Things have been bad for the Big Ten. You know that. They’1-8 in their last nine Rose Bowls and struggle beating ranked teams in bowl games. 15 of the league’s 26 wins this year are versus MAC or FCS schools. So there isn’t a ton of power, in these power rankings unfortunately.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes 3-0
Aside from Northwestern, only league school to beat a BCS conference opponent (Cal). They’ve also looked pretty in most of their wins
2. Michigan Wolverines 2-1
Yes, the Alabama loss was ugly, but the Big Ten losing to the SEC is not exactly newsworthy, and therefore not all that punishable in my power rankings
3. Northwestern Wildcats 3-0
Carrying the flag for the league as they’ve got 3 of the Big Ten’s 4 wins versus major conference schools. The league is 4-8. NU’s defense has been surprisingly stout, and they look poised to have a nice season
4. Michigan State Spartans 2-1
The Notre Dame loss really drops them down. That was a disappointing statement game for the league
5. Purdue Boilermakers 2-1
This seems to be everyone’s dark horse, and I’m starting to buy it. They look like a division sleeper.
6. Nebraska Cornhuskers 2-1
Taylor Martinez has augmented his throwing mechanics, and it’s made a big difference. Of course, they still have that UCLA blemish on their record
The offensive line and the offensive staff in general are feeling the effect of Paul Chryst leaving for Pitt
At least week three was much better to watch than week 2, or week 1.
9. Illinois Fighting Illini 2-1
Had first shut out since 2007 (versus an FCS opponent), and they’ve had so many injuries that the starting qb and tailback have already missed games, but impossible to look past Arizona State game. How do you allow that to happen?
10. Minnesota Golden Gophers 3-0
How will they respond to losing MarQueis Gray? the backup looked okay Saturday. They still haven’t played anyone though
feeling the effects of sanctions right off the bat. If they still had their kicker they would have won the Virginia game
Nate Sudfield played well, easing the loss of Tre Roberson
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Chicago Tribune.com, Fox Sports, MSN, Walter Football and Yardbarker
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