Big Ten Power Rankings: 12/1
These rankings reflect the play of the teams for the whole season, excluding the Big Ten Championship game and the assorted bowl games that several teams will make.
1. Ohio State: After that embarrassing loss to Virginia Tech, the Buckeyes have been one of the most impressive teams in the nation, winning ten straight. Aided by the great play of J.T. Barrett, the Buckeyes soared to the number six ranking in the college football selection committee’s rankings. They have certainly proven themselves as the team to beat in the Big Ten, but without J.T. Barrett we will see just how good they are and if the loss of their star freshman will affect their playoff hopes and even Big Ten title hopes.
2. Michigan State: Yes, Sparty isn’t in the Big Ten championship game, but that’s because they are in the same division as Ohio State. In my mind, they are still clearly the second best team in the Big Ten, and that’s not to take anything away from Wisconsin. Michigan State is similar to Ohio State in the sense that they are a deep and complete football team. The only difference is that Ohio State has a little more firepower on offense. Despite their two losses, Michigan State should still find themselves with a very nice bowl bid after an impressive regular season.
3. Wisconsin: If you want an example of one man carrying a team for the second half of the season, you can look at Wisconsin and what Melvin Gordon has done in the final stretch of this season. In his last four games Gordon has averaged 241 yards per game on the ground. He also has ten total touchdowns (eight rush, two pass) in those games. He is simply a one-man wrecking crew. That isn’t to say he is the only thing Wisconsin has going for them. They have found a passing game in quarterback Joel Stave and they boast one of the best defenses in the nation. Ohio State will have their hands full on Saturday when they take on this very hot Badgers team.
4. Minnesota: Sure they finished the season 1-2, but wow was Minnesota impressive this year. They finished 8-4, one win away from the Big Ten Championship game, and they did all this while having to take on Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin in their last three games. All three of those games were close and well played and despite the outcomes, the Golden Gophers cemented themselves as a legitimate football team. David Cobb was a monster all season for this run heavy team and they found enough in the passing game to build a strong, balanced offense.
5. Nebraska: They have a worse record to end the year than the Golden Gophers do, but they were less than impressive down the stretch and really regressed on the offensive side of the ball. Still, 9-3 is an impressive year and it has become the norm under Bo Pelini, but will be no more as Pelini was canned earlier today. Ameer Abdullah was the big story for the Cornhuskers, but he only reached 100 yards once in the last four games. Nebraska is a good team, but losing to the only three ranked opponents on their schedule prove that they aren’t great.
6. Rutgers: Not a bad way to cap off your first Big Ten season. The Scarlet Knights overcame a 25-point deficit at Maryland to finish the year 7-5. Despite the rough patch of their schedule, in which Rutgers faced Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin in consecutive weeks, they still managed to finish the season 2-1 and claim a record one game over .500. Gary Nova improved his consistency down the stretch to secure the winning record for Rutgers.
7. Maryland: Inconsistency is the name of the game for the rest of the Big Ten teams. Maryland finished the season trading wins and losses in their last eight contests. Last week’s game against Rutgers proved what many already knew about this team. They have a great offense but man, their defense is lousy. Much like Rutgers however, at 7-5 to finish the season, Maryland put together a solid inaugural campaign in the Big Ten.
8. Iowa: The Hawkeyes stumbled to their 7-5 finish going 1-3 in their last four. They played Wisconsin and Nebraska in the final two games and lost by a combined five points. Not bad outcomes considering the opponents, but in both cases Iowa had chances to win and instead found a way to lose. The lack of a consistent offensive threat plagued the Hawkeyes for most of the season.
9. Penn State: 4-0 after four games, 6-6 after 12. Clearly not the ending that many Penn Stater’s expected after such a strong start. The Nittany Lions had one of the best defenses in the country, yet they couldn’t muster an even mediocre offensive attack in most games and therefore, lost a bunch of low scoring affairs. Christian Hackenberg looked nothing like what he did his freshman year, and the offensive line woes contributed to Penn State’s dismal finish.
10. Northwestern: Speaking of up and down, no team was more inconsistent than the Wildcats. Mind-boggling that a team can put up only nine points in a losing effort against Michigan one week, and then come back and put up 43 in an overtime victory against Notre Dame the next. Yet, this is exactly what Northwestern did. The worst part for the team is that all they had to do to reach a bowl game was beat Illinois in the final week and they couldn’t do it.
11. Michigan: I was thoroughly impressed with Michigan’s performance against Ohio State, as they kept the score close for most of the game. The season as a whole was not acceptable by any means in Ann Arbor. Brady Hoke will most likely lose his job after the Wolverines finished 5-7, but that isn’t a sure thing yet.
12. Illinois: What did we say three weeks ago? Illinois has a chance to win its last two and go bowling despite a dismal stretch. So naturally what do the Fighting Illini do? Win the last two, of course. Impressive wins over Penn State and Northwestern will likely clinch a bowl bid for a team who looked to be dead in the water for most of the season. Wes Lunt’s comeback did little for the team as he barely played, but Reilly O’Toole emerged as a promising quarterback.
13. Indiana: After losing six in a row, Indiana finally broke into the win column again with a season finale win over Purdue. Tevin Coleman surpassed 2,000 yards on the season and the Hoosiers got out of the cellar in these power rankings. That’s about all the positive’s we can give you on Indiana’s season.
14. Purdue: Better luck next year for the Boilermakers. Austin Appleby will help the team for years to come, but right now they don’t have anything else going offensively or defensively. Finishing the season with six straight losses is never good, ever.
Jack Milewski is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him please email jbm250@psu.edu.
