1. Ohio State
After a brief hiatus, OSU returned to the gridiron, where they manhandled Michigan State to the tune of 52-12. OSU needs to play one more game to qualify for the Big Ten Championship, and thus the playoffs, so they better hope Michigan gets over its COVID outbreak quickly.
2. Indiana
A surprising 14-6 win over Wisconsin proves that Indiana can actually play #manball, and they’ll be a tough test regardless of the kind of football you want to play.
3. Iowa
A solid, 35-21 win over Illinois, just another day’s work for the Hawkeyes.
4. Northwestern
The game against Minnesota was canceled, so the race for the top of the West is still a tight one between the Wildcats and Iowa.
5. Maryland
Maryland had another game canceled due to COVID, this time it was Michigan who had the outbreak. Some shimmying around the Terps actually pushes them up the rankings.
6. Wisconsin
After their first game of the season, in which the Badgers looked like a modern offense capable of keeping up with the OSUs of the world, the wheels have fallen off. With only 2 games to go, the Badgers are hoping to accrue enough wins for a bowl berth.
7. Minnesota
An outbreak of COVID meant the Gophers had the week off, and they stand pat in these rankings.
8. Penn State
Look who’s not dead yet! With a solid 23-7 win over Rutgers, in which the scoreboard did not match the actual gameplay, the Lions are attempting to move back into the top half of the conference.
9. Michigan
The Wolverines are suffering from a COVID outbreak, and thus did not play. Perhaps more interestingly, they may not be able to play this week against OSU, which could actually have national implications.
10. Nebraska
I’ll be honest, pretty much everyone in the B1G aside from like the top 4 teams are all bad. As such, expect teams down in this area to just sort of bounce around a bit, because I don’t see any real consistent play from any one team. A 37-27 win over Purdue moves the Cornhuskers up.
11. Purdue
And losing to the previous #14 team moves Purdue down..
12. Michigan State
Look, OSU is good, and MSU isn’t but Rutgers was more competitive against the Buckeyes than the Spartans were.
13. Rutgers
I thought Rutgers played as well as it could have, given the tough PSU defense, and the weather. The Scarlet Knights won the second half 7-6, but they dug themselves too deep of a hole to climb out of in the end.
14. Illinois
After a 4-week absence, welcome back to the basement Illinois!
And here are your happy little lines:
OSU, Indiana, Iowa, and Northwestern are solid as the top 4 in the conference. Maryland bumps up a spot, but that has to do with Wisconsin falling, not them doing anything themselves. Minnesota hangs out, before we hit the batch of scrambled eggs that is the bottom half of the conference. Penn State climbs, while Michigan moves up a spot too, with Nebraska right behind them. Purdue, Michigan State, Rutgers, and Illinois all fall with losses - the Illini reclaim their spot in the basement.
On to Week 8!