The calendar continues to flip on the 2022 college football season and there are only three weeks left in the Big Ten season before we find out which teams go to Indianapolis to face off in the Big Ten Championship game.
Week 10 was an odd one, to say the least. Ohio State and Michigan struggled against two teams that aren’t very good. Illinois lost to Michigan State, and Iowa continues to improve, this time beating Purdue to really bunch things up in the West division.
With all that we’ve seen this season, we try to pivot and reassess things after every week and it’s no different after Week 10. We have to keep in mind the body of work and each individual situation with every game, but these are power rankings and not standings.
Here is how we believe the power stacks up in the Big Ten after the last slate of games where every team was in action.
14
Northwestern Wildcats (1-8, 1-5)
Last Week
Lost at Ohio State, 21-7
| Previous week | Change |
| 14 | no change |
Northwestern put up a pretty good fight against Ohio State in some extreme weather conditions, but couldn’t finish the deal. This is still a bad team with a lot of heart and that’s about all we can say for Pat Fitzgerald’s team.
Next Up
vs. Minnesota
13
Indiana Hoosiers (3-6, 1-5)
Last Week
Lost to Penn State, 45-14
| Previous week | Change |
| 13 | no change |
Whereas Northwestern put up a good fight at home against one of the top teams in the league, Indiana did the exact opposite hosting Penn State. This sure looks and feels like a team that has quit on the season, and you have to wonder what direction Tom Allen has this program pointing after two straight very disappointing seasons.
Next Up
at Ohio State
12
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-5, 1-5)
Last Week
Lost vs. Michigan, 45-17
| Previous week | Change |
| 12 | no change |
Rutgers put up quite the fight in the first half against Michigan, but the Wolverines were able to wear down the Scarlet Knights’ defense and pull away in the second half. If you’ve followed us long enough, you know we never give credit for close wins in this column but appreciate the effort.
Next Up
11
Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-6, 2-4)
Last Week
Lost vs. Minnesota, 20-13
| Previous week | Change |
| 11 | no change |
At least the last four teams on Big Ten Power Rankings made it easy by losing. To be fair, Nebraska has looked much more competitive since the firing of Scott Frost, but there’s still a long way to go. At the end of the day, it’s another one-score loss for the poor Cornhuskers.
Next Up
at Michigan
10
Purdue Boilermakers (5-4, 3-3)
Last Week
Lost vs. Iowa, 24-3
| Previous week | Change |
| 6 | – 4 |
It’s not often that we drop a team this drastically, but Purdue has looked lost the last couple of weeks, especially this past week against Iowa. The teams now ahead of them are playing much better than the Boilermakers at this point. Aidan O’Connell had a rough day with two picks and an under 50% completion percentage.
Next Up
at Illinois
9
Iowa Hawkeyes (5-4, 3-3)
Last Week
Won at Purdue, 24-3
| Previous week | Change |
| 10 | +1 |
Very quietly, Iowa seems to be getting better, and it’s all because of better production on offense. Believe it or not, the Hawkeyes are still in the mix for a West division title though they might need a bunch of tiebreakers to go their way if they can win out and Illinois loses once more. This appears to be a team on an upward trajectory since the train wreck at Ohio State.
Next Up
vs. Wisconsin
8
Wisconsin Badgers (5-4, 3-3)
Last Week
Win vs. Maryland, 23-10
| Previous week | Change |
| 9 | +1 |
Wisconsin has been a vastly different team at home than on the road, and, thankfully for the Badgers, they did their best work against the Terrapins in Madison this past week. There is a path still to get to Indianapolis, but Graham Mertz has to be good Graham Mertz away from Camp Randall to make it happen. He’ll get a shot to be just that next weekend.
Next Up
at Iowa
7
Michigan State Spartans (4-5, 2-4)
Last Week
Win vs. Maryland, 23-10
| Previous week | Change |
| 8 | +1 |
The Spartans beat all the odds by beating West division leading Illinois on the road with eight players suspended and all of the drama surrounding the fight after the Michigan game last week. We’ll see if this team can continue to rally and spoil other teams’ hopes down the road.
Next Up
vs. Rutgers
6
Maryland Terrapins (6-3, 3-3)
Last Week
Lost at Wisconsin, 23-10
| Previous week | Change |
| 5 | -1 |
We’re starting to see some of the same issues with Maryland wearing down toward the end of the Big Ten season, but we have to remember the Terps are getting Taulia Tagovailoa healthy and it’s more difficult to win at Wisconsin than the alternative. It gets real with a trip to Happy Valley next week.
Next Up
at Penn State
5
Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-3, 3-3)
Last Week
Win at Nebraska, 20-13
| Previous week | Change |
| 7 | +2 |
I’ll be honest, I have no idea how the West division is going to shake out, but we’re giving Minnesota a little more credit for going through a tough stretch when injuries crept up and for bouncing back with a win on the road. Most likely though, it’ll all change next week.
Next Up
vs. Northwestern
4
Illinois Fighting Illini (7-2, 4-2)
Last Week
Lost vs. Michigan State, 23-15
| Previous week | Change |
| 4 | no change |
You had a feeling the balloon would pop at some point for Illinois, but not this week against an undermanned Michigan State team. Still, it’s hard to drop the Illini based on what they’ve done this year. This is still a good defensive ball club that can be physical on both sides of the ball.
Next Up
vs. Purdue
3
Penn State Nittany Lions (7-2, 4-2)
Last Week
Won at Indiana, 45-14
| Previous week | Change |
| 3 | no change |
It sure looks and feels like the Nittany Lions are a team on the rise. The offense piled up almost 500 yards of offense on the road, but it was the defense that set the tempo by allowing under 200 yards of offense by Indiana. The schedule is awfully favorable for Penn State down the road and there’s a better-than-good chance this could end up being a New Year’s Six bowl team if it can run the table.
Next Up
vs. Maryland
2
Ohio State Buckeyes (9-0, 6-0)
Last Week
Won vs. Penn State, 44-31
| Previous week | Change |
| 1 | -1 |
We thought long and hard about whether we should give Ohio State a pass because of the weather conditions at Northwestern. The reality is this team has struggled to run the ball three straight weeks and that’s not going to cut it in late November against TTUN. Either the Buckeyes find a way to squeeze the lemon in the running game or we’ll all pray for great weather on Nov. 26 so the passing game can hum. We can’t excuse the lack of toughness any longer and that’s why we make the call to move the Buckeyes down one this week.
Next Up
vs. Indiana
1
Michigan Wolverines (9-0, 6-0)
Last Week
Won at Rutgers, 52-17
| Previous week | Change |
| 2 | +1 |
There may have been some issues in the first half against Rutgers, but Michigan righted the ship in the second half and won convincingly against a Rutgers team on the decline. This team looks like a physical bunch built to give Ohio State everything it can handle at the end of the season.
Next Up
at Rutgers
