THIS IS A WEEKLY BIG TEN POWER RANKINGS, by Luke Maiers
What did we learn this weekend in the Big Ten? If you are an Iowa, Illinois or Wisconsin fan, this past weekend gave you high blood pressure. If you are an Ohio State, Michigan State or Nebraska fan, your confidence is sky high. Finally, the Big Ten is still the strongest conference in all of college football. Let’s get to this weeks rankings:
1. Ohio State: Calling out a defense that has not allowed a touchdown all year is dumb. What makes it more dumb was that it came out of the mouth of the Sooners BACKUP quarterback! Baker Mayfield had to have been thinking, “Crap, I wish second string wouldn’t have said that.” Baker Mayfield and the Sooners have been more likely than not, eliminated from the College Football Playoffs. This Buckeyes team is their best team I have seen in a while, and I believe that Ohio State is on the same level that Alabama is.
2. Michigan: Michigan ultimately got the win, but they did have a scare. Colorado managed to roll up 28 points and keep it a close game for all sixty minutes. Penn State comes to Ann Arbor this weekend to get Big Ten play kicked off. I expect for the Wolverine’s defense to reappear and take one away from the Nittany Lions.
3. Michigan State: I’ll admit it, I have disrespected the Spartans for most of the year, but that win over Notre Dame was pretty damn impressive. It almost looked like a completely different team than the one that kept the game close against Furman in week one. I should give the Spartans a hand shake for taking down the Fighting Irish, and like Oklahoma, eliminating them from the College Football Playoffs.
4. Wisconsin: The Badgers had the third most disappointing performance of the week, although they won. An 0-2 Georgia State team gave the Badgers everything they could handle. Granted, they did not have their star running back Corey Clement, but this offense looked borderline miserable. Badgers versus the Spartans next week, so like this weeks rankings, their should be a lot of movement.
5. Nebraska: The Cornhuskers went duck hunting this weekend and came back with a big haul of some good tasting duck meat. Last week I predicted that Nebraska would be on the climb, and my prediction was correct. It was not quite the shootout that some people thought it would be but it was an impressive win regardless. With this signature win, the Cornhuskers jump up all the way to #20 in the AP Poll.
6. Iowa: *Cracks Busch Light* Yikes. I haven’t been that depressed since last year’s Big Ten Championship Game, but I give all the credit in the world to North Dakota State. They outplayed Iowa in every part of the game. Let’s get real though, NDSU should be an FBS team. They are constantly taking down good football programs, plus there is no one consistently close to their level in their current division. The Hawkeyes have Rutgers this weekend, so they should bounce back just fine.
7. Minnesota: The Gophers were on a bye this week, so they will see no movement. Colorado State is coming to town this weekend, so barring an upset, they will stay in their current position.
8. Indiana: Don’t laugh at me but a sneaky good game to watch this upcoming weekend will be Indiana versus Wake Forest. Both of these teams are coming in undefeated, and a win for either of these team could be a resume booster. Since the Illini are struggling, the Hoosiers jump them in this week’s rankings.
9. Penn State: Temple is not a quality win. Especially when you only win by seven points. The Nittany Lions have their hands full this weekend with a trip to Michigan. This one has the potential to get ugly. I mean really ugly. Like when your dancing at the club and they turn the lights on ugly. As you can tell, I do not have much confidence in Penn State this weekend.
10. Illinois: If I was an Illinois fan, I would still be drinking from their last game against Western Michigan. It got ugly early and the Broncos never looked back. Lovie’s defense has looked lackluster in their last two games and their offense has been subpar. I had sky-high confidence in Illinois after week one, but since then, it has been a downward spiral. Illinois catches a break this week with a favorable matchup against no one. Enjoy the bye week Illini fans and sober up.
11. Maryland: Maryland is 3-0? That is kind of an odd thing to see, but they have not played very good opponents. The Terrapins will go into their bye undefeated. If you were to tell their fans that they would go into their break with a perfect record, I would bet you would hear no complaints.
12. Purdue: Purdue is coming off of a bye and I have no idea what to think about their upcoming game against Nevada. I literally do not know a thing about this Nevada team, but if Purdue wins, it will be a quality win. I label it as that because Boilermaker football takes every win they can get.
13. Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights are about .500 which is a refreshing sight, but their next game against Iowa could be rough. Iowa will come to Rutgers pretty frustrated at themselves for playing pretty crappy against North Dakota State. Then again, maybe Iowa will come in flat and Rutgers can pull off the huge upset.
14. Northwestern: Hey, welcome to the win column Northwestern. Maybe Duke is going to have a down year, or maybe the Wildcats will bounce back. I’ll take the first part of that last sentence, though. Northwestern has Nebraska this weekend, so this could be yet another ugly game for the Big Ten.