Big Ten Power Rankings

1. Ohio State— Any team that makes Nebraska look that bad deserves respect.
2. Michigan— Showed up big in prime time.
3. Purdue— Beat Iowa without Rondale Moore or Jeff Brohm. That’s frightening.
4. Indiana— Downed Penn State despite their special teams play down the stretch.
5. Rutgers— Greg Schiano is back.
6. Penn State—The Nittany Lions scored a touchdown that might’ve lost them the game.
7. Northwestern— Beat a Tagovailoa brother by 40. The Wildcats can’t be that bad.
8. Iowa— Hold on to the ball.
9. Minnesota— The Titanic sank in Minneapolis.
10. Michigan State— Thoroughly outplayed by Rutgers.
11. Nebraska—The Cornhuskers are not as bad as these next two teams.
12. Illinois—Lovie hated that performance.
13. Maryland—Lost by 40 to Northwestern. Period.
14. *Wisconsin— *Who knows when the Badgers will be back.

Big Ten Matchups

Minnesota vs. Maryland

Friday | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN

The boat should right itself. The Gophers should bounce back, if they don’t, they’ve got problems.

Michigan State vs. No. 13 Michigan

11 a.m. | FOX

The Wolverines should roll, even with very few guests at the Big House. This game is Mel Tucker’s chance at a statement.

Purdue vs. Illinois

11 a.m. | BTN

With Rondale Moore presumably returning to action, I don’t see the Boilermakers getting worse.

No. 17 Indiana vs. Rutgers

2:30 p.m. | BTN

Didn’t think this would be a game with much significance. I was wrong.

Northwestern vs. Iowa

2:30 p.m. | ESPN

When ESPN voluntarily airs a Northwestern game, something’s off. This could be a close one.

No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 18 Penn State

6:30 p.m. | ABC

This would be one heck of a bounce-back game for Penn State. Justin Fields will have an early-season test.