ball nearly 40 times per game.

13. Rutgers Scarlett Knights (3-0)

Beating Virginia Tech 26-23 is a nice win, but the Hokies haven't been very good this season. Rutgers will need more playmaking from quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis if they want to pile up more wins. This week against Washington will be a great test.

14. Wisconsin Badgers (2-2)

Getting smoked by Alabama was rough but losing QB Tyler Van Dyke to a torn ACL hurts so much more. The Badgers will go only as far as Braedyn Locke takes them. The schedule is daunting and our crystal ball doesn't reveal a whole lot of success in 2024 for Wisconsin.

15. Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-2)

The Gophers led North Carolina 14-7 at the half at home and lost. They led Iowa 14-7 at home at the half and didn't just lose Saturday night, they got embarrassed on national TV as Iowa routed them 31-14. If Minnesota is unable to make adjustments to keep up with the competition, they're going to have a long, long season. Michigan and USC are on deck so this thing could spiral fast.

16. UCLA (1-2)

It hasn't been pretty under first-year head coach DeShaun Foster, but expectations weren't very high for a program undergoing significant change. With games against Oregon and Penn State up next, the Bruins appear destined for a 1-4 start.

17. Purdue Boilermakers (1-2)

Getting beat 66-7 by Notre Dame in Week 2 was rough and then they got smoked by Oregon State 38-21 on Saturday. Hudson Card is doing all he can but he'll need more help from the receiving corps if the Boilermakers have any chance at complementing a ground game that has averaged more than six yards per carry.

18. Northwestern Wildcats (2-2)

The Wildcats don't have much on offense and Saturday's effort at Washington saw them put up only 112 yards. They're going to have to move the ball and put up points to have any chance of hanging with Indiana this week.