Big Ten S&P+ Rankings after Week 4:
2. Ohio State
5. Penn State
6. Michigan
12. Wisconsin
18. Michigan State
31. Iowa
44. Indiana
45. Purdue
60. Northwestern
61. Maryland
64. Minnesota
73. Nebraska
102. Illinois
118. Rutgers
Observations:
2. Ohio State
5. Penn State
6. Michigan
12. Wisconsin
18. Michigan State
31. Iowa
44. Indiana
45. Purdue
60. Northwestern
61. Maryland
64. Minnesota
73. Nebraska
102. Illinois
118. Rutgers
Observations:
- Michigan's demolition of Nebraska did wonders for its advanced profile. U-M jumped four spots from #10 to #6 and is just a smidgen behind #5 Penn State. The top four teams are, to no one's surprise, Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Georgia, but if you're looking for a team to crack the core, S&P+ believes that Michigan is a team to keep an eye on.
- Further, Michigan's S&P+ percentile rose to 95.9%. This is noteworthy because SB Nation's Bill Connelly, who oversees S&P+, published an article last week stating that teams 95th percentile or better should be defined as playoff-caliber teams. After last weekend, S&P+ considers seven teams to be playoff-caliber teams. Michigan is now one of those teams. Of course, two other teams in the Wolverines' division (Ohio State and Penn State) are as well.
- Michigan's offense is now 24th in S&P+. It's still early in the season, but the Wolverines have not finished better than 38th in Offensive S&P+ under Jim Harbaugh, which was in 2015.
- Indiana tumbled out of the Top 25 after squandering its chance to knock off Michigan State in Bloomington. It's interesting to see that the Hoosiers, which are 3-1, are just one spot ahead of Purdue, which is 1-3. Their records may be vastly different, but S&P+ sees them as equals.
- Maryland skies 20 spots up to #61 after blasting Minnesota. We're going to spend the rest of the season wondering how the Terrapins were whipped by Temple at home. It is going to be one of the most WTF result of the season, right behind Virginia Tech losing to Old Dominion.
- Nebraska has played only three games and already has injury issues at quarterback, but the humiliation the Huskers suffered in Ann Arbor may not be contained to just one game. S&P+ now ranks them as the third-worst Big Ten team. This is looking more like Year 0 for Frost.
- Rutgers remains Rutgers.
