Big Ten Football Power Rankings: Is anyone good?

The craziness of the Big Ten season didn’t stop in Week 8 as both Michigan and Oregon lost again. On top of that, Minnesota righted the ship and Wisconsin stormed the field after a huge win over Lincoln Riley and USC. At this point its fair to ask if anyone in the conference is good this season as no can seem to sustain winning outside of Indiana who hasn’t looked impressive while doing so.

With that being said, we still have a job to do. Heading into Week 9 here are our Big Ten Power Rankings:

10. Oregon Ducks: 4-3, Lost to Illinois 10-21, LW: 7

I really didn’t want to put anyone at No. 10 because none of the bottom nine teams in the conference deserve it. Oregon gets it by default because the advanced metrics like SP+ and ESPN’s Resume FPI like the Ducks better than anyone else, even though Oregon’s offense has been gross to watch.

9. Minnesota Golden Gophers: 5-2, Def. Iowa 13-10, LW: 10

P.J. Fleck’s squad bounced back after their bad loss to Purdue with a solid win over a then-ranked Iowa team. Minnesota has arguably the toughest remaining strength of schedule in the Big Ten with Indiana, UCLA, Northwestern, and Wisconsin still on the schedule, but so far so good for Minnesota.

8. USC Trojans: 6-2, Lost to Wisconsin 7-24, LW: 6

Lincoln Riley’s seat is starting to warm up again following a disastrous loss in Madison. USC gained 241 yards throughout the game with 258 passing yards. Yes, you read that right. USC had -17 yards rushing. How is that even possible? USC’s CFP hopes are dwindling fast.

7. Iowa Hawkeyes: 5-2, Lost to Minnesota 10-13, LW: 4

Just when Iowa seemed to have it all figured out, they lost an absolute clunker to Minnesota. Prior to this past week, Iowa was 5-1 with their one loss being to Ohio State. The Hawkeyes were starting to have dark-horse CFP aspirations. While it’s still not entirely off the table, the Hawkeyes made it significantly more difficult for themselves. Make no mistake, this was a season-defining loss for Iowa.

6. Nebraska Cornhuskers: 5-2, On bye, LW: 8

Nebraska didn’t play on Saturday but thanks to losses by USC, Iowa, and Oregon they move up two spots to No. 6.

5. Wisconsin Badgers: 5-2, Def. USC 24-7, LW: 9

Wisconsin picked up arguably the most surprising result of the weekend with a somewhat easy win over Lincoln Riley and USC. After nearly being fired in the offseason, Luke Fickell has finally turned things around in Madison despite not having a passing game. As much of a feel-good story as Wisconsin is, the fact that we can justify having the Badgers fifth shows how down the Big Ten is this season.

4. Northwestern Wildcats: 6-1, Def. Rutgers 42-14, LW: 6

While beating Rutgers isn’t impressive in and of itself, Northwestern’s continued offensive prowess certainly is. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is looking like one of the greatest hires of the offseason following an underwhelming stint at Ohio State. The Wildcats travel to Oregon on Halloween in a game that I had sharpied in as an Oregon win before the season but now I might be leaning towards the Wildcats. Crazy times we live in.

3. Indiana Hoosiers: 7-1, Def. Michigan 13-6, LW: 2

Indiana won a tough, road battle at the largest stadium in America. So why drop them down a spot in the power rankings? It’s simple. Josh Hoover looked like a shell of himself, going 8-for-18 for 81 yards and an interception. The Hoosiers didn’t complete a pass in the second half. Fortunately for them, Michigan’s offense was even worse. Indiana is still likely to make the CFP, but they look significantly worse than they were last year.

2. UCLA Bruins: 7-0, Def. Michigan State 28-10, Last Week: 3

Is it controversial to flip flop Indiana and UCLA despite both winning this past weekend? Maybe. However, the Bruins deserve all their flowers as they have yet to lose despite no preseason expectations whatsoever. Even without Nico, UCLA has done very well with Ty Dieffenbach under center. Running back Anthony Woods ran for 112 yards and a touchdown against a very bad Michigan State defense.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes: 6-1, On bye, LW: 1

The Buckeyes were a big winner in college football this week as they didn’t lose. In a season full of carnage, being on bye is a major advantage.

Everybody else:

• 11. Michigan Wolverines
• 12. Washington Huskies
• 13. Illinois Fighting Illini
• 14. Purdue Boilermakers
• 15. Penn State Nittany Lions
• 16. Michigan State Spartans
• 17. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
• 18. Maryland Terrapins