B1G Power Rankings: Sixth Edition

The Buckeyes survived a scare versus Indiana and have problems on the defensive side of the ball. A few teams had a bye week, but the Badgers took control of the Leaders Division with their resounding win over Purdue. Sparty has continued to falter at home with their loss against Iowa and look to bounce back this weekend at Ann Arbor. Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana have jumped up a few spots from last week while Sparty and Purdue have fallen.

1. Ohio State (7-0)- Plain and simple, the defense needs to improve if they want to go undefeated. It is inexcusable  to let up 49 points to Indiana but they should improve this weekend against a sputtering Purdue team.

2. Michigan (4-2)- Dennard Robinson had another great game, this time coming against the conference’s worst defense. Lets see how he does this weekend against a tough Spartan defense that has owned him the past couple of seasons.

3.  Penn State (4-2)- Penn State is a kicker’s meltdown away from being 5-1 on the season. I cannot say enough about Bill O’Brien and the job he has done over at Happy Valley.

4. Northwestern (6-1)- The Wildcats survived a scare from Minnesota and now get to prove their legitimacy against Nebraska. Lets see if they run on the ‘Huskers the same way that Wisconsin and Ohio State did.

5. Nebraska (4-2)- After getting beat down by the Buckeyes, Nebraska got the week off. They travel to Northwestern for a game with Legends Division implications.

6. Wisconsin (4-2)- Even though they lost to the Cornhuskers three weeks ago, it looks like that game woke their offense up. The Badgers are now in the drivers seat of the Leaders Division and it looks like they are a completely different squad that slept through the non-conference schedule. Also, congratulations to Montee Ball who passed Ron Dayne for first place in Big Ten history with 72 career touchdowns.

7. Iowa (4-2)- It looked like Iowa won the National Championship after their win at Michigan State. But a few weeks ago I had written Iowa off and after back to back wins the Hawkeyes are playing their best football. They welcome a hot Nittany Lions squad into town this weekend for a huge tilt.

8. Michigan State (3-3)- Sparty’s offense cannot score and it looks like Kirk Cousins was a greater loss than expected. Also, what has happened to the home field advantage at East Lansing? State travels to the Big House this weekend in hope of salvaging their season.

9. Indiana (2-4)- Although the Hoosiers have lost four straight, they have been competitive in all of their losses. Indiana’s offense can score with anyone and they look to take advantage with Navy and Illinois coming up next.

10. Purdue (3-3)- Purdue has fallen apart and looking at their results, they do not have a marquee win. It does not get any easier for the Boiler Makers though as they travel to Columbus to play against the buzz-saw that is the Buckeye offense.

11. Minnesota (4-2)- The Gophers remained competitive but fell at home to Northwestern. Scary moment for Coach Jerry Kill as he endured a post game seizure in the locker room, lets hope he recovers and gets back onto the sidelines soon. Maybe they can go into Camp Randall this weekend and get a win… But probably not.

12. Illinois (2-5)- The Illini are flat out horrible in all phases of the game. Enough said.

Compare to last week and feel free to discuss…

Comments

  1. Totally agree with you about Bill O’Brien. I thought that team would be a tire-fire-level disaster and he has really pulled that team together and they are moving forward.

    Shame OSU has to put an end to that joyride.

  2. Being a Boston native/ Patriots fan, I am surprised how well he has done even with those circumstances. I feel like he was put on the map after the Brady confrontation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33V0hSri6BM . It showed that he doesn’t eff around and doesn’t care if your the star or a bench player, he will tell you how he feels. He obviously scripted one of the best offenses in the league from 08-11, will be interesting how they will be on defense with the loss of scholarships. I also feel that he needs a drop back passer compared to an athlete at QB, recruiting will be something to look at for the next few years.
    Also, I saw on ESPN insider that some pro teams were calling PSU to talk to BOB after their great start.

  3. Penn St. wont really see a downfall until next year and the year after. The Sr. class is mostly intact and still full of top notch recruits. Underclassmen still have until next Aug 31st to leave the school free and clear.

    A sure sign of PSUs upcoming demise is the RB recruit they just landed for the 2014 class. He is 5’7″ and 155 lbs that they beat out nobody for. PSU is his only offer.

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