Big Ten Power Rankings — Week 9

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1)

The Buckeyes offense proved itself this weekend, torching Penn State’s defense in the fourth quarter to complete a 18-point comeback victory. Ohio State is now sitting pretty for inclusion in the College Football Playoff.

2. Penn State Nittany Lions (7-1)

Rough loss, but this is still a very good Penn State team. If the Nittany Lions win out, they could squeak into the CFP.

3. Wisconsin Badgers (8-0)

Another week, another semi-inspiring victory for the Badgers. This is simply just a countdown to Indianapolis.

4. Michigan Wolverines (6-2)

Gosh, the Big Ten is not very good if Michigan is the fourth best team.

5. Northwestern Wildcats (5-3)

The Wildcats defeated Sparty in 3-OTs on Saturday. Seriously, the middle of the pack Big Ten teams are just picking off each other.

6. Michigan State Spartans (6-2)

Michigan State’s luck ran out, and now it’ll play host to No. 7 Penn State.

7. Iowa Hawkeyes (5-3)

Another season, and another year of Penn State fans rooting for some Kinnick magic. This time, it’ll be against Ohio State.

8. Maryland Terrapins (4-4)

I feel like I say this most weeks, but I think we learned more about Indiana than we did Maryland.

9. Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-4)

The biggest question for the Cornhuskers is if Scott Frost will take the Florida job or return home to Lincoln.

10. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-5)

The Scarlet Knights showed a ton of fight against Michigan. This team might not be totally pathetic.

11. Indiana Hoosiers (3-5)

Not a good first year for new head coach Tom Allen.

12. Purdue Boilermakers (3-5)

13. Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-4)

Maybe I should give the Golden Gophers more credit. They’ve been in every game this season, but they really should be better than 4-4 with how easy their schedule is.

14. Illinois Fighting Illini (2-6)

Uh.