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Big Ten West Power Ranking: Iowa Hawkeyes Falling Quickly

By Jeremy Karll

Oct 1, 2016; Iowa City, IA, USA; Northwestern Wildcats running back Justin Jackson (21) runs the ball as Iowa Hawkeyes linebacker Ben Niemann (44) and defensive back Brandon Snyder (37) go in for the tackle during the second half at Kinnick Stadium. Northwestern won 38-31. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2016; Iowa City, IA, USA; Northwestern Wildcats running back Justin Jackson (21) runs the ball as Iowa Hawkeyes linebacker Ben Niemann (44) and defensive back Brandon Snyder (37) go in for the tackle during the second half at Kinnick Stadium. Northwestern won 38-31. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 2 – Nebraska Cornhuskers 5-0 (2-0)

Last Week: 2

Nebraska’s early season defining win over Oregon is becoming less impressive by the week. The Cornhuskers are still 5-0 and are ranked as the 12th best team in the latest AP Poll, though. They blew out their early season opponents and finished with convincing wins over Northwestern and Illinois despite slow starts in the last two weeks.

They now have Indiana and Purdue before their brutal two game stretch against Wisconsin and Ohio State. People can continue to question how good Nebraska is, however Tommy Armstrong Jr is playing as well as any quarterback in the Big Ten and they’ve been unstoppable up to this point of the season.

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They rank in the top-40 in both points per game and points allowed per game thus far. Not to mention Oregon is the only team to have scored more than 20 points in a single game against Nebraska this season.

Despite a slow start as a team, Terrell Newby finished the game with 140 yards and two touchdowns on the ground this past week. Armstrong didn’t have the best game of his career but he did enough to help Nebraska pull out a win. The Cornhuskers want to run, and that’s what they did against Illinois.

Newby, Armstrong and Devine Ozigbo combined to rush 45 times this past week, compared to 23 passes. The Cornhuskers are averaging a very good 4.9 yards per carry on the ground in 2016, proving that no one has been able to stop them this season.

Nebraska might not be a legitimate top-10 team but they’re winning against the teams on their schedule, and in convincing fashion. Until their games against Wisconsin and Ohio State, there’s no other way to gauge how good this team is.

All we know is Tommy Armstrong Jr is having a career-year, their running game has been unstoppable, and they’ve allowed a mere 17.6 points per game this season. It’s time to jump onto the Cornhuskers bandwagon because they have a legitimate chance of making the Big Ten Championship Game.

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