Big Ten Power Rankings, Week 9: Nebraska fails first Top 10 test
By David Rouben
While there were no surprising results in the Big Ten this week, there was lots of exciting football. Here are the latest conference power rankings.
If last week’s Big Ten results proved anything, it’s that chaos is always lurking. But this week, we saw the contenders separate themselves from the pack.
Michigan vs. Michigan State was not as close as the final scoreline would suggest, especially since the Spartans’ last touchdown came with a second left. In Ohio State’s first game following their Penn State loss, they had to fight tooth and nail against an improving Northwestern team. While the marquee matchup, a top 10 battle between Nebraska and Wisconsin, shifted the landscape of the Big Ten West division.
There’s a lot of football left, but the Big Ten picture is looking a lot clearer right now. And with that in mind, here are the latest edition of the conference’s power rankings.
Rutgers was off this week, which was great news for anyone who likes watching good football. The losses of Janarion Grant and Quanzell Lambert haven’t helped matters, but this team never looked like it could win more than three games this year. The extra week off likely won’t help against Indiana and their great defense.
Now past the halfway point of the season, the Illinois offense looks a lot different than it did at the start the season. They opened the Lovie Smith era by hanging 52 points against Murray State, while Wes Lunt established himself as the face of the team. Fast forward to Week 9, and redshirt freshman Jeff George Jr. is starting at quarterback while leading receiver Malik Turner suffered a brutal injury on an illegal hit.
It’s been a forgettable season for first-year head coach Lovie Smith, and this Homecoming game was a microcosm of that. The real challenge will be how he can improve this team in the coming years.
Back in Week 4, Michigan State was ranked No. 8 in the country. Fast forward to Week 9, and they now have the same record as Rutgers. According to ESPN, the Spartans’ start to conference play this year has been historically bad:
There were some positives to take away from this game. LJ Scott looked superb, but after he scored an opening drive touchdown, they only mustered 73 yards in the rest of the first half. And when they had a first-and-goal at the 2, they ran Scott four times and it resulted in a turnover on downs.
Unless Michigan State can beat Ohio State in Week 12, this team won’t play a bowl game for the first time in the Mark Dantonio era.