BIG TEN FOOTBALL POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 10

Ohio State pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in college football history Saturday which spin zone: is a good thing for Iowa, since now the Hawks don’t get a pissed off Buckeye squad in Iowa City.

Another upset took place in the Big Ten, as Nebraska took down our second-favorite team Purdue. We’ll be looking for another big upset in Iowa City this weekend.

1. Ohio State (7-1, 5-0)

I’ve already spent enough time on Ohio State. Welcome to the thunderdome, JT Barrett.

2. Wisconsin (8-0, 5-0)

Penn State probably deserves to be here, but I think a spotless record is enough to give Sconnie the No. 2 spot for the time being. The Badgers didn’t look really good at all against Illinois, which is making me rethink this No. 2 thing since Illinois’ offense did Wisconsin A LOT of favors. The Badgers basically have Iowa’s schedule a la 2015. Let’s see what they do with it.

3. Penn State (7-1, 4-1)

Part of me wants to penalize Penn State further for absolutely choking away a win against OSU, but the other part wants me to penalize Penn State because I hate them. Michigan State next week is the Nits last real test of the season. We’ll see how that goes.

4. Michigan (6-2, 3-2)

Michigan won the week by having to play a doormat in Rutgers. Another thing to watch with the Wolverines is the pulling of John O’Korn at QB in favor of Brandon Peters. The freshman went 10-for-14 for 124 yards and one touchdown. He could be the spark this Michigan team has been looking for.

5. Northwestern (5-3, 3-2)

Man it is weird putting jNW this high, but the Wildcats are surging after back-to-back overtime wins over Iowa and Michigan State. Do I really think the Cats are the fifth-best team in the conference? No. Do I think they belong here this week? Yes. Do I wish I cared enough to make a better case for jNW? Eh.

6. Michigan State (6-2, 4-1)

Michigan State was looking at a huge reloading year after last season until it suffered the same fate as Iowa in Evanston. Things don’t get much easier for Sparty, as they face Penn State and Ohio State in its next two games.

7. Iowa (5-3, 2-3)

And look at that, Iowa is once again in the middle of the pack. Just like we all predicted. Iowa is still looking for that signature win of its season. The stars are aligning. And they are black. No, I’m not talking about the Bowie song. Or am I?

8. Maryland (4-4, 2-3)

Maryland took down IU in an absolute dogfight this week. Max Bortenschlager is the best third-string quarterback in the whole damn nation, while the Indiana offensive line still has quite a few problems to figure out.

9. Minnesota (4-4, 1-4)

The Boat is being towed, but I think there’s still things to like from this Gopher program. If Demry Croft was even above-average as a passer I’m not so sure Iowa gets away with a win. But here we are. I honestly don’t know if there’s another win on Minnesota’s schedule for the rest of the season. The Gophers won nine games last year. People forget that.

10. Nebraska (4-4, 3-2)

Is Nebraska turning things around? No, not really. They’re just getting slightly better as the season goes along, which is what teams generally do. Like Minnesota, though, I don’t see Nebraska getting another win under its belt this year.

11. Purdue (3-5, 1-4)

LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME PURDUE.

12-14. The Rest!

Rutgers, Illinois and Indiana. Pick your poison. Literally, watching these schools play football is poison, and you have to pick which one you choose to ingest in this sad choose your adventure story. This is also probably a little unfair to Indiana, but I don’t care. The Hoosiers still have Illinois, Rutgers and Purdue on its schedule so it’s up to them to prove me wrong.