Big Ten takes steps forward but one giant step back

The Big Ten overall had a solid weekend going 7-3 in what were by far the toughest matchups of the year for many teams. Penn State and Wisconsin showed that they are legit to be considered in the top tier of the Big Ten.
Lets take a look at the other teams around the Big Ten that really show it has taken a step forward as far as a power conference.
1)Iowa's defense continued to look strong against a much stronger opponent as they were able to defeat the Cyclones 17-5.
2)Northwestern after barely escaping Duke last week came out and proved they are a better team by beating Southern Illinois 33-7.
3)Michigan State's defense came together to shutout Florida Atlantic 17-0.
4)Minnesota avoids being upset in back to back years by defeating Montana State 35-23. The win moved the Gophers to 3-0 on the season.

While the Big Ten overall showed improvement some things did worry me.
1)The Illini can still not get things together. Although they won their defense still can not stop their opponent. Juice Williams couldn't get the offense going and they just escaped at home versus Louisiana Lafayette 20-17.
2)Michigan yet again proved that they have a long ways to go before they are able to compete in the Big Ten. They committed 6 turnovers and were completely dominated by Notre Dame 35-17. If Michigan hopes to do anything this year they need to limit their mistakes and their defense has to play like it's capable of doing. If their defense has a let up it is going to be a long year because the offense will not be able to carry them.

Although I expected Ohio State to lose to USC their performance was disappointing and was a huge step backwards as far as the Big Ten is concerned. I say this because every year Ohio State is considered the Big Ten's best chance at a National Championship. After being completely dominated in the big game the past two years the Buckeyes showed that if they have a long ways to go before they are playing for a National Championship. They need to start worrying about the Big Ten Championship because after back to back poor performances they need to step up their game or else they won't even be the top team in the Big Ten. It's not the loss to USC that concerns me all that much. It's the fact that they barely escaped Ohio in Week 2 and they were dominated by USC.

To me the Big Ten is a much more competitive conference now than a year ago. The Buckeyes have shown that anyone can play with them and the worst team from a year ago (Minnesota) are 3-0. This should be a long and exciting season in the Big Ten because who knows who will be left standing at the end.