Three weeks remain in the regular season and very little is settled in Big Ten football. One of the conference's three undefeateds (Michigan State) fell in dizzying fashion last week, opening the door for other teams to close in on the top of our power rankings. Who's #1? Find out below...
14. Maryland Terrapins (2-7, 0-5)
Make it a half-dozen of a losses in a row and a whole boatload of turnovers and mental mistakes that don't seem to be fixing themselves very fast. It'll get worse against a steaming mad Michigan State team.
13. Purdue Boilermakers (2-7, 1-4)
Purdue's last chance for a win may have gone by the wayside after an absolutely dreadful homecoming loss to Illinois last week. HC Darrell Hazell will return in 2016, so there's at least a plan in place going forward. But, for now...
12. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-6, 1-4)
Rutgers has been outscored 146-33 over the past three weeks. Their only saving grace in conference right now is their 55-52 shootout win over Indiana a few weeks back. Even that is barely enough to keep them out of the cellar.
11. Indiana Hoosiers (4-5, 0-5)
Indiana has lost five straight to open Big Ten play, but they're at least kept things interesting in losses to Ohio State, Michigan State and Iowa.
10. Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-5, 1-4)
The Golden Gophers put up a solid fight at Ohio State, but their bowl hopes are still in dire shape with a tough one at Iowa coming this week.
9. Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-6, 2-4)
Nebraska vaults their way back into our top ten from #13 after an improbably comeback win over Michigan State. After handing the Spartans the first loss of 2015, it's up to Mike Riley's crew to sustain momentum in a very winnable game at Rutgers.
8. Illinois Fighting Illini (5-4, 1-3)
Illinois got off a three-game snide by drubbing Purdue. Now, they're just one win away from bowl eligibility and a home win over Ohio State this week away from cementing Bill Cubit as the team's full-time coach.
7. Penn State Nittany Lions (7-3, 4-2)
Penn State couldn't get the job done against Northwestern last week, and they're going to have to turn tail quickly if they're going to get another win this regular season with games remaining vs. Michigan (after the bye) and Michigan State.
6. Northwestern Wildcats (6-2, 2-2)
Northwestern put two awful weeks behind them in a 30-28 win over Nebraska before their bye. Now it's up to them to keep the momentum in a pivotal home matchup against Penn State.
5. Wisconsin Badgers (8-2, 5-1)
The Badgers are 8-2 and still have an outside chance at a Big Ten West title. They haven't been given much credit nationally since their opening-week loss against Alabama, but it's time to take notice.
4. Michigan State Spartans (8-1, 4-1)
Michigan State hasn't made it look pretty all year, and their penchant for keeping games close that they should run away with bit them in the behinds against Nebraska last week. Barring a miracle, Michigan State's best case scenario is an at-large berth in a New Year's Six game.
3. Michigan Wolverines (7-2, 4-1)
We keep saying this, but Michigan would be right up there in the College Football Playoff top-four mix if it wasn't for that heartbreaker against MSU. For now, they have to settle with being the best multiple-loss team in college football.
2. Iowa Hawkeyes (9-0, 5-0)
If things break right and the Hawkeyes take care of business against Minnesota this week, this relatively anonymous bunch will be on the doorstep of a #4 slot or better in Tuesday's College Football Playoff rankings.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes (9-0, 5-0)
Ohio State keeps winning, by hook or by crook. We can't come up with a convincing argument to discredit the committee's #3 ranking right now. But, they're still guaranteed a CFP spot if they run the table, regardless of the "eye test."
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