Matt McMaster has released his latest set of Big Ten Football Power Rankings.
Another week, another blowout. Ryan Walters needs to figure this thing out fast or he’s not going to get a lot of time to turn this program around
Bye Week
Bye Week
I can’t discredit them for getting whooped by Oregon. It seems like it’s happening to everyone these days.
Maybe I was too harsh on the downfall Rutgers. I was very high on this team to begin the year and maybe that’s why I was so disappointed to see them flame out after an undefeated start to the season. But let’s call a spade a spade. They beat a very good Minnesota team and are just one win away from a bowl game. I can’t erase what I’ve seen from Greg Schiano’s squad over the last six weeks but a win this week against Maryland can change that.
Not much to say about the Huskies after a blowout loss to Penn State. Like I said last week, they aren’t bad enough to be in the cellar but they are definitely not a good football team.
Bye Week
Don’t look now but the team that many, including myself, declared dead is alive. I thought the win over Nebraska was just the Huskers being the Huskers, but this Bruin team has fully turned its season around. This team clearly believes the message first-year head coach DeShaun Foster is feeding them. They have a very winnable game against Washington ahead of them this week and unexpectedly can become a bowl team.
Bye Week
Good fight but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Lucky for them I have enough respect for them to not put them in the dumpster portion of this list.
Bye Week
Bye Week
I thought this team was primed to go unbeaten the rest of the year, oh well. You can take Iowa out of the Big Ten West but can’t take the Big Ten West out of Iowa.
There’s a massive drop between the top four teams in this conference and the next group of three. You might be thinking, “Matt, Minnesota lost to Rutgers, how do they stay at 5?” Well, loyal reader, everyone who could have jumped them either lost or had a bye!! I thought Rutgers was a trap game from a betting perspective but not from an actual win-loss perspective. The Scarlet Knights shut down the run and made Minnesota throw the ball 45 times. Max Brosmer is a good QB, but he clearly isn’t good enough to put an entire offense in his back.
Another week, another dominant win against a bad opponent. I hate to be that guy, but I’m not a believer in Penn State until they prove they can beat the big dogs of this conference.
You could argue that Saturday’s performance against Michigan was the Hoosiers’ worst of the year, yet I feel more confident about this team than ever. Indiana hadn’t faced one ounce of adversity this year. They’d literally kicked every opponent’s ass this season. They hadn’t been in a close game and hadn’t had to pull a win out of a burning building. But they did it last week.
They shouldn’t have beaten the Wolverines last week, but the fact they did makes me more confident than ever in this group. They proved that not everything has to go right for them to win, and that’s the mark of a champion.
They did what they were expected to and routed one of the worst teams in the country. Not expecting anything less from them this week as they take on an almost equally bad Northwestern team. It should be a good tune-up for their massive matchup against Indiana next week (never thought I’d type that sentence at the beginning of the year).
Handled business once again against a lesser opponent. Wisconsin and Washington are remaining on their schedule. Neither of those teams is a pushover, but the Ducks should not be tested too heavily. I’m willing to say their season at this point does not start until the Big Ten Championship.
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