Around the Big Ten: Who stood out after Week 1 of the college football season

With four new teams in the Big Ten — and the conference up to 18 programs total — there are more and more games that can change the landscape of college football.

Each week we’ll take a glance around the conference to see who stood out.

Let’s take a look at what happened in the first full week of the season — one that saw the Big Ten win 17 of its 18 games.

Player of the week

USC QB Miller Moss: The conference will announce its own player of the week, but this was a tough call for me among Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith and two Penn State offensive standouts — QB Drew Allar and WR Tre Wallace — until Moss stole the show in a big-time matchup Sunday night. Moss went head-to-head with LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier and came out on top with some clutch throws down the stretch. He and the Trojans were down 17-13 with less than seven minutes left in the game, but the USC signal caller took over from there. He hit on two big plays in the ensuing three-play drive, including a perfectly placed touchdown pass to wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane to take the lead.

He then accounted for 39 more yards on the team’s game-winning drive that ended with a touchdown and less than 10 seconds on the clock to seal the 27-20 win for USC. Moss finished with 378 yards and a touchdown on 27-of-36 passing to earn himself the nod as the best player in the conference.

Play of the week

USC WR Kyron Hudson makes an impossible catch: There may not be a better catch this season than the one Hudson made early in the second quarter against LSU. He pulled down a one-handed grab between two LSU defenders on a ball that was behind him and required him to fully extend himself just to get his fingers on it. Hudson finished the game with five catches for 83 yards.

Top five

1. Ohio State: A slow start against Akron in a 52-6 win isn’t enough to knock the Buckeyes off the perch — especially when the team they were projected at the top of the conference with struggled even more. Ohio State’s offense is going to be what dictates just how good the team will be this year, with the defense set to be among the best in the country. Quarterback Will Howard played well against the Zips, but I’m still a skeptic that he’ll be a good enough passer when it matters most. For now, the rest of the roster is more than enough to keep them at the top.

2. USC: The best win of the weekend is enough to give USC the second spot, due in large part to how the Trojans beat LSU. The program’s defense was the punchline of more than a few jokes last season, and Sunday night it came out and got stops, made plays and did enough against an offense that could be one of the best in the country and a quarterback in Nussmeier that is highly thought of. The Trojans will need more than just one good defensive performance to prove they can be a legit conference title contender, but this week was a great start.

3. Penn State: The second-best win of any Big Ten team goes to Penn State after its 34-12 victory over West Virginia in Morgantown that was split down the middle by a 139-minute weather delay that started at halftime. The Nittany Lions came into the year with the opposite issue the Trojans had — an offense that couldn’t do enough to win important games. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki showed off his creativity with his play design, using plenty of motion and different personnel packages to create an advantage, to give reason to believe this season will be different for Penn State.

4. Oregon: The next two teams didn’t live up to the expectations in their season opener, but there wasn’t any team that stood out enough to push them out of the top five. Oregon played a tight game against Idaho, winning 24-14, that could more easily be attributed to bad luck and an off day rather than fundamental issues with the team. The Ducks moved the ball well for the most part, but were unable to finish drives and struggled to convert in key situations. That being said, I still firmly believe this team will be fighting for a Big Ten title and will end up making the College Football Playoff.

5. Michigan: The Wolverines were potentially in for a letdown season after winning the national title, and that looks like it could be the case. They defeated Fresno State 30-10, but their offensive issues could spring up later this season in big matchups. Davis Warren won the quarterback competition and was underwhelming in the opener against the Bulldogs, but so was star running back Donovan Edwards. The Wolverines should still be on the periphery of the playoff conversation for most of the season, but will have to improve offensively to bump up into the top group.

Next five: Iowa, Washington, Nebraska, Rutgers, Wisconsin