Hello there and welcome to the Big Ten Power Rankings! Each week we’ll rank how the teams across the conference are playing, in the hopes of seeing just who is a contender, and who is a pretender over the course of the season.
The rules are few, but resolute:
Teams are ranked by how they’re playing at that time. Not body of work, not rankings in the polls, but simply how each team is playing at that point in the season.
The approach to the rankings is not necessarily on the field results (though those do count, as an obvious, tangible data point), but more generally if the two teams played at a neutral site 100 times, which team would win 51 times (or more).
These rankings are subjective. As the author I get to follow the rules as closely or loosely as I want to, and if you don’t like the rankings, you’re wrong.
Week 11 is in the books, and there were only a few surprises, though a couple near misses. Let’s get to it!
Teams that are all but guaranteed to make the playoffs, if they continue to play the way they have played thus far.
OSU did what it always does and routed Purdue 34-10 on its path to Indianapolis and the Playoffs. Up next, the Buckeyes take on UCLA.
The Hoosiers needed a borderline miraculous last minute drive to beat Penn State 27-24, but they got the win and survived. Up next they’ll play Wisconsin.
The Ducks also needed a last minute drive to beat Iowa 18-16, but got the win and survived. Hilariously, the point differential came from the Ducks’ first score, which was a safety against the Hawkeyes. The college football gods chortled. Oregon plays Minnesota next.
Teams that could very well end up in the playoffs, but need to continue to improve their resume and move up the rankings before they can make it.
The Trojans took down a feisty Northwestern squad 38-17, and will welcome Iowa next.
The Wolverines were on their bye, and hope to resume their winning ways against an entertaining Northwestern team.
Tier 3: High-Level Bowl Teams
Teams that likely won’t make the playoffs, but will represent the conference in quality bowls, including the Citrus Bowl and the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
The Hawkeyes came so close to a massive upset, but just couldn’t get it done. They’ll play USC next in a sneaky good matchup.
The Huskers had their hands full with UCLA, but managed to hang on to a 28-21 win. The bye week is up next.
The Illini were on their bye week, but get back to the action next against Maryland.
The Gophers were also on their bye week, and will get to take on Oregon next.
The only true upset of the week, the Huskies fell to Wisconsin 13-10. There’s still a lot to play for, but a top 25 ranking took a hit. Washington is back at it against Purdue next.
Tier 4: Low-Level Bowl Teams
Teams that will end up making it to a bowl game, but likely the bowls that aren’t quite as prestigious, including the Pinstripe Bowl and the Music City Bowl.
The Scarlet Knights defeated their most hated rival Maryland 35-20 to move back to .500 on the season. The bye week is up next.
The Wildcats hung around with USC for a bit but couldn’t keep up on the scoreboard. A game against Michigan has a sneaky chance to be good.
The wheels may have fallen off again for UCLA after their loss to Nebraska. With Ohio State looming, a chance to make a bowl is dwindling.
The Terrapins couldn’t hang with Rutgers, and with Illinois on the docket a bowl game is starting to look precarious.
Tier 5: Bowl-Ineligible Teams
Teams that are on a trajectory to end the season below .500 and miss out on a post-season bowl game.
The Spartans were on their bye week, and will get back to it this week against Penn State in what should be an absolute pillow fight.
The Badgers pulled off the only real upset this week, but their overall body of work keeps them pretty much where they were. Bowl eligibility is not dead yet though! A game against Indiana may change that, however.
The Boilermakers couldn’t hang with OSU, and at 2-8 are officially out of the running for the post-season. Washington is up next.
The worst of the worst, teams whose fans wear paper bags over their heads and count down the days until they have a new head coach.
The Lions once again made us think they could pull off something special, and once again made us all look silly. Michigan State is up next in what should be the Slap Fight of the year!
The squiggles are once again quiet, though the middle bits are fun to look at.
The top 6 all remain in place: Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, USC, Michigan, and Iowa. Nebraska jumps up, with Illinois and Minnesota hanging out. Washington tumbles, with Rutgers on the rise. Northwestern, UCLA, and Maryland all dip, but the bottom 4 remain in place: Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue, and Penn State.
