Ben Bolch’s Big Ten Power Rankings

Game of the week: Oregon (2-1) at USC (4-0), 4:30 p.m. PDT Saturday on NBC. Both teams opened the season with great promise. Both coaches are already under fire. It will be fascinating to watch who emerges more confounded from the showdown of disappointing teams.

Meanwhile, both the Trojans and UCLA Bruins narrowly escaped their Big Ten openers against underwhelming opponents. That does not breed much confidence in the teams from SoCal.

1. Indiana (3-0) A NFL team should offer Curt Cignetti a 50% ownership stake. (Last week: 1)

2. Ohio State (2-1) Those who have been Sayin’ the Buckeyes will recover may be right. (2)

3. Oregon (2-1) Who figured that Dan Lanning would feel so much early heat? (3)

4. Penn State (3-0) Offense can leave cupcakes feeling buffaloed. (6)

5. USC (4-0, 1-0) Another defensive coordinator, same old concerns under Lincoln Riley. (4)

6. UCLA (3-0, 1-0) At 5 feet 7, running back Wayne Knight is the new big man on campus. (5)

7. Michigan (3-0) New motto regarding Western Michigan debacle: Like it never happened. (7)

8. Iowa (3-0) What do you call three ballcarriers going over 100 yards? A triple option. (9)

9. Washington (3-0) Undefeated Huskies still haven’t proven they have much bite. (8)

10. Michigan State (2-1) Respectable showing against Notre Dame is an early win. (10)

11. Nebraska (3-0) Yay! You shut out North Dakota! Give Matt Rhule another extension! (11)

12. Illinois (2-1) Fans at Roger Ebert’s alma mater give Southern Illinois rout two thumbs up. (13)

13. Minnesota (2-1) Akron was the needed get-right opponent for Golden Gophers. (14)

14. Wisconsin (2-1) Continues to dominate directional schools with rout of Eastern Michigan. (15)

15. Northwestern (2-0) Chip Kelly’s offense revealed that Deion Sanders is past his prime. (16)

16. Maryland (2-1) Virginia Tech setback a harsh reality check for Terrapins. (12)

17. Purdue (1-2, 0-1) Big Ten misery will linger until Boilermakers’ defense gets a stop. (17)

18. Rutgers (0-3, 0-1) It was fun to daydream about a Greg Schiano reprieve for a while. (18)