Big Ten Power Rankings: Looking like Buckeyes vs. Wildcats in Big Ten championship
Rob Oller1. Ohio State (4-0): Buckeyes claim the top spot in the East, but Justin Fields lost Heisman mojo after throwing three interceptions against Indiana. And that pass defense? Ouch. (Last week: 1)
2. Indiana (4-1): Hoosiers rallied from 35-7 down to come within seven points of sending the comeback effort to overtime. It’s rare to put a scare into the Buckeyes. (LW: 2)
3. Northwestern (5-0): The Fighting Rece Davises shut down Wisconsin and shut up Joey Galloway for the double-win. The Wildcats are the team to beat in the West. (LW: 4)
4. Wisconsin (2-1): Meeting room message this week: Don’t be so generous. The cancellation of this week's game against Minnesota presents extra time to work on ball security. The Badgers had five turnovers in a 17-7 loss to Northwestern. (LW: 3)
5. Iowa (3-2): Five games in and the Hawkeyes, who began 0-2, are early favorites for comeback team of the year. Up next: Nebraska. The comeback tour continues. (LW: 5)
6. Maryland (2-1): Only in the woeful Big Ten could a team sit out two weeks in a row due to COVID-19 and not drop in the rankings. (LW: 6)
7. Purdue (2-2): Call this a make-up for what the game officials did to the Boilermakers by blowing a PI call that likely cost the black and gold a victory against Minnesota. (LW: 8)
8. Minnesota (2-3): Normally, the Golden Gophers would be ranked ahead of the team they just defeated (Purdue) but there is such a thing as justice being served. (LW: 10)
9. Illinois (2-3): The Illini throttled Nebraska so badly that wise guys are calling the Huskers the Rutgers of the West. (LW: 11)
10. Michigan (2-3): When Jim Harbaugh raves about the Wolverines showing grit in beating Rutgers in triple overtime, it may be time to rethink life goals. (LW: 9)
11. Rutgers (1-4): Take a deep breath — in unison, the way Greg Schiano is coaching his players to do in pressure situations — and repeat after me: The Scarlet Knights actually are not that bad. (LW: 12)
12. Nebraska: (1-3): Things don’t look so great on the Plains. In fact, they look plain awful. The question becomes, if not Scott Frost, then who? (LW: 7)
13. Michigan State: (1-3): The best that can be said about the Spartans is they did not lose to Maryland over the weekend. (Psst, because the game was canceled). (LW: 13)
14. Penn State (0-5): Last but not least. Make that last with the least. The Nittany Lions have become the Not Any Lions. All roar. No bite. (LW: 14)
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