SiriusXM Big Ten Radio’s Football Power Rankings – Week One

Pete Pistone and the rest of the SiriusXM Big Ten Radio team will unveil “Power Rankings” each week of the college football season. Check out this week’s “Power Rankings” below, and start listening to SiriusXM Big Ten Radio (Ch. 372) on the SiriusXM app now.

Here’s how the SiriusXM Big Ten Radio team voted after Week One to determine this week’s “Power Rankings:”

1. MICHIGAN

J.J. McCarthy threw three touchdown passes to Roman Wilson, helping No. 2 Michigan rout East Carolina 30-3 on Saturday. McCarthy probably made his coach proud, completing 26 of 30 passes for 280 yards and throwing a touchdown pass to Wilson in each of the first three quarters.

2.   PENN STATE 

Drew Allar threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start to help No. 7 Penn State beat West Virginia 38-15 on Saturday night in their season opener. KeAndre Lambert-Smith caught two touchdown passes — including a 72-yard dart launched with a simple flick of Allar’s wrist on his second attempt of the game — while Nick Singleton added a rushing touchdown.

3.   OHIO STATE 

Miyan Williams rushed for two touchdowns and new quarterback Kyle McCord picked up his first victory since being named the starter for No. 3 Ohio State, beating Indiana 23-3 on Saturday. The Buckeyes (1-0, 1-0 Big Ten) have won 23 consecutive season-openers and extended the FBS’ longest active winning streak in a series to 28.

4.   WISCONSIN

Chez Mellusi ran for 157 yards and two touchdowns, Braelon Allen added 141 yards and two more scores and No. 19 Wisconsin started the first season of Luke Fickell’s coaching tenure with a 38-17 victory over Buffalo on Saturday. Fickell coached his first regular-season game since joining the Badgers after six seasons at Cincinnati.

5.   IOWA

Cade McNamara threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns in his Iowa debut as the No. 25 Hawkeyes defeated Utah State 24-14 on Saturday. The touchdowns came on Iowa’s first two offensive possessions, and the Hawkeyes didn’t get into the end zone again until Kaleb Johnson’s 3-yard run in the fourth quarter. Iowa, which had one of the worst offenses in the nation last season, finished with 284 yards.

6.   MINNESOTA

Dragan Kesich kicked a 47-yard field goal for Minnesota as time expired after Daniel Jackson’s toe-tap touchdown catch from Athan Kaliakmanis tied the game with 2:32 left, and the Gophers beat Nebraska 13-10 on Thursday night.

7.   MICHIGAN STATE 

Noah Kim threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns, helping Michigan State pull away to beat Central Michigan 31-7 on Friday night. Nathan Carter had a 2-yard, go-ahead touchdown run with 48 seconds left in the first half and the Connecticut transfer finished with 113 yards on 18 carries.

8.   ILLINOIS

Caleb Griffin kicked a 29-yard field goal in the closing seconds, giving Illinois a 30-28 victory over Toledo in the season opener for both teams on Saturday night. Luke Altmyer threw for two touchdowns. Miles Scott returned an interception 48 yards for a score, and the Illini squeezed out the win in a back-and-forth game to start coach Bret Bielema’s third season.

9.   MARYLAND 

Taulia Tagovailoa threw for three touchdowns and ran for one in the first half of Maryland’s 38-6 rout of Towson on Saturday. The Terrapins (1-0) had little trouble pulling away from a Towson team playing its first game under coach Pete Shinnick. Maryland leaned on its veteran quarterback, with Tagovailoa throwing for 260 yards in under three quarters, and the offense looked mostly sharp against this FCS opponent.

10.  RUTGERS 

Northwestern lost to Rutgers 24-7 on Sunday in the football team’s first game of the season. Rutgers quarterback Gavin Wimsatt threw a touchdown and ran for another as the Scarlet Knights dominated the time of possession, controlling the ball for almost 38 minutes. The Scarlet Knights scored on their first two drives, with Wimsatt (17 of 29 for 163) hitting Ian Strong on an 11-yard pass to cap the first and running six yards for the second.

11.  NEBRASKA 

The Huskers lost to Minnesota 13-10 to open the season last Thursday night.

12.  PURDUE

Mikey Keene threw for four touchdowns Saturday to lead Fresno State to a 39-35 win over Purdue in the season opener for both teams. Purdue, which led 28-17 early in the third quarter, managed to regain the lead at 35-32 on Mockabee’s 11-yard TD run with 4:36 to go

13.  INDIANA 

The Hoosiers lost to Ohio State 23-3 to begin Indiana’s campaign last Saturday.

14. NORTHWESTERN

The Wildcats lost on the road to Rutgers 24-7 on Sunday afternoon.