Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

1. Wisconsin (Beat Indiana 45-17, next up Iowa) Slow and steady wins the race.  Actually got to watch them for the first time this year, and I liked what I saw.  The offensive line looked confident, Taylor is a beast at running back, and Hornibrook looks much stronger in the pocket.  The defense is fine.  Now they face perhaps the toughest test of their season.

2. Michigan State (beat Penn State 27-24, next up @Ohio State) The new MSU grinds out wins by throwing the ball 56 times. Suddenly in great position to win the B1G-E with a win over the Buckeyes.  They are still struggling running the ball though.

3. Penn State (Lost to MSU 27-24, next up Rutgers) Through the meat of their schedule.  I haven't looked at the tiebreakers, but a good shot that 4 teams have 1 loss in the B1G-E.  Then what?

4. Iowa (Beat Iowa 55-24, next @Wisconsin) Good ole reliable Iowa suddenly became Team Chaos Iowa.  My reality is shattered.  Can they keep the chaos going next week?

5. Michigan (Beat Minnesota 33-10, next up @Maryland) Really getting the running game going.  A Michigan that runs the ball, plays defense, and throws somewhat efficiently can win out.

6. Ohio State (Lost to Iowa 55-24, next up MSU) Hard to place them now.  Defense looked like it had never seen the I-formation.  Not great when now facing MSU and Michigan.

7. Northwestern (Beat Nebraska 31-24, next up Purdue) Another solid OT win.  Seems like they should be higher with wins over Iowa and MSU, but don't have those teams' big wins.

8. Purdue (Beat Illinois 29-10, next up @Northwestern) Playing Illinois will get you right.  Now need to pull out the stops to get to bowl eligibility and need a win next week.

9. Nebraska (Lost to Northwestern 31-24, next up @Minnesota) Competitive but you don't want to face the Wildcats in OT. 

10. Minnesota (Lost to Michigan 33-10, next up Nebraska) Overmatched, but rowing the boat.  

11. Indiana (Lost to Wisconsin 45-17, next up at Illinois) I see some speed bumps on them, but now they get Illinois for a shot at an actual B1G win.

12. Rutgers (Beat Maryland 31-24, next up @PSU)  It's all gravy for the Scarlet Knights, who are officially not the worst team in the Big Ten.

13. Maryland (Lot to Rutgers 31-24, next up Michigan) They aren't going to get right against Michigan.

14. Illinois (Lost to Purdue 29-10, next up Indiana) Nope

For me the toughest team to place here is Northwestern. I just don't get this team at all.

For me the toughest team to place here is Northwestern. I just don't get this team at all.

This week might be the most confused I have ever been about these power rankings.  
Two weeks ago I thought Penn State was a pretty obvious #1.  Since then the Nittany Lions are 0-2.  It would be simple to move the teams that beat them up but those two teams each lost their other game in the last two weeks.  That does two things:

• It makes Penn State's losses look even worse, and
• It makes those two teams' rankings very suspect.  

At this point I think Wisconsin is #1.  They finally looked like #1 against Indiana and everybody else has cleared the way for them.  After that though, I just don't know.  As I see it there are five teams with an argument for #2 and I'll decide between them later:

• Ohio State:  For:  Blowout wins over bad teams, win over PSU; Against: Blowout loss to Iowa, barely beat Penn State.  
• Michigan State:  For:  Wins over PSU and M; Against: Loss to NU, relatively close wins over MN and IU.  
• Penn State:  For:  Both losses were competitive and to good teams, blowout wins over NU, M, and IU; Against:  two losses.  
• Northwestern:  For:  Wins over Iowa and MSU, close loss to UW; Against:  blowout loss to PSU, three wins in OT.  
• Iowa:  For:  Blowout win over tOSU, all three losses were competitive and to other teams in the mix;  Against:  three losses and barely beat Minnesota.  

You could put those five teams in any order and I wouldn't have much of an objection.  

Ok seriously, where did THAT Iowa team come from that blew out OSU 55-24?  This is the same team that barely beat Minn 17-10 the week before and routinely plays 17-10 games.  A 21-pt dog that beat Ohio State by 31 points!  It has to be one of the mist bizzare upsets in Big Ten history!  Do you write it off as a fluke  or a sign of how the teams are trending?  Time will tell.

Same question that I have and you came up with the same answer:  If Wisconsin and Ohio State win next weekend then I think I'll treat the Iowa/Ohio State result as just one of those things.  Crazy upsets happen but are not necessarily indicative of how good teams are.  On the other hand, if Iowa and Michigan State win next weekend then I'll probably move Iowa to #1 and put Ohio State down around #5-6.  

Who would you favor on neutral ground right now over everyone else?  Wisconsin?  Really?

I THINK the lines would have OSU/PSU/MSU all favored over Wisky in Indy by 3-4-5 points.

I don't know what to make of Ohio State right now though.  They had me believing.  

Of course, if OSU played Iowa tomorrow, I think OSU would be favored also.

I realize the lines are not everything, but I'd take all three over Wisconsin in what probably would be an "ugly" game.

3. I haven't looked at the tiebreakers, but a good shot that 4 teams have 1 loss in the B1G-E.  Then what?

That is not mathematically possible this season because all teams except MSU and tOSU already have two.  A four-way tie at 8-1 isn't mathematically possible anyway because only three teams can go 1-1 against each other.  
I assume you meant four teams at 7-2.  That is possible if:

• Penn State wins out (vRU, vUNL, @UMD)
• Michigan wins out (@UMD, @UW, vtOSU)
• Ohio State beats MSU and Illinois.  
• Michigan State otherwise wins out (vUMD, @RU)

Ohio State wins that tie because the Buckeyes would be 2-1 in the H2H2H2H (wins over PSU and MSU, loss to Michigan).  MSU would also be 2-1 (wins over M and PSU, loss to tOSU).  PSU and M would each be 1-2.  That H2H2H2H would thus eliminate the Wolverines and Nittany Lions leaving it between the Buckeyes and Spartans and Ohio State wins based on H2H.