Big Ten Football Power Rankings Week 6
The Big Ten football season is now past the halfway point after five weekends of action and the quality teams (and the bad ones) have begun to separate themselves. After last weekend's de facto Big Ten semifinal games, Ohio State and Northwestern are in firm control of their respective divisions and appear to be headed towards a Big Ten title game for the second time in three season.
Penn State and Michigan continue to have struggle. The rest of the league has been a coin flip this year. Any team on any given Saturday right?
Here are our power rankings heading into this weekend's games, in reverse chronological order:
14) Penn State (0-5)
For all of the great history with Nittany Lions football, it's amazing that this is the first time they've ever been 0-5 to start the year. Saturday's game against Michigan could be very interesting - it's winnable, but they have had very little to hang their hat on this season.
13) Nebraska (1-3)
Nebraska lost to Illinois at home for the first time in 96 years. 96. years. And then Illinois trolled them on social media after the game. Their win over Penn State is perhaps their only bright spot this year. Luke McCaffrey had a really tough game on Saturday. The Huskers could turn their season around with a win at Iowa this weekend.
12) Rutgers (1-4)
Is Rutgers the best 1-4 team in the country?! While that's a little sarcastic, part of me feels that they're better than the third worst team in the conference this year. They're capable of beating just about every team in the league, which is something that hasn't been said in years. But as the saying goes, you are what your record says you are. Michigan gift-wrapped that game on Saturday and the Knights just couldn't finish it off.
11) Michigan (2-3)
Michigan needed triple overtime to beat Rutgers. They lost to a terrible Michigan State team at home and suffered embarrassing losses to good Indiana and Wisconsin teams. This might be Jim Harbaugh's worst team yet and it looks like Joe Milton may not be their best option at QB anymore.
10) Michigan State (1-3)
Their win at Michigan raised some eyebrows, mostly because they opened the season with an ugly loss to Rutgers. Unfortunately, since beating the Wolverines, MSU was pounded by both Iowa and Indiana before their Maryland game was cancelled. Their schedule doesn't get any easier with back-to-back games against Northwestern and Ohio State the next two Saturdays.
9) Illinois (2-3)
The Fighting Illini are riding high off a really nice showing at Nebraska on Saturday. But things are far from good in Champaign. CoVID has wrecked their locker room this year and they've started four quarterbacks in five games. Lovie Smith's team had a massive upset win last year over No. 6 Wisconsin, but I don't see them repeating that feat with the Buckeyes in town this weekend.
8) Minnesota (2-3)
Minnesota feels like a very middle-of-the-pack team to me right now, which is far from what I expected in the preseason. I absolutely expected them to be in the thick of a Big Ten West Division title race. After getting smoked by Michigan on opening night and losing a stunner to Maryland, they've won two of their last three games. Can they keep it going against Wisconsin and Northwestern the next two weeks?
7) Purdue (2-2)
Considering what happened last weekend, you could convince me that Minnesota is better than Purdue. They lost that game on a poor call and there's really no doubting that. They also dropped a game to Northwestern and didn't have a chance to play Wisconsin. They have good moments and bad moments. I can't in good conscience rank them higher, but I suppose they're better than the teams previously mentioned.
6) Maryland (2-1)
The Terps game with the Buckeyes was cancelled because of CoVID, which was a real shame because I think a lot of people would've liked to see how they fared in their biggest test of the season. But after a terrible loss to start the year, Maryland won back-to-back games and haven't played since then. They've got a tough test coming with Indiana on Saturday. We'll find out if they're ready for a bigger stage.
5) Iowa (3-2)
Iowa's brutal start to the season had Hawkeye fans in a bad place mentally. After an offseason filled with program turmoil, they opened with two really tough losses in games they felt they should have won. Give credit where it's due - three straight convincing wins since then and perhaps the season isn't lost after all. They would need some serious help, but it's still possible for them to win a conference title. Not sure I thought I would say that after their 0-2 start.
4) Wisconsin (2-1)
Oh what could have been. I really think Wisconsin could have had a helluva year and maybe give Ohio State a good game in Indianapolis. But the CoVID disruption seems to have thrown them out of rhythm and while it's still possible for them to qualify for the championship game, it's pretty unlikely. They didn't play well against Northwestern at all on Saturday. They're a heavy favorite over Minnesota on Saturday and look to rebound quickly.
3) Northwestern (5-0)
The "Fighting Rece Davises" are having a great season.
Seriously though, this program has ridden one heck of a roller coaster the last few years. 2018 was fantastic, followed by a stunning terrible record last year. They are the biggest surprise in the conference this year and if they don't play in the conference championship game, something went terribly wrong the next couple weeks.
2) Indiana (4-1)
I was so impressed with the way Indiana kept swinging on Saturday at Ohio State. Michael Penix is legit and Ty Fryfogle is having a fabulous season. Tom Allen's group played the Buckeyes tough and I think the perception around their program is changing nationally. Throw in a great season-opening OT win in Happy Valley and good offensive showings in their other three wins ... I think the Hoosiers could absolutely finish the year 8-1.
1) Ohio State (5-0)
Ohio State continues to be the measuring stick in the conference and the toughest games on the schedule look like they're in the rear view mirror. The Buckeye are 4-touchdown favorites this weekend and will likely be heavy favorites the next two weeks. A Big Ten championship game appearance is all but a certainty now.
