Big Ten Football Power Rankings, Week 6: Michigan Head and Shoulders Above the Rest
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — As crazy as it sounds, the 2023 college football regular season is already halfway finished for a number of Big Ten teams.
That's where we stand entering Week 7 of the season, and here's where every Big Ten football team stands relative to its 13 peers in the conference following the games of Week 6.
1. Michigan (6-0, 3-0 B1G)
Week 6 Result: W, 52-10 vs Minnesota
Week 7 Matchup: Vs Indiana
Michigan might straight up be the best football team in the entire country right now.
Two-time defending national champion Georgia might have something to say about that, but it's hard to look any better than the Wolverines have thus far. Coach Jim Harbaugh's team has won its six games by margins of 27, 28, 25, 24, 38 and 42 points so far this season. Unfortunately for fans of the Hoosiers, another comfortable victory is likely coming for Michigan next Saturday.
2. Ohio State (5-0, 2-0 B1G)
Week 6 Result: W, 37-17 vs Maryland
Week 7 Matchup: @ Purdue
The final score looks great, but everyone saw Ohio State seriously struggle with Maryland for three quarters in Columbus. Granted, Maryland in 2023 has its best team that it has ever fielded during its decade in the Big Ten. But still, that's not a team that should have the Buckeyes on legitimate upset watch throughout a Saturday.
Ohio State remains at No. 2 overall for now, mainly because its win at Notre Dame is more impressive than anything Penn State has done so far, but there's a clear, wide gap between the Buckeyes and their arch rivals in Michigan right now.
3. Penn State (5-0, 3-0 B1G)
Week 6 Result: Bye
Week 7 Matchup: Vs UMass
Penn State didn't play in Week 6 and is playing one of the worst teams in all of FBS during Week 7. But come Week 8, coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions are traveling to Columbus to play Ohio State in arguably the biggest game of the entire 2023 college football season to date.
4. Maryland (5-1, 2-1 B1G)
Week 6 Result: L, 17-37 vs Ohio State
Week 7 Matchup: Vs Illinois
It had to frustrating as a Maryland fan to watch the Terrapins consistently throw away prime opportunities against Ohio State on Saturday. From kicking a field goal from the two-yard line in the first quarter, to botching the clock management on the final drive of the second quarter, coach Mike Locksley's team left a good number of points on the board early on Saturday. Maryland missed its chance to put Ohio State in a deeper hole to clime out of, and the Buckeyes finally woke up and responded come the fourth quarter.
Still, this is a quality Maryland team, and one that should at worst finish the season with a 9-3 record.
5. Wisconsin (4-1, 2-0 B1G)
Week 6 Result: W, 24-13 vs Rutgers
Week 7 Matchup: Vs Iowa
Coach Luke Fickell and his Wisconsin Badgers did not look very impressive during their 24-13 win over Rutgers, though 2023 Rutgers does have a special ability to make any game look miserable. Wisconsin still has all its goals in front of it right now, and hosts Iowa in an early season, de facto Big Ten West division championship next Saturday.
6. Iowa (5-1, 2-1 B1G)
Week 6 Result: W, 20-14 vs Purdue
Week 7 Matchup: @ Wisconsin
See everything written about Wisconsin's win over Rutgers, and it can be applied to Iowa's win over Purdue. The Hawkeyes' offense is still miserable, and yet they're 5-1, and all but guaranteed a Big Ten Championship game berth if they can win in Madison in Week 7.
7. Rutgers (4-2, 1-2 B1G)
Week 6 Result: L, 13-24 vs Wisconsin
Week 7 Matchup: Vs Michigan State
Rutgers has a lot of serious limitations, but did hang in there against Wisconsin and gave Michigan its most serious game of the seasons, even if it still ended in a 24-point loss. Coach Greg Schiano's team needs to beat Michigan State in Week 7 to prove that it belong above the bottom dwellers of the Big Ten, but a 4-2 start for the 2023 Scarlet Knights is as much as anyone could have asked of this team.
8. Purdue (2-4, 1-2 B1G)
Week 6 Result: L, 14-20 vs Iowa
Week 7 Matchup: Vs Ohio State
Needing to finish 4-2 in his last six games to reach a bowl game in his first season at Purdue is not ideal for coach Ryan Walters. Neither is having to play Ohio State in Week 7.
The Boilermakers have some things going for them, and all four of their losses have been to well above average teams. Purdue is very flawed, but its 44-19 win over Illinois is a better victory than most other teams in the Big Ten have to date.
9. Michigan State (2-3, 0-2 B1G)
Week 6 Result: Bye
Week 7 Matchup: @ Rutgers
Following three straight losses and the entire Mel Tucker saga, no team has ever needed a bye as much as the Spartans did in Week 6. Michigan State can't afford a loss against Rutgers in Week 7 if it wants to keep its season on track.
10. Nebraska (3-3, 1-2 B1G)
Week 6 Result: W, 20-7 vs Illinois
Week 7 Matchup: Bye
In one of the more surprising results of the 2023 Big Ten season so far, Nebraska handled Illinois in pretty comfortable fashion on Friday night.
The Cornhuskers' offense is still largely bad, even with the improvement at quarterback in switching to Heinrich Haarberg. However, the Nebraska defense is a great unit and capable of guiding this team to a three more wins and a bowl game berth during the second half of the season.
11. Illinois (2-4, 0-3 B1G)
Week 6 Result: L, 7-20 vs Nebraska
Week 7 Matchup: @ Maryland
Bret Bielema and Illinois just do not have it this year. The schedule has been admittedly brutal to date, and the losses at Kansas and home against Penn State were justifiable. But losing by two scores while at home against 21st century Nebraska just isn't something a Big Ten team should do. Illinois will likely fall to 2-5 next Saturday in College Park as its season slowly slips away.
12. Minnesota (3-3, 1-2 B1G)
Week 6 Result: L, 10-52 vs Michigan
Week 7 Matchup: Bye
If not for Nebraska botching the Week 1 game at TCF Bank Stadium, Minnesota would be 2-4 with little reason for hope. Athan Kaliakmanis continues to look overwhelmed as a starting quarterback (he threw not one, but two pick-sixes against Michigan), and Minnesota still has games against Iowa, Ohio State and Wisconsin on its schedule. The chances the Gophers reach six wins seem bleak at best.
13. Northwestern (3-3, 1-2 B1G)
Week 6 Result: W, 23-20 vs Howard
Week 7 Matchup: Bye
Coach David Braun said in his postgame press conference that every win is a win, no matter how it looks. Northwestern almost blew a 16-point lead to an FCS team on its homecoming, but almost doesn't count in college football.
A betting man would predict Northwestern to lose its next six games and finish 3-9. However, that same betting man also would not have predicted the 'Cats to be 3-3 at this point in the season, so who really knows what happens next?
14. Indiana (2-3, 0-2 B1G)
Week 6 Result: Bye
Week 7 Matchup: @ Michigan
Indiana opened as a 34.5-point underdog against Michigan, and the worst part is that it feels entirely reasonable.
No one expects the Hoosiers to come anywhere close to the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. But Indiana has to show some level of fight against Michigan in order to instill confidence that it can work its way out from the bottom of the conference later in the season.
Related Stories on Big Ten:
- WEEK 6 SATURDAY B1G GAME RESULTS: Nine Big Ten football teams played games on Saturday during Week 6 of the college football season. From Ohio State's comeback win over Maryland, to Purdue nearly stealing one from Iowa in Kinnick, it was another entertaining day of Big Ten football. CLICK HERE
- NEBRASKA 20, ILLINOIS 7: Coach Matt Rhule and the Nebraska Cornhuskers advanced to 3-0 on Friday night in a 20-7 win over coach Bret Bielema and the Illinois Fighting Illini. CLICK HERE