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Week 10 B1G Power Rankings: There’s a new No. 1, but what about the rest?
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When the No. 1 and No. 2 teams play, it does my job for me.
The winner of the Penn State-Ohio State game was going to earn No. 1 on this list. Period.
But the rest of the B1G Power Rankings forced me to get a little creative. There aren’t head-to-head matchups to determine all of these rankings.
So keep that in mind as you disagree with all of them:
14. Illinois (LW: 14)
Illinois actually covered the spread! Hooray for that! Unfortunately for the Illini, the Wisconsin loss didn’t cover the fact that it dropped to 0-5 in B1G play, and it’ll likely be a double-digit underdog in each of its remaining four games.
13. Minnesota (LW: 13)
Another close loss for the Gophers. One has to wonder where this team would be at if it had a star quarterback. Surely you can say that about a lot of teams, but man, they could easily have three more wins right now. Minnesota will likely be the underdog in each of its four remaining matchups, too. Yikes.
12. Indiana (LW: 10)
Sooner or later, it’s not just about having a difficult schedule. For the first time all year, IU lost a game in which it was favored to win. Clearly, the Hoosiers are still learning how to win. Losing three straight division games by one possession stings, especially for a team that’s striving for bowl eligibility. IU will have to beat Illinois, Rutgers and Purdue if it wants to clinch a postseason berth.
11. Rutgers (LW: 12)
I would’ve been really interested to see the Knights play 60 minutes against John O’Korn. I actually think Rutgers could’ve kept it within one possession or even pulled off the upset. But Brandon Peters’ emergence squashed any notion that Rutgers could do that. Still, though. It’s hard not to be impressed with how Chris Ash’s team responded coming off the Ohio State drubbing.
10. Purdue (LW: 8)
I hear ya. Two weeks ago, I was all in on the Boiler bandwagon. Now, it’s a lot roomier. Another crushing loss dropped Purdue to 1-4 in B1G play and 3-5 overall. Go figure that it came in a game in which the Boilers surrendered just 40 rushing yards. What’s the good news? Every game remaining on Purdue’s schedule is winnable. A bowl berth is still very much a possibility in Year 1 of the Jeff Brohm era.
9. Nebraska (LW: 11)
There haven’t been many games like that in the Mike Riley era. It felt like the Huskers stole one in West Lafayette. Thanks to a monster performance from Tanner Lee, Nebraska rallied late and beat an improved Purdue team. Sure, the losses to Ohio State and Wisconsin told the story, but Saturday was a nice morale boost for a team that’s still hopeful it can get to seven wins.
8. Maryland (LW: 9)
Let’s be clear. Maryland shouldn’t have been a home underdog against Indiana. I argued that last week and fortunately, Saturday’s result confirmed that. And while it’s been such and up and down season for the Terps, they’re sort of at the exact place we thought they’d be at entering November. They still will need to beat Rutgers and upset either Michigan, Michigan State or Penn State just to gain bowl eligibility. Welcome to life in the B1G East.
7. Iowa (LW: 7)
Against a one-dimensional Minnesota offense, the Iowa defense played exceptionally well. One has to give the Hawkeyes credit for that. But with the exception of that increasingly-better Iowa State win, where are the quality victories for Iowa? Their two conference wins came at home against the last ranked teams on this list. By the way, the Hawkeyes have two upcoming matchups with top-five teams. A 2-5 start to conference play looks like an all too real possibility.
6. Michigan (LW: 5)
I know a lot of Michigan fans will question why they could drop a spot after winning a game by 21 points. It was more about what Northwestern did in upsetting Michigan State than anything else.
The good news for Michigan is that it has a chance to look like a different team down the stretch with Brandon Peters under center. It certainly looked like a vastly improved offense against Rutgers after the redshirt freshman entered the game. The Wolverines are out of the division race, but with that defense and potentially some offensive life, they can be plenty dangerous.
5. Northwestern (LW: 6)
Just like last year, the Wildcats looked like a much better team in October than they were in September. Knocking off Michigan State certainly stirred the B1G East pot. Three straight wins have the Cats on the rise. Their four remaining games are against teams with a combined record of 5-15 in B1G play. Don’t be surprised if the Cats sneak into the top 25 by season’s end.
But why aren’t they ranked ahead of MSU after Saturday’s victory? I base these rankings on which team I’d pick to win a neutral site game played tomorrow. Right now, I’d still give that edge to the Spartans.
4. Michigan State (LW: 4)
Well, MSU’s run of one-possession wins was fun while it lasted. On the road, the Spartans couldn’t keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. It’s amazing to me that I waited until the day before Halloween to type that sentence. MSU’s second loss certainly complicated its path to a B1G East title, especially with the Penn State showdown looming. We’ll get a good feel for just how far MSU has come in the next two weeks.
3. Wisconsin (LW: 3)
Blah. Losing Jonathan Taylor hurt, but not as much as seeing Alex Hornibrook struggle again. Even though Wisconsin improved to 5-0 in B1G play, Hornibrook threw an interception in his fifth straight game and the aerial attack was lackluster at best. The Badgers do not look like a team that’s playing its best football heading into the home stretch. If Taylor misses any time, there are legitimate questions about Wisconsin’s offense and if it can rally from a deficit if and when that time comes.
2. Penn State (LW: 1)
Well, somebody was going to get revenge on Saturday. It happened to be the home team that did it. The loss certainly complicated Penn State’s path to defending its B1G championship, and the Lions no longer have control of their own destiny to a College Football Playoff spot. And to think, the Lions were THAT close to possibly going into the first Playoff poll as America’s top team. But for now, all Penn State can do is dominate the rest of its schedule and hope that OSU collapses. Right now, the latter doesn’t look too promising.
1. Ohio State (LW: 2)
J.T. Barrett played the game of his life on Saturday. There’s no other way to say it. As a result, Ohio State’s B1G Championship and Playoff hopes are still very much alive. The question now becomes, are the Buckeyes putting the wheels in motion to win it all again?
It’s obviously far too early to answer that question. One bad performance in Iowa City and that all goes away. But if Barrett plays like he did down the stretch against a dominant Penn State defense, the Buckeyes ain’t slowing down anytime soon.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.