CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big Ten => Topic started by: LittlePig on October 20, 2024, 06:13:52 AM
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Well, i feel there are 3 serious contenders for #1 and that does not include Penn St.
1. Oregon - follows up big win over Ohio St with a dominat victory over Purdue.
2. Ohio St - Does OSU really already have 2 bye weeks already? OSU has dominated all its game except for it's 1-point loss at Oregon.
3. Indiana. - Indiana's victory over Neb was so impressive, I seriously thought about putting Indiana #1. Indiana has not trailed for 1 second in any single game this year. The only thing missing is a win over one of the big boys.
4. Penn St - undefeated but struggled 2 weeks ago to win against a not so great USC in OT
5. Wisconsin - 3 strong victories in a row after a slow start. The only question I have is how did they lose so badly to USC early in the season?
6. Mich St - only 2 losses in conference are to OSU and Ore. Mich St surprisingly dominated both the offensive and defensive lines against Iowa. MSU is a dangerous team that looks much better after it's first bye week. MSU has a good coach and a young QB with superstar potential. The next question is can they win consistently.
7. Illinois - solid win over Mich but other 2 Big Ten wins were in OT.
8. Iowa - Iowa's defense this year does not appear to be as good as past years, which is a problem, because the offense can not carry this team when the defense struggles.
9. Washington - previous wins over Mich and NW don't look so impressive now.
10. Michigan - 2 losses already and they still have to play Ore, Ind and OSU.
11. Minnesota - 2 wins over USC and UCLA and 2 losses to Mich and Iowa.
12. Nebraska - they really looked bad against Ind. Neb's only conference wins are over Rut and Pur.
13. USC - is USC the new Nebraska?They seem to find a lot of ways to blow close games in 4Q. But it's not all bad. USC has an early win against Wisc.
14. NW - laid an egg against Wisc but still MD 2 weeks ago.
15. MD - Dont fire Mike Locksley just yet.
16. UCLA - picks up its first Big Ten victory on the road at Rutgers.
17. Rutgers - Rutgers has flat out fallen apart after a decent start early in the season.
18. Purdue. - after a surprisingly close OT loss to ILL 2 weeks aga, Purdue returned to be the same awful team we knew they were against Ore.
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1. Oregon
2. Penn State
3. Ohio State
4. Indiana
5. Illinois
6. Wisconsin
7. Michigan State
8. Iowa
9. Washington
10. Michigan
11.Minnesota
12.Nebraska
13. Maryland
14. Northwestern
15. Rutgers
16. USC
17. UCLA
18. Purdue
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1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Penn State
4. Indiana
5. Illinois
6. Wisconsin
7. Michigan State
8. Michigan
9. Iowa
10. USC
11. Washington
12. Nebraska
13. Minnesota
14. UCLA
15. Maryland
16. Northwestern
17. Rutgers
18. Purdue
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1. Oregon
2. Penn State
3. Ohio State
4. Indiana
5. Illinois
6. Wisconsin
7. Michigan State
8. Iowa
9. Washington
10. Michigan
11.Minnesota
12.Nebraska
13. Maryland
14. Northwestern
15. USC
16. UCLA
17. Rutgers
18. Purdue
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(https://i.imgur.com/YVIuMxq.png)
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How is Medina going to find the time to sort out all of the plausible tiebreakers this November?
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I'm going to guess USC ends up around fifth in the final conference rankings, probably behind the usual, OSU, Oregon, Penn State, and maybe Indy.
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I'm going to guess USC ends up around fifth in the final conference rankings, probably behind the usual, OSU, Oregon, Penn State, and maybe Indy.
Just want to double-check. You're talking about the team that is currently is 1-4 in the conference and just lost to MD? I guess it's possible USC finishes in 5th if they win their final 4 games and about 5 different teams tie for 5th place with 5-4 records. It's probably more likely USC finishes 4-5 and finishes around 10th I would guess.
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If I tried to guess at final conference records, I would guess
1. Oregon 8-1 (will lose @Wisc)
2. Ohio St 8-1 (already lost @Ore)
3. Indiana 8-1 (will lose @OSU)
4. Wisconsin 7-2 (already loss @USC, will lose @Iowa)
5. Penn St 7-2 (will lose @Wisc, vs. OSU)
6. Illinois 7-2 (already lost @PSU, will lose @Ore)
7. Iowa 6-3
8. Mich St 5-4
9. Washington 4-5
10. Michigan 3-6
11. Nebraska 3-6
12. Minnesota 3-6
13. UCLA 3-6
14. USC 3-6
15. NW 2-7
16. MD 2-7
17. Rutgers 2-7
18. Purdue 0-9
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good luck with the guessing
guessing last weekends games wouldn't have gone well
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good luck with the guessing
guessing last weekends games wouldn't have gone well
It didn’t
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1)Ducks won big
2)PSU haven't lost and went west and won
3)Bucks had them here last week and they didn't lose
4)Hoosiers making a statement over what was a solid 'Skers team
5) Illini - beat M at home and left some points on the field
6) Badgers find out if Luke has righted the ship with the Ninnies coming in
7)'Skers lost so I kept them there
8)Iowa lost so I kept them there
9)Huskies - they lost to iowa - big
10) Spartans - because they beat Iowa and I like them
It's called the Big Ten,the rest will have to come on up
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(https://i.imgur.com/USuCx6X.png)
the top 5 are pretty good
the bottom 3 or 4 are pretty bad
the 10 or so in the middle are tough to judge
bad wins, bad losses and such
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How is Medina going to find the time to sort out all of the plausible tiebreakers this November?
The interesting thing is that there is still a mathematical chance for 3 teams to finish undefeated, since Oregon, Penn St and Indiana do not play each other.
BUT Ohio St can probably clear most of that up because it still has to play both PSU and Indiana.
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poor Buckeyes
the conference schedule makers did them dirty
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From the outside looking in:
1. OSU
2. Oregon
3. PSU
4. Indiana
5. USC
6. Illinois
7. Wisconsin
I probabyl forgot somebody.
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From the outside looking in:
1. OSU
2. Oregon
3. PSU
4. Indiana
5. USC
6. Illinois
7. Wisconsin
I probabyl forgot somebody.
Only 11 teams. It's OK. Heh.
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How is Medina going to find the time to sort out all of the plausible tiebreakers this November?
Therapy or Toga would be my guess
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I don't think the other 34 teams matter really. :)
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1. Ohio St
2. Oregon
3. Penn St
4. Wisconsin
5. Illinois
6. Indiana
7. Iowa
8. Mich St
9. Washington
10. Michigan
11. Nebraska
12. USC
13. Minnesota
14. UCLA
15. NW
16. MD
17. Rutgers
18. Purdue
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Some good things happening this week--making this as tough as ever. Mine is a "power ranking" not a conference standings.
1) Ohio State -- I'm sticking with my "long distance travel is hard" theory.
2) Penn State -- No game, no movement.
3) Oregon -- I know, they beat Ohio State. Respectable road win over bad Purdue.
Hmmmm
4) Ok, Indiana, you've got me...for now. Is Nebraska any good? This team is averaging over 48 points per game. Washington comes to Indiana this week, which is hard on the Huskies. Very curious.
5) Illinois: I'm surprised, but that's a quality win over Michigan, and a win over Nebraska, and a not embarassing loss at Penn State. Looks legit (to be towards the top of the also rans).
6) Do I put Wisconsin here? I don't know, man. Beating the teams you're supposed to beat is underrated. The offense can't miss opportunities like it has each of the last three weeks if it hopes to stay competitive with Penn State. And that USC beat down looks worse and worse, even if it was a long trip.
7) Michigan State? I guess. Quality win over Washington; losses to Ohio State and @ Oregon are excusable. BC? It was on the road. Ok, sure.
8) Iowa: because I don't know where else to put them. Dead center of the conference looks as good as anything.
9) USC: 1-4 in conference. How!?! Long distance travel is hard. Is it that hard? Regardless, this team has some athletes that can punish teams. Still...1-4!?! (And how are the Badgers that one?)
10) Michigan: this doesn't look right. Neither do those two consecutive losses.
11) Washington: that loss @ Rutgers looks bad. So does the bad loss @ Iowa. Travel is hard.
12) Minnesota: best win is over 1-4 USC. Steamrolled at home by a mediocre Iowa?
13) Nebraska: best game is a close loss to Illinois? Game against UCLA might be their best chance to go .500.
14) Northwestern: stomped on Maryland on the road.
15) UCLA: it's not just that they finally got a win. Winning as far away as New Jersey is worth something, and looking at the rest of their schedule--which has been tough--the home loss to Minnesota is the only real blemish.
16) Rutgers: the win against Washington is losing its shine. The win at VaTech is still pretty solid.
17) Maryland: at this point in the rankings, the win against USC is worth something.
18) Purdon't.
I really think at the end of this season, all of the ADs are going to be talking about how they can fix the travel problem (PS: they can't).
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SP+
1. OSU
5. Oregon
6. PSU
12. Indiana
20. Wisconsin
23. Iowa
24. Michigan
26. USC
27. Washington
32. Nebraska
42. Minnesota
45. Illinois
52. Maryland
58. Rutgers
72. MSU
73. Northwestern
70. UCLA
89. Purdue
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SP+ remains the lowest metric on MSU. I think it has been all season
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Updated SOR/SP+ CFP bracket
- #12 Boise State at #5 LSU; winner vs. #4 BYU
- #11 Alabama at #6 PENN STATE; winner vs. #3 Miami
- #10 Texas at #7 Tennessee; winner vs. #2 OREGON
- #9 Iowa State at #8 Texas A&M; winner vs. #1 Georgia
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Last week in parentheses...
- PENN STATE (1) - bye week
- OHIO STATE (2) - bye week
- OREGON (3) - handled business
- INDIANA (4) - ok, now here based on merit, not just hypothetically being great
- WISCONSIN (6) - appear to have righted the ship, but they also possibly played the 3 worst teams in the conference in a row
- ILLINOIS (7) - loved the uniforms as a once off, but please don't make them an annual thing
- WASHINGTON (9) - throw #7 through #14 in a mixer
- IOWA (5) - road game night loss, it happens
- NEBRASKA (8) - by the end of the year that loss may be fine
- MICHIGAN STATE (14) - per ESPN, they've played the hardest schedule in the conference
- MICHIGAN (11) - if Will Johnson is out, this is too high
- MINNESOTA (13) - bye week
- MARYLAND (16) - didn't see that coming
- USC (10) - major, major issues
- RUTGERS (12) - probably should have lost to Washington, and have totally collapsed since
- UCLA (17) - see Maryland
- NORTHWESTERN (15) - sucks they move to Wrigley now
- PURDUE (18) - well for a half it seemed like maybe they had fixed some things
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Last week in parentheses...
- MICHIGAN (11) - if Will Johnson is out, this is too high
i don't even think it needs to be with Will Johnson out. This team is not good. Poorly coached and has gotten arguably worse as the year has gone out from lack of discipline.
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How is Medina going to find the time to sort out all of the plausible tiebreakers this November?
I tackled a little bit of it here (https://www.cfb51.com/big-ten/b1gcg-race-after-week-8/).
It is going to be weird because there are so many games not played. Looking at the six teams with less than two losses:
- Indiana doesn't play four: Ore, PSU, IL, UW
- Illinois doesn't play three: IU, UW, tOSU
- Wisconsin doesn't play three: IU, IL, tOSU
- Oregon doesn't play two: IU, PSU
- Penn State doesn't play two: IU, ORE
- Ohio State doesn't play two: IL, UW
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From a Buckeye Board:
"Too bad Oregon doesn’t get Indiana this year. Yeah I know. Can’t believe I typed that with a straight face"
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I tackled a little bit of it here (https://www.cfb51.com/big-ten/b1gcg-race-after-week-8/).
It is going to be weird because there are so many games not played. Looking at the six teams with less than two losses:
- Indiana doesn't play four: Ore, PSU, IL, UW
- Illinois doesn't play three: IU, UW, tOSU
- Wisconsin doesn't play three: IU, IL, tOSU
- Oregon doesn't play two: IU, PSU
- Penn State doesn't play two: IU, ORE
- Ohio State doesn't play two: IL, UW
Assuming they are just creating a tv program, makes sense. You give the predicted top teams the most marquee games, the predicted worst team (of this group) the fewest, and put the two teams in between right there
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Assuming they are just creating a tv program, makes sense. You give the predicted top teams the most marquee games, the predicted worst team (of this group) the fewest, and put the two teams in between right there
This is a hilarious and spot on take on it. Yes, they are just "creating a tv program".
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Curious if anybody has looked at the tiebreaker in the Big Ten if Oregon, PSU, Indiana finish undefeated. Who would go to the Big Ten CCG?
The first tiebreaker is head to head, which won't count. The 2nd tiebreaker is record against common opponents, which also won't help since all 3 are undefeated. In fact, I know all 3 will eventually play Ohio St, which means all 3 will eventually beat OSU, which once again does not help.
After that my head starting spinning and I gave up. I figure odds are Ohio ST will beat at least one of them anyway
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Curious if anybody has looked at the tiebreaker in the Big Ten if Oregon, PSU, Indiana finish undefeated. Who would go to the Big Ten CCG?
The first tiebreaker is head to head, which won't count. The 2nd tiebreaker is record against common opponents, which also won't help since all 3 are undefeated. In fact, I know all 3 will eventually play Ohio St, which means all 3 will hypothetically beat OSU, which once again does not help.
After that my head starting spinning and I gave up. I figure odds are Ohio ST will beat at least one of them anyway
Sorry, I know the batphone is going off in medina's cave, as soon as this gets posted.
It's cumulative conference winning percentage of opponents. So my guess is that makes it Oregon vs. PSU
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I find it easier to wait and see
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Massey Composite Computer Rankings - 74 rankings (last week in parentheses)
- OREGON (2)
- OHIO STATE (3)
- Georgia (9)
- Texas (1)
- Miami (8)
- PENN STATE (6)
- INDIANA (11)
- BYU (7)
- Notre Dame (10)
- Alabama (4)
- Iowa State (5)
- Tennessee (14)
- Kansas State (12)
- LSU (18)
- Clemson (17)
- Texas A&M (13)
- SMU (15)
- Ole Miss (16)
- Boise State (19)
- Missouri (20)
- Pittsburgh (22)
- Washington State (-)
- Colorado (-)
- ILLINOIS (-)
- South Carolina (-)
- 26. Wisconsin (33)
- 34. Iowa (21)
- 36. USC (28)
- 39. Nebraska (31)
- 41. Michigan (25)
- 48. Washington (43)
- 50. Maryland (59)
- 52. Michigan State (69)
- 53. Minnesota (51)
- 65. Rutgers (56)
- 72. Northwestern (65)
- 78. UCLA (89)
- 109. Purdue (110)
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Curious if anybody has looked at the tiebreaker in the Big Ten if Oregon, PSU, Indiana finish undefeated. Who would go to the Big Ten CCG?
The first tiebreaker is head to head, which won't count. The 2nd tiebreaker is record against common opponents, which also won't help since all 3 are undefeated. In fact, I know all 3 will eventually play Ohio St, which means all 3 will eventually beat OSU, which once again does not help.
After that my head starting spinning and I gave up. I figure odds are Ohio ST will beat at least one of them anyway
Sorry, I know the batphone is going off in medina's cave, as soon as this gets posted.
It's cumulative conference winning percentage of opponents. So my guess is that makes it Oregon vs. PSU
LoL.
I started to tackle it here (https://www.cfb51.com/big-ten/b1gcg-race-after-week-8/). @ELA (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=55) is right, it would come down to cumulative conference winning percentage of conference opponents because everything ahead of that would be tied. I didn't actually start running the math but it seems like a pretty safe bet given Indiana's relatively easy schedule that they'd lose so, as noted above, probably Oregon vs PSU.
To dig a little deeper, I made this chart of opponents. I included the 1-loss teams but I'll focus down on the three undefeated squads next, here is the chart:
(https://i.imgur.com/pQ1jZ7E.png)
Side note:
Notice that Purdue plays all six of the teams currently 2-1 or better in the B1G. That just sucks for the Boilermakers. They aren't very good so they'd struggle anyway but it just is a mess for them that six of their nine league opponents are the contenders.
I listed the teams (across the top) in order of current record so the more "1's" you have to the left the tougher your schedule and the better your tiebreaker odds. The more "1's" you have to the right the easier your schedule and the worse your tiebreaker odds. Indiana only plays one team (tOSU) that is currently over .500 in the league. By comparison, Oregon, Penn State, and Ohio State play three each while Illinois and Wisconsin play two.
For the three undefeated teams, tOSU, UWash, UMD, UCLA, and PU are common opponents. Additionally, none of the three play each other, Iowa, or Rutgers. The common opponents and the teams that none of them play can be ignored. Here is what is left:
(https://i.imgur.com/YK9RnYS.png)
To have any chance of winning that tiebreaker, the Hoosiers would need the Cornhuskers and Wildcats to catch fire.
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That's awesome analysis Medina! Thanks so much. I loved that breakdown of the 3 undefeated teams.
I guess in addition to needing Neb and NW to catch fire, Indiana needs ILL and Wisc to start losing.
I don't know how you did it, but that's pretty simple to understand.
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a Husker upset saturday would be FIRE!
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a Husker upset saturday would be FIRE!
I am rooting for ILL to upset Oregon, because that would be chaos!
But that would at least solve the problem of possibly having 3 undefeated teams at end. (and create a whole new possible problem of having a whole bunch of one loss teams tie for first place if OSU also beats Ind and PSU later)
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I root for ANYONE against Oregon.
I'd root for China against Oregon.
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That's awesome analysis Medina! Thanks so much. I loved that breakdown of the 3 undefeated teams.
I guess in addition to needing Neb and NW to catch fire, Indiana needs ILL and Wisc to start losing.
I don't know how you did it, but that's pretty simple to understand.
Thanks.
I am rooting for ILL to upset Oregon, because that would be chaos!
But that would at least solve the problem of possibly having 3 undefeated teams at end. (and create a whole new possible problem of having a whole bunch of one loss teams tie for first place if OSU also beats Ind and PSU later)
FWIW, this seems simpler because H2H solves it. Your assumptions:
- Illinois upsets Oregon and wins out to finish 8-1.
- Ohio State wins out (including beating PSU and IU) and finishes 8-1.
- After losing this weekend to IL, Oregon wins out and finishes 8-1.
- Penn State loses to Ohio State but otherwise wins out and finishes 8-1.
- Indiana loses in Columbus on 11/23 but otherwise wins out and finishes 8-1.
So there are five 8-1 teams and all others have at least two losses (Wisconsin is currently 3-1 but in this scenario they would lose to both PSU and Ore).
H2H amongst the five 8-1 teams:
- 2-1 Ohio State: Beat PSU and IU, lost to Ore
- 1-1 Oregon: Beat tOSU, lost to IL.
- 1-1 Penn State: Beat IL, lost to tOSU.
- 1-1 Illinois: Beat Ore, lost to PSU.
- 0-1 Indiana: Lost to tOSU.
H2H is the first tiebreaker so the Buckeyes win, get the #1 seed, and will wear home jerseys in the B1GCG.
Except, no they don't because the fine print states that H2H only prevails if one team defeated all the others so we move on to the next step:
Record against all common conference opponents:
- The only conference opponent common to all five is Purdue whom each would have defeated so move on to:
Record against the next highest placed common opponent:
- This obviously doesn't help either so move to:
Best cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents:
So we are back where we started except that now we have five teams involved. Purdue is a common opponent of all five so we can ignore them and look at each teams' other eight opponents. With these five that involves all 18 teams in the league (17 after eliminating PU since they all played PU) so here it is:
(https://i.imgur.com/IPp4mDD.png)
Just eyeballing it, it *LOOKS* to me like this favors Ohio State because the Buckeyes have IU, Ore, and PSU while none of the others have three of the 8-1 teams. Ohio State also has decent Iowa, Michigan, MSU, and UNL teams and their only really bad opponent is NU which in any case is a common opponent with IL and IU. My guess for 2nd would be Oregon over PSU because I *THINK* Michigan and MSU are better than MN and USC but that could be close.
Then the B1G tiebreaker procedures get a little weird. It states "After the head-to-head competition among the tied teams, if a tiebreaker step produces standings with a clear No. 1 team by itself among the tied teams, that team is selected for the championship game and the remaining teams still in contention revert to the beginning of the applicable tiebreaker procedures (e.g., if there are three teams, the No. 1 team is in the championship game and the other two teams go to the first step of the two-team tiebreaker procedures; if there are four teams, the No. 1 team is in the 1 championship game and the other three teams go to the first step of the three-team tiebreaker procedures, etc.). "
I read that to mean that tOSU is in the B1GCG and the other four revert to the multi-team tiebreaker but without tOSU (or is IU excluded since they lost on the original H2H?). If you look at H2H WITHOUT tOSU in this scenario:
- 1-0 Penn State: beat IL
- 1-1 Illinois: beat Ore, lost to PSU
- 0-0 Indiana: DNP PSU, IL, nor Ore
- 0-1 Oregon: lost to IL.
If I'm reading that right, it helps PSU and hurts Oregon because it takes away PSU's H2H loss and Oregon's H2H win so PSU goes to the B1GCG to play tOSU. If anybody else (lawyers like @ELA (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=55) @MaximumSam (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=1572) @MarqHusker (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=41) ?) wants to read the tiebreaker and tell me what you think, here is the link:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://assets.contentstack.io/v3/assets/bltca750cef518bc6e4/blt2bf0c27b5714240c/66cc95d319b683cdf2088edf/2024_Big_Ten_Football_Tiebreaker_-_FINAL[10][72].pdf
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That's some great stuff. Some thoughts
The H2H tiebreaker was always confusing to me because it's not clear to me if all the tied teams have to play each other. From Medina's post, it sounds like they have to all play each other, except in the case where one team has beaten all the other teams they are tie with. So that's good to know.
In my proposed scenerio with all the teams with 8-1 records tied fir first, I did not intentionally want to leave Wisconsin out, but I guess that's how it worked out. I guess somebody had to lose at least twice.
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In my proposed scenerio with all the teams with 8-1 records tied fir first, I did not intentionally want to leave Wisconsin out, but I guess that's how it worked out. I guess somebody had to lose at least twice.
I picked Wisconsin to lose because I thought you were looking for "maximum chaos". If Wisconsin wins out that gives PSU and Oregon each a loss but PSU plays tOSU and Oregon plays Illinois so the maximum number of 8-1 teams is only three:
- Wisconsin
- PSU or tOSU
- Ore or ILL
With Wisconsin losing that creates the potential 5-way tie scenario that I outlined above.
That's some great stuff. Some thoughts
The H2H tiebreaker was always confusing to me because it's not clear to me if all the tied teams have to play each other. From Medina's post, it sounds like they have to all play each other, except in the case where one team has beaten all the other teams they are tie with. So that's good to know.
In my proposed scenerio with all the teams with 8-1 records tied fir first, I did not intentionally want to leave Wisconsin out, but I guess that's how it worked out. I guess somebody had to lose at least twice.
The wording of the tiebreaker seems unnecessarily convoluted and I don't really understand the purpose. In the scenario above where tOSU is 2-1, three teams are 1-1, and Indiana is 0-1 why wouldn't you advance the Buckeyes, drop the Hoosiers, and move to the next step with the Ducks, Lions, and Illini?
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Tiebreaker will be determined by Fox...
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I picked Wisconsin to lose because I thought you were looking for "maximum chaos". If Wisconsin wins out that gives PSU and Oregon each a loss but PSU plays tOSU and Oregon plays Illinois so the maximum number of 8-1 teams is only three:
- Wisconsin
- PSU or tOSU
- Ore or ILL
With Wisconsin losing that creates the potential 5-way tie scenario that I outlined above. The wording of the tiebreaker seems unnecessarily convoluted and I don't really understand the purpose. In the scenario above where tOSU is 2-1, three teams are 1-1, and Indiana is 0-1 why wouldn't you advance the Buckeyes, drop the Hoosiers, and move to the next step with the Ducks, Lions, and Illini?
Yes, maximum chaos and a 5-way tie for first place was the perfect choice. Thank you again. You are the best.
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Tiebreaker will be determined by Fox...
So, Michigan-Ohio State, excellent!
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So, Michigan-Ohio State, excellent!
Nah, they'll probably pick Georgia / Texas. It's not like most viewers know who's in the (or not in) the B1G these days anyway... :57:
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Nah, they'll probably pick Georgia / Texas. It's not like most viewers know who's in the (or not in) the B1G these days anyway... :57:
FOX, not the WWL
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Matt McMaster has released his latest set of Big Ten Football Power Rankings.
18. Purdue (1-6, 0-4 Big Ten)
Purdue Boilermakers defensive back Antonio Stevens (11) celebrates a call.
17. Rutgers (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten)
This program's fall from grace is insane. Nothing is working for the Scarlet Knights. The defense went from being one of the best in the nation to giving up 35 points against one of the worst teams in the country. Somehow, some way, Rutgers went from being undefeated at 4-0 to being on the verge of being bowl ineligible.
16. Northwestern (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten)
Jack Lausch went back to being Jack Lausch this week. The defense played well against a Wisconsin offense that was humming coming into this game. The Cats, impressively, held them to 23 points but you can’t expect much from this team when the offense is as inconsistent as they are.
15. UCLA (2-5, 1-4 Big Ten)
I’m not overly surprised by the Bruins' upset over Rutgers. Throughout the season, UCLA showed the ability to stay competitive with teams like LSU, Penn State, and Minnesota. A win like this was more so when and not if. They caught a faltering Rutgers team at the right time and laid the offensive hammer on them. It was a good win and a step in the right direction for Deshaun Foster's program.
14. USC (3-4, 1-4 Big Ten)
I’m simply done buying into the USC Trojans. This is an incredibly talented team that does not know how to close games against teams, regardless of how talented their opponent is. That is a very long and very nice way of calling this team an absolute fraud.
13. Maryland (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten)
This was more of a USC loss than a Maryland win, but kudos to the Terrapins for sticking around long enough for USC to implode.
12. Washington (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten)
Huskies lost the bye week after the team that embarrassed them (Michigan) got embarrassed by a team that sat at the bottom of these very accurate, prestigious power rankings.
11. Iowa (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten)
What a letdown week for the Hawkeyes. Coming off of a dominating win against the Washington Huskies, I thought they would do the same thing against Michigan State. Boy, was I wrong. The Iowa offense was dormant, only running 20 plays and accumulating five punts in the first half. Playing behind in the second half, they were forced to throw the ball way more than they’d prefer as Cade McNamara's arm once again proved it was not good enough to dig the Hawkeyes out of a hole. As soon as the Hawkeyes were turning the corner on the year, they crashed into a telephone pole.
10. Michigan State (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten)
The defense played incredibly well, and Aiden Chiles had his best game as a spartan in his very young career. I’m more inclined to chalk this up as an Iowa loss than an MSU win, but you cannot deny the result. The Spartans entered this game as a six-point underdog and won by 12 points.
9. Michigan (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten)
They got bullied up front by Illinois on both sides of the ball. I never thought I’d type that sentence, but the edge this program played with a year ago seemingly disappeared, along with the talent on this team. But thanks to the insane turmoil this week provided, they stay in the top 10.
8. Nebraska (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten)
The Big Red were out-coached and out-played by the Indiana Hoosiers. It was an embarrassing loss in THE biggest game of the Matt Rhule era. In a matter of 60 minutes, the Huskers went from potential CFP contenders to potential fraud watchers.
7. Minnesota (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten)
In a turbulent week of football, Minnesota enjoys its bye and remains unscathed in the rock em’ sock em’ sock-robot league that is the Big Ten.
6. Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten)
I said it last week, but this midseason turnaround from the Wisconsin Badgers is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen all year. I completely counted out the Badgers after Miami Transfer QB Tyler Van Dyke went down with an injury against Alabama. But Luke Fickell, Phil Longo, and backup QB Brayden Locke are thriving, Wisconsin is on a three-game win streak with a point differential of +101. I went on the radio and said, “Luke Fickell is giving me Scott Frost vibes.” That might be the worst take of my career.
5. Illinois (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten)
Another week, another signature win for Brett Bielema’s group. It was astounding to see the Illini beat Michigan at their own game. They ran the ball down their throats and held the Wolverines to less than 10 points for the first time since 2014. They move down a spot because Indiana is the real deal, but they’ve put themselves in a prime place to be in the college football playoff and a win this week against Oregon will all but guarantee that.
4. Indiana (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten)
Windiana is for real. Curt Cignetti is a shoo-in for national coach of the year, and Kurtis Rourke is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. I predicted them to beat the Huskers but did not expect them to dismantle them in the manner they did. Nebraska boasted a legitimate top-20 defense in the country, and Indiana hung 56 points on them. This offense, this coach, this quarterback, and this team are absolutely for real.
3. Penn State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten)
Bye week for the Nittany Lions. Hopefully, Penn State has had enough time from their near-upset loss to the USC Trojans and is ready for a challenging game on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers.
2. Ohio State (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten)
A bye week for the Buckeyes was much needed after an emotional loss against the now No. 1 team in the country. Ohio State will look to bounce back as it takes on a Nebraska Cornhuskers team reeling after an embarrassing loss to the Indiana Hoosiers.
1. Oregon (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten)