A few surprises last week that shook up the power rankings, though some things (sigh, OSU) remain the same. Usually this is more fun to examine paths to the Big Ten Championship, but it looks like we are almost guaranteed to be seeing Ohio State vs. Northwestern.
- Ohio State - The Buckeyes fended off a valiant effort from the Hoosiers to remain unbeaten and would now need to drop 2 of their last 3 in order to not make it to Indy. With games against MSU, Illinois and Michigan, you can just write them in for the Big Ten Title game now.
- Northwestern - The Wildcats are a surprising 5-0 after handling Wisconsin relatively easily. With Wisconsin basically eliminated from the Big Ten race due to not playing enough games, the Wildcats need just one win in their final three to get to Indianapolis. Smart money says they get it this weekend vs MSU.
- Indiana - Despite the loss to OSU, the Hoosiers showed they belonged with a solid effort that made it much closer than the experts expected. The Hoosiers get a well rested Maryland this week that could be a tough hangover game.
- Iowa - The Hawkeyes have won three straight and despite having more losses than Wisconsin, just looked better this last week which is why they get the nod here. They have Nebraska this week and should win their 4th in a row.
- Wisconsin - As good as the Badgers looked against Michigan, they looked just as bad vs Northwestern this week. They'll get another week off with Minnesota taking a covid bye before taking on Indiana followed by Iowa. With no chance for the conference championship it will be interesting to see how focused they are for their last two games.
- Maryland - The Terps return after a two week hiatus vs Indiana. At 2-1 they technically still have a shot at the division title, but would need OSU to drop two games. It will be interesting to see how they match up with the surprisingly good Hoosiers.
- Illinois - At 2-3 the Fighting Illini aren't very good. But, they have won two straight which is more than can be said for anyone else ranked below them. Even if the wins are Rutgers and Nebraska. They'll come back to earth this weekend vs Ohio State.
- Michigan - Yes, Michigan is only 2-3. Yes, they are one missed FG from being 1-4 and on a 4 game losing streak. But the only options here are Purdue and Minnesota. Purdue is on a two game losing streak and Michigan beat Minnesota. Michigan gets a chance to get back to .500 vs 0-5 Penn State. Needless to say, a loss might be worse than losing at Rutgers.
- Purdue - The Boilermakers started with two solid wins over Iowa and Illinois but have faded the last two weeks losing to Northwestern and Minnesota. The Boilermakers take on Rutgers this week and have a good chance to get to 3-2.
- Minnesota - The Gophers got their second win vs Purdue but will not be able to play for Paul Bunyan's ax vs Wisconsin this week due to covid. They'll have Northwestern next but given that most teams that have to suspend operations for one week end up sitting out two, its likely they'll miss that game too.
- Rutgers - The Scarlet Knights are one missed field goal from being 2-3 and holding the State of Michigan championship (alongside Indiana). Michigan eeked out the win though and now they will try to rebound this weekend vs Purdue. Schiano has the team playing better, even if the record doesn't show it.
- Michigan State - The Spartans sit at 1-3 after a covid bye for Maryland. The next two weeks are division leaders Northwestern and Ohio State, setting a potential 1-5 vs 0-7 season finale vs Penn State. The Michigan loss to MSU continues to look worse and worse.
- Nebraska - The Scott Frost experience is not going well in Lincoln. An 18 point loss to Illinois is flat out embarrassing. They travel to Iowa this weekend and I wouldn't expect them to win. They'll look to salvage the rest of their season with games vs Purdue and Minnesota to finish up. A 3-4 finish wouldn't be horrible I suppose.
- Penn State - For as much attention as Michigan gets for being "broken", nobody seems to know what is going on in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions are 0-5 after a 41-21 beatdown loss to Iowa. They head to Ann Arbor this week to play a potentially rejuvenated Michigan.
