Big Ten power rankings after Week 8: Michigan drops big after loss to Illinois

The Big Ten has surprising parity, at least below the upper tier. This season has shown that almost any team in the conference can beat anybody, with a series of surprising wins on Saturday.

The biggest win comes courtesy of Indiana, which completely eviscerated Nebraska. USC continued to struggle, losing to a Maryland team that looked like it was headed nowhere fast. UCLA rebounded to take down what had looked like a solid Rutgers team earlier in the season. And Michigan State, which has had its issues throughout the year, got a big win hosting Iowa.

Of course, Michigan’s offense continues to be a huge problem as it scored only one touchdown against an Illinois team that had allowed UCLA to run rampant all over it last week.

Now that Week 8 is in the books, here are our latest power rankings.

Record: 1-6

Hi/Lo: 16/18

Change: -1

Last game: Loss vs. Oregon, 0-35

Biggest win: vs. Indiana State, 49-0

Welcome back to the bottom, Purdue! The Boilermakers were overpowered and overmatched by Oregon, though there were some glimpses of hope. The offense does look better, even if it got shut out. A sweetly-timed bye week is coming up.

17. Northwestern Wildcats

Record: 3-4

Hi/Lo: 12/17

Change: -2

Last game: Loss vs. Wisconsin, 3-23

Biggest win: at Maryland, 37-10

A week after going into College Park and taking it to the Terps, Northwestern returned home and lost decisively to the team just 90 minutes to the south. With a game at Iowa next week, it won’t likely get much easier, but the Hawkeyes have proven to be beatable.

Record: 4-3

Hi/Lo: 9/18

Change: +2

Last game: Win vs. USC, 29-28

Biggest win: vs. USC, 29-28

Maryland was listed as our worst team last week but just beat a team that was, at one point, considered our second-best team in the conference. Now, USC has certainly fallen off as of late, but this was a program-defining win for the Terrapins, and a sorely needed one given how this season has gone.

Record: 4-3

Hi/Lo: 6/15

Change: -3

Last game: Loss vs. UCLA, 32-35

Biggest win: vs. Washington, 21-18

Rutgers did look like one of the better teams in the Big Ten earlier in the season and has some decent wins. Yet, it just lost to a team that had appeared to be a redux of what the Scarlet Knights used to be. Given that this was at home, we can’t even excuse this one as being due to a West Coast trip.

Record: 2-5

Hi/Lo: 14/18

Change: +2

Last game: Win vs. Rutgers, 35-32

Biggest win: vs. Rutgers, 35-32

Don’t look now, but UCLA has its first Big Ten win! The Bruins have gotten better and better each and every week and took down a Rutgers team that had looked excellent earlier in the year. As DeShaun Foster continues to foster his team, it may be able to string together another few wins, even as the season isn’t going anywhere. UCLA is on bye next week.

13. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Record: 4-3

Hi/Lo: 7/15

Change: +1

Last game: Win at UCLA, 21-17

Biggest win: vs. USC, 24-17

Minnesota was on bye this week but hosts Maryland next week.

Record: 3-4

Hi/Lo: 2/12

Change: -1

Last game: Loss at Maryland, 28-29

Biggest win: vs. LSU, 27-20

USC plays everyone tough, but much like what Nebraska was under Scott Frost, it doesn’t seem to be able to pull away from anyone. Considering that Maryland was our No. 18 team last week, this loss was embarrassing and huge step back for Lincoln Riley and the Trojans.

11. Michigan Wolverines

Record: 4-3

Hi/Lo: 3/11

Change: -3

Last game: Loss at Illinois, 7-21

Biggest win: vs. USC, 27-24

What a disaster this team is. The defense played about as well as it could, but given all of the short fields the offense gave Illinois with two of the three turnovers coming in Michigan territory, and the fact that special teams had a number of blunders, this team is headed nowhere fast. It’s not even clear that the Wolverines will make a bowl game at this juncture — things are that bad in Ann Arbor at the moment.

Record: 5-2

Hi/Lo: 3/10

Change: –

Last game: Loss at Indiana, 7-56

Biggest win: vs. Colorado, 28-10

Just when it started looking like Nebraska had turned the corner, the Huskers didn’t just lose a close one — they got annihilated. It’s worth noting that phenom quarterback Dylan Raiola is a true freshman and he played like it against Indiana. But he better grow up fast because Ohio State is next week.

9. Michigan State Spartans

Record: 4-3

Hi/Lo: 9/17

Change: +4

Last game: Win vs. Iowa, 32-20

Biggest win: vs. Iowa, 32-20

Don’t look now, but MSU might be peaking at the right time. The Spartans managed to put up 32 points against a usually stingy Iowa team and with Michigan on deck next week, the Spartans will be coming to The Big House with a ton of confidence and swagger.

8. Washington Huskies

Record: 4-3

Hi/Lo: 5/11

Change: -1

Last game: Loss at Iowa, 16-40

Biggest win: vs. Michigan, 27-17

Washington was on bye this week but plays a red-hot Indiana team next week.

7. Iowa Hawkeyes

Record: 4-3

Hi/Lo: 4/13

Change: -2

Last game: Loss at MSU, 20-32

Biggest win: vs. Washington, 40-16

Every time it looks like Iowa is a team to contend with, it manages to go and drop a game. It’s difficult to ascertain what MSU is at this moment, but a veteran Iowa team still shouldn’t be losing to this particular MSU team that’s still looking to form an identity.

6. Illinois Fighting Illini

Record: 6-1

Hi/Lo: 6/13

Change: +3

Last game: Win vs. Michigan, 21-7

Biggest win: vs. Michigan, 21-7

It wasn’t the cleanest game offensively, but Bret Bielema’s defense got three takeaways which led to some short fields. The special teams play, a fake punt, put the dagger into a Michigan football team that just cannot move the ball. Luke Altmyer took care of the football, and though he didn’t accrue many yards through the air, he did just enough to keep the Wolverines at bay.

5. Wisconsin Badgers

Record: 5-2

Hi/Lo: 5/12

Change: +1

Last game: Win at Northwestern, 23-3

Biggest win: at Rutgers, 42-7

Wisconsin has rebounded nicely the past few weeks and though a win over Northwestern isn’t necessarily much to write home about, considering what the Wildcats did last week to Maryland, the fact that the Badgers handled business — especially defensively, is worth noting.

4. Indiana Hoosiers

Record: 7-0

Hi/Lo: 4/16

Change: –

Last game: Win vs. Nebraska, 56-7

Biggest win: vs. Nebraska, 56-7

OK, Indiana is just clowning fools now. The Hoosiers played the best team on the schedule yet and absolutely embarrassed the Cornhuskers. Curt Cignetti really has something in Bloomington and this team shouldn’t be counted out when it comes to potentially winning the conference. Yes, it is that good.

Record: 5-1

Hi/Lo: 1/3

Change: –

Last game: Loss at Oregon, 31-32

Biggest win: vs. Iowa, 35-7

Ohio State was on bye this week but hosts Nebraska next week.

2. Penn State Nittany Lions

Record: 6-0

Hi/Lo: 2/4

Change: –

Last game: Win vs. USC, 33-30, OT

Biggest win: vs. USC, 33-30, OT

Penn State was on bye this week but has a trip to Madison next week to face Wisconsin.

Record: 7-0

Hi/Lo: 1/6

Change: –

Last game:  Win at Purdue, 35-0

Biggest win: vs. Ohio State, 32-31

Despite all of the hullabaloo that Purdue was a giant killer, Oregon went on the road in a short week and handled business as a top team should do. The offense was electric, per usual, and though the defense allowed some movement, it still shut out the Boilermakers. Well done, Ducks.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Big Ten power rankings after Week 8: Michigan drops big after loss to Illinois