In what was a relatively down year for the B1G Conference, I see the conference breaking down into a few interchangeable parts. Without a doubt, Ohio State and Nebraska were the two best teams in the conference. Spots 3-7 could beat each other any given week and their rankings were dictated by only a few marquee plays. Neither of those teams (ranked 3-7) had a win over Ohio State or Nebraska and that hurt them. Spots 8-11 were the bottom feeders, they played up to their opponents a few times (Purdue, Indiana) but for the most part, they did not upset any teams above them. This left Illinois, the clear cut worst team in the conference at the bottom of the pack.
1. Ohio State– Urban Meyer put the rest of the B1G on notice after running the table and capturing the Leaders Division title in a year that was seen as a warm up for the future.
2. Nebraska– The ‘Huskers squeaked past Iowa but will represent the Legends Division in the B1G Championship Game.
3. Michigan– The Denard Robinson era is finally over and Michigan showed why two quarterbacks equals no quarterbacks in the second half of The Game.
4. Northwestern– The Wildcats destroyed Illinois in their final game of the season and hope that their 9-3 record gives them an invitation to  a respectable bowl game.
5. Penn State– Bill O’Brien led the Nittany Lions to a respectable 8-4 season but who knows what the future will hold for the Penn State football team.
6. Wisconsin– Congratulations to the Wisconsin Badgers for a third place finish in the Leaders Division and a berth in the B1G Championship Game!
7. Michigan State-Â Disappointing season for the Spartans as they finish the year at .500. The offense has to improve next year for any chance of contending for a B1G Title.
8. Purdue– The Boilermakers outscored their in-state rival to become bowl eligible for the second straight year.
9. Minnesota– The Gophers will also be bowling, not sure if this is a good or bad thing for the conference.
10. Indiana– Indiana can build on a relatively competitive season as they showed that they could score with the best of them. A defensive improvement will be key to their success next year.
11. Iowa– Will be interesting to see how Kirk Ferentz bounces back after a real tough year.
12. Illinois– The Illini finish the season on a 9 game losing streak and can only hope for any type of improvement next season.
Agree or disagree with my assessment of the conference?
I would put Penn State ahead of Northwestern and probably ahead of Michigan too.