Opening weekend of the college football season was a winner for the Big Ten.

Well, except for Minnesota.

The Golden Gophers were the only conference team to lose their first game of the season, though they were also one of the few teams to face a legitimate FBS opponent in North Carolina.

Despite the tone on social media from a persistent Oregon fanbase, their team actually did beat Idaho on Saturday. The unimpressive performance, however, did drop the Ducks down several spots in these initial Big Ten power rankings.

Ohio State, on the other hand, looked sharp, as did Southern California, which had the best win in the conference with the neutral-site victory against No. 12 LSU in Las Vegas.

Michigan also began its title defense with a win, and just like the Ducks and Trojans, former Pac-12 teams Washington and UCLA also had wins in their Big Ten debuts.

With that, here are the first weekly Big Ten college football rankings.

1. Ohio State

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. Western Michigan, 4:30 p.m. Saturday (BTN)

Last week: 52-6 win against Akron

What to know: It took a couple quarters for the Buckeyes’ offense to get rolling in their first game under new coordinator and former Oregon coach Chip Kelly, but they eventually took off in the second half with a 35-point performance in a rout of the Zips.

2. Southern California

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. Utah State, 8 p.m. Saturday (BTN)

Last week: 27-20 win against No. 12 LSU in Las Vegas

What to know: Miller Moss gave the Trojans a glimpse of the future when after years riding the bench as Caleb Williams’ backup, he started the Holiday Bowl last season and threw for 372 yards and six TDs. Sunday night he proved that performance was no fluke as he torched the LSU defense for 378 yards and a touchdown.

3. Penn State

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. Bowling Green, Saturday 9 a.m. (BTN)

Last week: 34-12 win at West Virginia

What to know: First came a long lightning delay, then came some offensive fireworks by the Nittany Lions, one of two conference team to open the season with a true road game. After waiting more than two hours for kickoff because of bad weather, QB Drew Allar threw three TD passes in the second quarter as Penn State built an insurmountable lead by halftime.

4. Michigan

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. No. 4 Texas, 9 a.m. Saturday (FOX)

Last week: 30-10 win against Fresno State

What to know: The defending national champs lost six offensive linemen and their starting quarterback and running back to the NFL so some hiccups on offense were expected. Michigan scored 20 points in the second half and 17 in the fourth quarter, as it took a while to start clicking.

5. Iowa

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. Iowa State, 12:30 p.m. Saturday (CBS)

Last week: 40-0 win against Illinois State

What to know: The Hawkeyes were without their coach, but they did have their quarterback back. Cade McNamara, who missed the final nine games of 2023 with a knee injury, threw for 251 yards and three TDs. Coach Kirk Ferentz wasn’t at the game as he served a one-game school-imposed suspension for a recruiting violation that's under investigation by the NCAA. It was the first game Ferentz missed in his 26 years at Iowa.

6. Nebraska

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. Colorado, 4:30 p.m. Saturday (NBC)

Last week: 40-7 win against UTEP

What to know: Prize quarterback recruit Dylan Raiola was sharp in his collegiate debut for the Cornhuskers, throwing for 238 yards and two touchdowns as he started and played the first half and just the opening series of the second half.

7. Washington

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. Eastern Michigan, 12:30 p.m. Saturday (BTN)

Last week: 35-3 win against Weber State

What to know: With an overhauled roster and a new coaching staff led by Jedd Fisch, the Huskies didn't look all that different from the team that went undefeated last season until losing in the College Football Playoff championship game to Michigan.

8. Oregon

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. Boise State, 7 p.m. Saturday (Peacock)

Last week: 24-14 win against Idaho

What to know: Even with a win — the Ducks’ NCAA-leading 33rd at home against a nonconference opponent — the season-opener didn’t do much to inspire confidence. Oregon, which had its streak of 14 consecutive games scoring at least 30 points ended, has too much talent at the skill positions to score so few points against an FCS opponent.

9. Maryland

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. Michigan State, 12:30 p.m. Saturday (BTN)

Last week: 50-7 win against UConn

What to know: The Taulia Tagovailoa era is over at Maryland. The Billy Edwards Jr. era appears to be just beginning. The new starting QB had an impressive season debut on Saturday as he completed 20-of-27 passes for 311 yards and TD passes of 18 and 75 yards to receiver Tai Felton.

10. Rutgers

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. Akron, 9 a.m. Saturday (BTN)

Last week: 44-7 win against Howard

What to know: Kyle Monangai, the Big Ten rushing leader in 2023, put the rest of the conference on notice that he is back and as good as ever as he tied his career high with 165 yards — including a 7-yard TD run — on just 19 carries in the Scarlet Knights’ season-opener last Thursday.

11. Wisconsin

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. South Dakota, 12:30 p.m. Saturday (FS1)

Last week: 28-14 win against Western Michigan

What to know: Miami transfer QB Tyler Van Dyke had an uneven debut for the Badgers. He was 21-for-36 passing for 192 yards with no TD passes or interceptions, and scored the final touchdown of the game on a 6-yard run. He also lost a fumble.

12. Minnesota

Record: 0-1

This week: vs. Rhode Island, 9 a.m. Saturday (Peacock)

Last week: 19-17 loss to North Carolina

What to know: It was a rough start to the season for Dragan Kesich, the reigning Big Ten kicker of the year. The senior went 1-for-3 on field-goal attempts, including a miss on the potential game-winner as his 47-yard attempt went wide right as time expired.

13. Michigan State

Record: 1-0

This week: at Maryland, 12:30 p.m. Saturday (BTN)

Last week: 16-10 win against Florida Atlantic

What to know: Former Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith won his debut with the Spartans on Friday, but the QB he brought with him from Corvallis struggled. Aidan Chiles, the one-time QB of the future for the Beavers, started the game and finished 10-for-24 passing for 114 yards and two interceptions. He did have a rushing TD.

14. Illinois

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. No. 22 Kansas, 4 p.m. Saturday (FS1)

Last week: 45-0 win against Eastern Illinois

What to know: The Illini, who were picked to finish 15th in the Big Ten in the USA Today preseason media poll, had a confidence boosting win on Thursday as QB Luke Altmyer threw for a career-high four TDs in the first half and the defense recorded four takeaways.

15. Indiana

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. Western Illinois, 4 p.m. Friday (BTN)

Last week: 31-7 win against Florida International

What to know: Curt Cignetti became the first coach to win in his Hoosiers debut since 2007 thanks to a nice debut performance from QB Kurtis Rourke, a transfer from Ohio where he was the Mid-American Conference offensive player of the year in 2022. Running back Ty Son Lawton, who followed Cignetti from James Madison, rushed for 74 yards and two TDs.

16. Purdue

Record: 1-0

This week: No game

Last week: 49-0 win against Indiana State

What to know: The bar was set pretty low this season for the Boilermakers, who were picked to finish last in the Big Ten in the USA Today preseason media poll. Maybe Hudson Card can help elevate expectations. The quarterback was 24 of 25 for 273 yards and four TDs, setting an FBS single-game completion record (96%) with at least 20 pass attempts.

17. UCLA

Record: 1-0

This week: No game

Last week: 16-13 win at Hawaii

What to know: Mahalo, Mateen Bhaghani. The UCLA kicker came up clutch in the second half with a three-field goal performance to not just send the Bruins home with a win, but save them from an embarrassing loss. With UCLA trailing 13-7 late in the game, Bhaghani made kicks of 22, 37 and 32 yards, the last of which was the game-winner with 59 seconds to play.

18. Northwestern

Record: 1-0

This week: vs. Duke, 6 p.m. Friday (FS1)

Last week: 13-6 win against Miami (Ohio)

What to know: In a game that lacked offense and scoring, the Wildcats were lucky to have Mike Wright on their side. The quarterback was the game's leading passer with 178 yards and leading rusher with 65 yards. He also scored the only TD of the game on a 13-yard run in the third quarter.

Follow Chris Hansen on X@chansen_RG or email atchansen@registerguard.com.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Big Ten rankings: Where does Oregon football stand after Week 1?