The Big Ten power rankings will be published weekly throughout the regular season using a mix of data-driven insight and unapologetic subjectivity. With 18 teams, nine conference games and wild variations in the quality of non-conference schedules, comparative analysis is an inherently flawed approach. Which is fine, because the Hotline hasn’t been wrong about anything in at least 90 minutes.

(Review last week’s Big Ten rankings here.)

Penn State’s James Franklin went there on his own, just as USC’s Lincoln Riley and Oregon’s Dan Lanning had done 10 days earlier. The unequal preparation time, the long flights, the early kickoffs, the late kickoffs — it’s all verbiage in the playbook for Big Ten coaches unhappy with various aspects of the conference schedule.

Washington’s Jedd Fisch? He

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