BadgerBlitz.com's power poll is back for another season, where Jon McNamara, Jessi Schoville and I will rank the Big Ten teams after each week of action.
Our ranks following the latest round of conference play are included below.
No. 1 - Michigan (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) ... 3 first place votes (Veldhuis, McNamara, Schoville)
Michigan is alone at the top after Ohio State's loss to Penn State, but you can't say the Wolverines haven't earned the spot. They moved up to 7-0 with a 41-8 win over Illinois this week.
No. 2 - Ohio State (6-1, 3-1)
No longer alone at the top, the Buckeyes still have a chance to make the college football playoff if they win out- which would include wins over Michigan and in the Big Ten championship game. That would still give them a pretty good resume to fall back on even if they aren't undefeated.
No. 3 - Wisconsin (5-2, 2-2)
Penn State did what the Badgers couldn't in beating Ohio State, but the Badgers still managed to bounce back with a gritty win over the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road. A crucial intra-divisional game against Nebraska is up next, with the winner likely in the driver's seat for the Big Ten West title.
No. 4 - Nebraska (7-0, 4-0)
The Cornhuskers struggled with Purdue a bit, but eventually pulled away from the Boilermakers in the second half. If they want to stake their claim on the Big Ten West, this weekend is the game to do it.
No. 5 - Penn State (5-2, 3-1)
Give credit where it is due: the Nittany Lions pulled out an upset win over the Buckeyes on Saturday, giving James Franklin his first signature win since arriving in Happy Valley. Now back in the Top 25, we'll see how the Nittany Lions build off of that win going forward.
No. 6 - Northwestern (4-3, 3-1)
Northwestern is on a three-game winning streak after a brutal start to conference play, and could be a factor in the Big Ten West if they keep winning. Don't look at the overall record- a 3-1 record in conference play is nothing to sneeze at.
No. 7 - Iowa (5-3, 3-2)
The Hawkeyes appear to just be a middle-of-the-road Big Ten team this year, after their offense couldn't get much going against Wisconsin in a rivalry game. That could be because of UW's defense playing well, but at this point the Hawkeyes probably aren't going to be defending their division title from last year.
No. 8 - Minnesota (5-2, 2-2)
Minnesota is staying in the middle of our power poll, but they looked like a team that belonged closer to the basement in their tight 34-32 win over Rutgers in Minneapolis this weekend. A road trip to Illinois might be trickier than you think for the Gophers.
No. 9 - Maryland (5-2, 2-2)
Raise your hand if you had Maryland beating Michigan State at the beginning of the season. That's ok- I didn't either. The Terps are definitely one of the Big Ten's surprise teams this year.
No. 10 - Indiana (3-4, 1-3)
The Hoosiers are sitting at 3-4, but I'm not feeling very confident about their bowl prospects. They have games left against Rutgers and Purdue, but they'd need to steal a win from one of Maryland, Penn State and Michigan. Good luck with that.
No. 11 - Michigan State (2-5, 0-4)
Michigan State's nightmare season continued unabated on Saturday with a road loss to Maryland, a team they have consistently out-recruited ever since the Terps joined the Big Ten. How low can the Spartans go? We'll have to wait and see.
No. 12 - Purdue (3-4, 1-3)
The Boilermakers put up a good fight for a half of football against Nebraska on the road, but ultimately they just don't have the horses to pull off an upset like that.
No. 13 - Illinois (2-5, 1-3)
Illinois was basically non-competitive against Michigan this weekend. It looks like a bowl-free season in Champaign in Lovie Smith's first year with the program.
No. 14 - Rutgers (2-6, 0-5)
The Scarlet Knights competed with the Gophers down to the wire in Minneapolis, but that might say more about the Gophers than it does about Rutgers.
