Big Ten Power Rankings

1. Ohio State

Alex, give me, “We’re all tired of this,” for 300.

2. Wisconsin

Wisconsin made the pro-“Big Ten division realignment” crowd look silly last week.

3. Penn State

Well, maybe the Big Ten isn’t as deep this year as we all would’ve liked.

4. Iowa

These last two picks had bye weeks last week, so maybe all Big Ten teams should just stop playing football.

5. Michigan State

Evanston is a black hole for Big Ten teams, and Sparty came away with a win last week.

6. Michigan

I have no words, except that I thought Michigan would be in the College Football Playoff at the end of the season. We’ll figure out soon if last week said more about how good Wisconsin is or how many gaps Michigan needs to fill.

7. Minnesota

Hard to place because it hasn’t played anyone important, but we’ll learn more about the Gophers this week.

8. Nebraska

Barely beating Illinois on the road equals hosting GameDay the following week. What?

9. Maryland

Fun first few weeks for head coach Michael Locksley, but Temple reminded him he coaches at Maryland.

10. Indiana

All these Big Ten teams in the middle seem the same to me, but Peyton Ramsey threw 3 touchdowns last week, so there’s that.

11. Northwestern

Northwestern’s schedule is taking a toll on its official Daily Iowan power rankings position. Two losses to two Power 5 teams early. Game against the scary Wisconsin Badgers this weekend. Yikes.

12. Purdue

The Boilermakers have losses to Nevada and TCU this season. This really shouldn’t dock them points on our power rankings, but they’re just a hair above Illinois right now.

13. Illinois

I usually make jokes about the Illini, but they literally left everything on the field in the loss to Nebraska. Soul-crushing.

14. Rutgers

The Scarlet Knights lost, but I gained a lot of respect for them after quarterback Art Sitkowski got punched in the face by his own lineman after throwing a touchdown.

Big Ten schedule

No. 8 Wisconsin vs. Northwestern

11 a.m. | ABC

Wisconsin looks like a legitimate Playoff contender right now. Northwestern looks like Northwestern.

No. 14 Iowa vs. Middle Tennessee State

11 a.m. | ESPN2

Can someone play Rocky Top? Or is that the wrong school from Tennessee?

No. 20 Michigan vs. Rutgers

11 a.m. | BTN

If Rutgers scores a single point in this game, Michigan fans will riot.

Minnesota vs. Purdue

2:30 p.m. | ESPN2

Battle for “Middle of the Pack” award in the Big Ten.

No. 25 Michigan State vs Indiana

2:30 p.m. | BTN

Indiana has won two games by at least 35 points this year and has lost one by 41 points. Not sure this one will be close, either.

No. 5 Ohio State vs. Nebraska

6:30 p.m. | ABC

I don’t know what the spread is for this one, but it’s not high enough for Brutus. Also, I need to ask why GameDay is here again?

No. 12 Penn State vs. Maryland

7 p.m. | FS1

Locksley & Franklin sounds like a law firm. But it’s not. It’s a game between the No. 12 team in the country and then the team that lost to Temple last week.