YOUR 2015 LESS-EARLY BIG TEN POWER RANKINGS: POST-WEEK 6

The weekly power rankings post is usually one in which I try to analyze (as best I can), what has been going on with every Big Ten team over the last week. Of course, if it's a continuing trend, I will also discuss games further back than the past week. Additionally, I also try to discuss the future when possible. Overall, I think I focus more on the past, but I would say there is a bit of a balancing act to it.

I continue that trend today down below, but up here, in the introduction, I want to talk about the upcoming week 7 match ups. This Saturday is a pretty significant Big Ten slate of games for both divisions. First of all, the game nearest and dearest to our hearts here at BHGP is Iowa and Northwestern essentially playing for the Big Ten West title. Of course it's not the actual title game this early in the conference season, but if Iowa wins, Northwestern falls into that dangerous two-loss category, while Iowa has a leg up on everyone else in the West. If Northwestern wins, of course, they will jump into a tie for first place in the division, that could muddy things up even more if Wisconsin and Minnesota win this weekend.

Meanwhile, the East still has four unbeaten teams in conference play. That has to change this weekend, seeing how each unbeaten is facing off against another. Making it even better is the fact that Michigan and Michigan State are in-state rivals, and Ohio State and Penn State have a history of playing some great games. Michigan and Ohio State are clearly the favorites in both of these games, but Michigan State's offense is probably the best Michigan's faced all year and Penn State's defense may be able to keep it close against an inconsistent, turnover-prone Ohio State offense. On top of the race for the East, even the Indiana-Rutgers game could be fun, assuming Jordan Howard and Nate Sudfeld are able to play this weekend.

In all, this should be a huge, if not entertaining, Saturday of Big Ten football. Get excited, you guys.

Now, before we get into the rankings, I will remind you that the preseason projections for all teams are no longer included in the ratings. Rutgers was the last team to reach five games this season, so this will be the first week with totally 2015 season numbers for every team. And, if you would like a reminder on how THOR+ works, read the second paragraph in this post.

Now, to the power rankings!

Big Ten Power Rankings Post-Week 6

Rank	Team	Coach	Offense+	Defense+	Special Teams+	THOR+	PPG vs. Avg.	PPGA vs. Avg.	W% vs. Avg.	W vs. Avg.
5	Michigan	Jim Harbaugh	104	175	155	139	32.8	11.7	0.819	9.8
21	Iowa	Kirk Ferentz	110	150	81	128	34.2	18.5	0.729	8.8
27	Ohio State	Urban Meyer	122	130	99	125	36.9	22.4	0.709	8.5
39	Wisconsin	Paul Chryst	87	143	142	116	28.3	19.1	0.639	7.7
42	Nebraska	Mike Riley	105	123	102	113	32.9	24.3	0.621	7.4
46	Northwestern	Pat Fitzgerald	55	167	127	110	20.3	14.2	0.597	7.2
47	Penn State	James Franklin	84	136	112	110	27.4	21.1	0.594	7.1
49	Michigan State	Mark Dantonio	113	108	77	109	34.5	27.9	0.587	7.0
50	Illinois	Bill Cubit	82	137	101	109	27.2	21.4	0.585	7.0
72	Minnesota	Jerry Kill	58	142	98	99	20.5	20.0	0.510	6.1
86	Maryland	Mike Locksley	98	79	143	91	31.3	33.9	0.450	5.4
87	Rutgers	Kyle Flood	94	82	145	90	30.6	33.5	0.445	5.3
90	Purdue	Darrell Hazell	90	92	51	89	28.2	31.6	0.438	5.3
92	Indiana	Kevin Wilson	87	82	122	86	28.5	33.6	0.413	5.0

1. Michigan #5, 139 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
56	Michigan	Jim Harbaugh	86	109	106	130	104	28.6

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
2	Michigan	Jim Harbaugh	169	141	96	149	175	8.6

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
3	Michigan	Jim Harbaugh	124	4.2	186	3.2	155

Like it or not, Michigan is the legitimate hot topic of discussion in college football right now. They are riding a streak of 3 straight shutouts over FBS teams -- granted, none of those teams are offensive juggernauts, but even the best of defenses allow field goals from time to time. Somehow, though, with Northwestern's defense falling from the top spot, Michigan remains #2, as Boston College has taken the crown for top-ranking defense in the country, according to THOR+. Michigan's is still scary good, though, and likely a unit that we should label "elite." THOR+ -- and just about every other rating system -- is high on the Wolverines right now, and Michigan State has taken a tumble in recent weeks. After being considered a double-digit underdog before the season started, the Wolverines opened up this week as a touchdown favorite over the Spartans. (THOR+ is clearly taking the over.) Michigan is also currently 10:1 to win the National Championship, for you gambling gurus out there.

Up Next: vs. #49 Michigan State

Game Watch Rating: 78

Win Probability: 83%

Projected Score: Michigan 32, Michigan State 12

2. Iowa #21, 128 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
42	Iowa	Kirk Ferentz	120	109	125	109	110	30.2

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
10	Iowa	Kirk Ferentz	119	127	127	113	150	14.3

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
98	Iowa	Kirk Ferentz	109	4.0	54	4.1	81

It's pretty hard to over exaggerate how big the game this weekend is. The Hawkeyes are 6-0 and have one of the easiest schedules they've ever been given in front them. Northwestern is 5-1 and also playing the best football they've played in years, thanks largely to a stifling defense. The game is in Evanston and the Hawkeyes are beat up in a lot of key positions that really worry me. Besides the huge losses of Drew Ott to Iowa's defense and Tevaun Smith to Iowa's passing game, I'm also concerned about the current health of the offensive line. C.J. Beathard has not had a lot of time to throw the ball in three out of the last four weeks, and he likely will be on the move, outside the pocket this weekend if he wants to throw anything resembling a deep ball. But if Iowa can regularly hit on their quick passes in the face of pressure and they can keep Beathard mostly upright and intact, I think they are the more complete team and should win this game. But, as we all know, Pat Fitzgerald has worked some crazy black magic in past years and I really hope that another quest for a perfect season isn't stopped at the hands of the Wildcats.

Up Next: at #46 Northwestern

Game Watch Rating: 144

Win Probability: 57%

Projected Score: Iowa 14.3, Northwestern 13.7

3. Ohio State #27, 125 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
27	Ohio State	Urban Meyer	100	116	60	113	122	33.3

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
32	Ohio State	Urban Meyer	155	108	107	104	130	18.8

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
74	Ohio State	Urban Meyer	64	3.5	133	3.5	99

The Buckeyes are a hard team to figure out. Their turnover and efficiency problems on offense have been well-documented, but lately their defense has been a bit questionable. It started by struggling with a Jordan Howard/Nate Sudfeld-less Indiana offense that Penn State just held to 7 points for four quarters, and continued in week 6 by allowing Maryland quarterback Perry Hills (Perry freaking Hills!) to hit on a 52-yard touchdown pass and run for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns on 25 carries. Of course, the Buckeyes beat the Terps by 21, but after watching Zander Diamont scamper for 98 yards and a touchdown the week prior, Ohio State fans are wondering if the Buckeye defense has an issue with running quarterbacks? Luckily for them, outside of Minnesota's Mitch Leidner, there aren't a whole lot of mobile quarterbacks left on their schedule; especially this week's quarterback, Christian Hackenberg. It could be something to keep in mind come bowl season, though.

Up Next: vs. #47 Penn State

Game Watch Rating: 123

Win Probability: 70%

Projected Score: Ohio State 28, Penn State 18

4. Wisconsin #39, 116 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
86	Wisconsin	Paul Chryst	100	95	138	120	87	24.2

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
15	Wisconsin	Paul Chryst	129	106	92	113	143	15.8

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
10	Wisconsin	Paul Chryst	111	4.0	173	3.3	142

Wisconsin was in real jeopardy of losing in Lincoln this past weekend, but a strong second half performance by Joel Stave against Nebraska's terrible pass defense and a redeeming second field goal try for Raphael Gaglianone were enough to deliver another schadenfreude-esque (?) loss for Nebraska. Wisconsin games aren't pretty to watch this year, but with a strong defense and a cushy schedule all that matters is the Badgers continue to win. That also shouldn't be an issue this week.

Up Next: vs. #90 Purdue

Game Watch Rating: 86

Win Probability: 75%

Projected Score: Wisconsin 31, Purdue 16

5. Nebraska #42, 113 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
51	Nebraska	Mike Riley	106	124	87	119	105	28.8

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
37	Nebraska	Mike Riley	65	119	58	106	123	20.4

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
69	Nebraska	Mike Riley	120	4.1	84	3.9	102

Nebraska is 2-4 and Husker fans are spontaneously combusting (comments section) from sheer outrage. As you all know, Nebraska is a perennial powerhouse and winning results are expected. Unfortunately, winning results do not usually happen when your secondary can't stop a Joel Stave-led passing attack and your coach willingly runs the ball up the gut three straight times to give the Badgers -- against your terrible secondary, no less -- another shot at moving into field goal range. But, hey, at least Wisconsin didn't have any timeouts left. That's something.

Up Next: at #72 Minnesota

Game Watch Rating: 141

Win Probability: 54%

Projected Score: Nebraska 20, Minnesota 18

6. Northwestern #46, 110 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
124	Northwestern	Pat Fitzgerald	79	96	132	107	55	15.8

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
5	Northwestern	Pat Fitzgerald	142	117	110	114	167	10.4

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
22	Northwestern	Pat Fitzgerald	155	4.5	99	3.8	127

Fresh off a 38-0 complete thumping at the hands of Michigan, Northwestern has to bounce right back this weekend if they want to stay in the chase for the Big Ten West. Of course, I would be totally cool with them not bouncing back, but I imagine Pat Fitzgerald will have his team ready for Iowa.

The defense is the biggest strength for this Wildcat team, of course, and they really haven't shown many weaknesses this season. Even in their loss to Michigan, two of the touchdowns given up were not allowed by the defense. Iowa's offense is much improved this season, but injuries have really crippled them (literally) recently and that favors the Wildcats. Of course, Iowa's defense isn't exactly chopped liver (even without Drew Ott) and Northwestern's offense is... well, chopped liver might be an apt comparison here. Running back Justin Jackson is talented, but it's hard for him to do much when the passing game can't keep the opposing defense from crowding the line of scrimmage before every snap. As long as Iowa can take care of the ball, they should be able to pull out a relatively low-scoring affair. At least, that's what I'm hoping, anyway. This game scares the hell out of me.

Up Next: vs. #21 Iowa

Game Watch Rating: 144

Win Probability: 43%

Projected Score: Northwestern 13.7, Iowa 14.3

7. Penn State #47, 110 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
91	Penn State	James Franklin	86	102	152	69	84	23.5

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
24	Penn State	James Franklin	146	100	131	140	136	17.4

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
43	Penn State	James Franklin	99	3.9	124	3.6	112

Penn State played their most complete game of the season against a depleted Indiana squad this past Saturday. As a result, they jump this week after beating the Hoosiers 29-7. That's the second time this year they've jumped inside the top 50 after beating a bad team (Rutgers was the first occurrence). Like last time, I don't expect that to last very long (although, I could very easily be wrong) after they play Ohio State this weekend. Penn State's defense may be good enough to hold Ohio State to something like the 28 points that THOR+ is calling for, but I seriously question whether Penn State's offense can muster 18 points against the Buckeye defense. The Nittany Lions could only muster 10 points against the only actual defense with a pulse they've played this season (Temple), and haven't exactly set the world ablaze against the other terrible defenses on their schedule. Maybe they can if Saquon Barkley can get healthy for this game, but I'm still skeptical.

Up Next: at #27 Ohio State

Game Watch Rating: 123

Win Probability: 30%

Projected Score: Penn State 18, Ohio State 28

8. Michigan State #49, 109 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
39	Michigan State	Mark Dantonio	132	85	167	112	113	30.9

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
54	Michigan State	Mark Dantonio	106	92	117	116	108	24.0

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
101	Michigan State	Mark Dantonio	76	3.7	78	4.0	77

The Spartans continue to win, but continue to do so by slim margins against bad teams. Injuries continue to be the main culprit for these close games, but there are some big issues aside from injuries. First of all, the secondary continues to show that it is a liability when the other team has a star receiver, like Leonte Caroo. Secondly, Dantonio's special teams units continue to make multiple mistakes per game. Special teams mistakes can be overcome against bad teams, but they can be the difference between winning and losing games against talented foes, like Michigan and Ohio State. Speaking of which, the Spartans travel to Ann Arbor this week. In 6 games this year, Michigan State has yet to face a legitimate defense. This will be a huge test for Connor Cook and the rest of the Michigan State offense.

Up Next: at #5 Michigan

Game Watch Rating: 78

Win Probability: 17%

Projected Score: Michigan State 12, Michigan 32

9. Illinois #50, 109 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
95	Illinois	Bill Cubit	91	86	125	115	82	23.0

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
23	Illinois	Bill Cubit	124	111	101	117	137	17.4

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
70	Illinois	Bill Cubit	132	4.2	70	4.0	101

Illinois has a bye in week 7. Therefore, I will also take a bye in discussing them.

Up Next: Bye Week

10. Minnesota #72, 99 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
120	Minnesota	Jerry Kill	78	93	86	114	58	16.6

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
19	Minnesota	Jerry Kill	134	119	99	95	142	16.2

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
75	Minnesota	Jerry Kill	100	3.9	96	3.8	98

Hey, so Minnesota's offense finally found the "explosive plays" section of the playbook this past Saturday against Purdue. Of course, 41 points against lowly Purdue does not mean Minnesota's offense is suddenly fixed. The Gophers still have no passing game to speak of, which places a crap-ton of pressure on a running game that hasn't done a whole lot this year. Shannon Brooks was the star against the Boilermakers, but he's a true freshman and he hasn't done anything against actual competition yet. Minnesota's final 6 games come against Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Currently, THOR+ has the worst defense of those teams being Nebraska, who THOR+ has at #37 in the country. I personally think Nebraska's defense is a little worse than that, but I do think they are bad match up for Minnesota this weekend. The Huskers have actually been strong against the run this year, while their weakness has come via the pass. Again, Mitch Leidner doesn't scare anyone with his arm. My point with this diatribe? Minnesota's offense may work against Purdue, but it will likely struggle for air against the remainder of their schedule.

Up Next: vs. #42 Nebraska

Game Watch Rating: 141

Win Probability: 46%

Projected Score: Minnesota 18, Nebraska 20

11. Maryland #86, 91 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
67	Maryland	Mike Locksley	32	130	0	102	98	27.0

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
99	Maryland	Mike Locksley	71	104	71	112	79	30.5

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
9	Maryland	Mike Locksley	132	4.2	154	3.4	143

Randy Edsall is gone, and now all Maryland fans really care about is who the new coach will be and when basketball season starts. Rightfully so.

Up Next: Bye Week

12. Rutgers #87, 90 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
73	Rutgers	Kyle Flood	102	99	70	95	94	26.0

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
94	Rutgers	Kyle Flood	85	93	51	94	82	29.9

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
7	Rutgers	Kyle Flood	171	4.7	119	3.7	145

Rutgers almost upset Michigan State in Piscataway in week 6, thanks to Leonte Caroo being reinstated from suspension. Caroo being able to play single-handedly makes it so the Scarlet Knights are probably not the worst team in the conference. That being said, he can't keep this defense from surrendering all of the points and he can't keep the offense from spiking the ball on 4th and 21 at the end of the game. This past weekend's game really was the most Rutgers game ever.

Up Next: at #92 Indiana

Game Watch Rating: 153

Win Probability: 46%

Projected Score: Rutgers 32, Indiana 34

13. Purdue #90, 89 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
79	Purdue	Darrell Hazell	63	96	35	114	90	24.9

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
81	Purdue	Darrell Hazell	97	87	95	103	92	27.5

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
119	Purdue	Darrell Hazell	36	3.2	65	4.1	51

Things are so bad with Purdue football that blog friends enemies (they are still OMHR, don't you forget) Hammer and Rails is only continuing to write about the sport because they are contractually obligated. And, honestly, with basketball right around the corner and a good women's volleyball team, who can blame them? At this point, no matter how much THOR+ seems to hate Indiana, I'm pretty sure Purdue is the worst team in the conference. Yes, they have some close losses and there is an argument to be made that they are very unlucky; and maybe they are. But, whatever is going on, Darrell Hazell is on the hot seat. Whether his job is in jeopardy this year or next, he is now firmly affixed atop the hot seat.

Up Next: at #39 Wisconsin

Game Watch Rating: 86

Win Probability: 25%

Projected Score: Purdue 16, Wisconsin 31

14. Indiana #92, 86 THOR+

Rank	Offense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Blocking+	Offense+	PPG vs. Avg.
87	Indiana	Kevin Wilson	126	90	173	123	87	24.2

Rank	Defense	Coach	Passing+	Rushing+	Turnovers	Pressure+	Defense+	PPGA vs. Avg
95	Indiana	Kevin Wilson	62	89	115	86	82	29.9

Rank	Special Teams	Coach	Off. Special Teams+	PPG vs. Avg.	Def. Special Teams+	PPGA vs. Avg.	Special Teams+
26	Indiana	Kevin Wilson	137	4.3	107	3.7	122

So long as Indiana is without Jordan Howard and Nate Sudfeld, they actually may belong in the Big Ten basement at #14. It's not clear when those two are returning to action yet, but when/if they do, Indiana is probably better than Purdue, Rutgers, and Maryland, no matter what THOR+ says. Hopefully they will be back this weekend. The game against Rutgers would be a lot more exciting to watch if they actually played.

Up Next: vs. #87 Rutgers

Game Watch Rating: 153

Win Probability: 54%

Projected Score: Indiana 34, Rutgers 32