By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – With conference play now in full swing, the identities of 18 Big Ten football teams are starting to be revealed, and for some teams, that’s good, and for others, not so good.

Of course, it’s still early, but there is enough evidence to show that a depleted Washington squad isn’t as good as previously expected, partly because of injuries at the running back position.

Indiana also hasn’t looked invincible as it did for most of last season, while Ohio State’s defense is lucky that it doesn’t have to play against the Buckeye offense.

However, the Hoosiers still are undefeated under third-year head coach Curt Cignetti, have won 20 straight games dating back to last season and are the defending national champion, while Ohio State is maybe the most talented team in the country.

Iowa is also undefeated after four games, winning 20-19 at Michigan this past Saturday on the final play of the game.

Some might look at where Iowa is ranked in these latest power rankings and dismiss the person doing the rankings as a Hawkeye homer.

Okay. Fair enough.

But which of the teams ranked below Iowa would you say right now at this moment is clearly better than the Hawkeyes?

Power rankings are fluid, changing from week to week.

But right now Kirk Ferentz and the now 14th-ranked Hawkeyes, who host Ohio State this coming Saturday, are riding high and deserve to climb up the Big Ten rankings.

Iowa lost every aspect of the game against Michigan except for turnovers, penalties and the final score.

That’s Iowa football under Kirk Ferentz.

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1. Ohio State; 2-0, 4-0 – Buckeye star receiver Jeremiah Smith was 11 years old when Iowa crushed Ohio State 55-24 in 2017 at Kinnick Stadium.

2. Indiana; 1-0, 4-0 –  Curt Cignetti would look at this ranking and probably roll his eyes, laugh dismissively and say who is this hack from Iowa and why is he ranking us second after Ohio State gave up more than 450 yards against Illinois?”

3. Iowa; 1-0, 4-0 – Kirk Ferentz would look at this ranking and probably let out one of his famous snorts and then say that it’s way too early to know where each team stands and the only thing that really matters is getting better each day, working hard and focusing on the present.

4. Oregon; 1-0, 3-1 – The Ducks showed a lot of grit in their win over USC this past Saturday, and also why it’s important to have a reliable backup quarterback no matter the cost.

5. UCLA; 2-0, 4-0 – This ranking could ultimately prove to be way too high, but power rankings are all about being the moment, and right now, the Bruins, who won 54-3 at Maryland on Saturday, are clearly moving in the right direction under first-year head coach Bob Chesney.

6. USC, 1-1, 4-1 – With Saturday’s 41-27 loss to Oregon, USC fell to 5-15 against ranked opponents under head coach Lincoln Riley.

7. Michigan; 1-1, 3-1 – The Wolverines probably should be 2-2 under first-year head coach Kyle Whittingham, but were handed a gift from the officials in the win over Western Michigan. So while some stability has been restored since Sherrone Moore was fired as head coach last December, the product on the field still leaves something to be desired, especially on offense.

8. Northwestern, 0-1, 2-1 – This team in addition to having a rising star as a head coach in David Braun also has a lot more than just players with high GPAs.

9. Nebraska; 1-0, 4-0 – The Cornhuskers would maybe still be elite if the season ended in September.

10. Minnesota; 1-0, 3-1 – All we really know about the Gophers is that Mississippi State, which beat Minnesota 38-13 on Sept. 12 in Minneapolis, must be better than Washington, which fell to Minnesota 27-24 on Saturday in Seattle.

11. Wisconsin; 1-0, 3-1 – There are signs of hope in Madison with Wisconsin winning 24-20 at Penn State on Saturday despite trailing 17-0 and despite throwing three interceptions with two leading to immediate scores.

12. Penn State; 0-1, 3-1 – Matt Campbell is finding out right now that being 3-1 at Penn State isn’t the same as being 3-1 at Iowa State.

13. Illinois; 0-1, 2-2 – The Fighting Illini racked up 462 yards, including 199 rushing yards, in the 42-19 loss at Ohio State, but they still scored two fewer touchdowns than Buckeye receiver Jeremiah Smith scored by himself in the game.

14. Washington; 0-1, 3-1 – The Huskies have certainly been hurt by injuries at running back. But that’s still no excuse for allowing seven sacks and nine tackles for loss against the Gophers. Seattle, we have a problem.

15. Michigan State; 0-1, 2-2 – Spartan fans saw first hand with Saturday’s 31-13 loss to Nebraska in East Lansing that their football program is rebuilding under first-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald and still has a ways to go.

16. Maryland; 0-1, 2-2 – The Terrapins aren’t there yet, but seem determined to hit rock bottom based on Saturday’s 54-3 loss to UCLA at home. It was Maryland’s ninth straight Big Ten loss under head coach Mike Locksley.

17. Purdue; 0-1, 1-3 – Imagine how many times Purdue fans have asked; what if we had hired Curt Cignetti instead of Indiana?

18. Rutgers; 0-1; 1-3 – With Saturday’s 55-8 thrashing of FCS opponent Howard, the Scarlet Knights finally entered the win column, while also showing that they would be a possible contender in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, of which Howard is a member.