Week 1 B1G Power Rankings and Bowl Projections

The Michigan hoops squad enjoyed some primetime seats for the football opener last weekend. I was just walking by and happened to look up at just the right time. As soon as I put my camera up, they struck their poses.

Power Rank	Bowl/ Opponent	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
1	Rose Playoff			-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	At Large At Large			-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	Capital One SEC			-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	Outback SEC			-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	TBD			-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	TBD			-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	TBD			-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	TBD			-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
9	TBD			-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Penn State is ineligible for post-season play, and thus will not ranked on this chart.

1. Michigan State
Dismantled an overmatched Jacksonville State squad on Friday night in a game that was never really ever a game. Will get a much tougher test this week as they travel to Eugene, OR for the primetime (east coast) contest that will certainly be must see TV for anyone not watching Michigan or Ohio State...so not that many folks.

2. Michigan
Look, the main reason Michigan is #2 is because they were #3 in the preseason before Braxton Miller got hurt. Not for nothing, but the Wolverines did look dang impressive in their opener against lowly Appalachian State. We'll know a lot more after Saturday night when Michigan faces its first of 3 tough road games on the 2014 slate when they travel to South Bend.

3. Nebraska
Demolished James Madison...which is exactly what you're supposed to do. Abdulah looked fantastic running the ball en route to his 232 rushing yards. If the Nebraska D can hold up, they might just run the table in the west.

4. Ohio State
Navy is a tougher opponent than most people give them credit for. That said, they're not that tough. Again, this weekend will be a truer test of skill. I dropped OSU to 4th in the power rankings which means they'll probably win by 3 touchdowns.

5. Wisconsin
First of all, I give the Badgers credit for scheduling an SEC opponent for week 1. I give them even more credit for jumping out to a 24-7 lead. I have to admit, I went to bed at that point so I missed the collapse. But from all I've read and heard, it was a good game.

6. Iowa
All I know about Iowa is they beat Northern Iowa by 8 points. I'l stand by my prediction that the Hawkeyes could be a sleeper in the west...and since the prevailing thought it that most teams improve the most between week 1 and week 2, we'll see what happens this week against....um...Ball State. Ok Iowa. You'll remain a mystery for another week.

7. Minnesota
I watched a little bit of their opener against lowly Eastern Illinois, but they looked good. We'll probably see another lopsided victory again this week against Middle Tennessee St. Week 3 at TCU could be a fun one.

8. Maryland
Again, a lopsided victory over an inferior opponent tells us nothing interesting. James Madison is a team you're supposed to beat soundly and they did.

9. Indiana
I expected bigger numbers from the Hoosiers against Indiana State. Good thing they have a bye week to rest up for Bowling Green in 2 weeks!

The rest
Rutgers went on the road and beat Washington State! That's pretty great actually. Penn State (not on this list) needed a final play field goal to beat Central Florida. Illinois squeaked by Youngstown State. Purdue won in a shootout with Western Michigan. Cal beat Northwestern. Go Big Ten!