Big Ten Power Rankings, Week 12: Michigan loses, but still controls its destiny

There are no more undefeated teams left in the Big Ten, but Michigan’s loss to Iowa affects Ohio State more than it affects them.

They always say that chaos lurks in November for college football, and this year was no different. Week 11 will go down as the most chaotic week of the season, as the number of shocking losses were staggering. Six teams in the top 15 lost, including three out of four teams in the playoff. As far as this season goes, Week 11 was like the Red Wedding:

The Big Ten wasn’t immune, either. We were starting to see the true contenders in the conference emerge and separate themselves from the pack. But then the conference’s last unbeaten team in Michigan loses to Iowa and everything gets thrown up in the air.

Iowa may be coming off an appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game, but they are a shell of themselves this year, at least on offense. They really showed in this game why they have one of the most underrated defensive units in the country.

No matter how much you speculate, this week proved that nothing is guaranteed in the last two games of the regular season. With that being said, here’s this week’s conference power rankings, which will almost certainly look completely different by this time next week.

When a 49-0 loss isn’t even your worst effort of the season, that says a lot about your football program. But Rutgers was up against a team that was playing some of the worst football in the country, and made them look like the defending Big Ten Champs! It’s hard not to feel sorry for Chris Ash, who looks like he’s still trying to get used to the transition from powerhouse Ohio State to doormat Rutgers.

As bad as Illinois has been, they at least had an outside shot at making a bowl game heading into this week. And while nobody expected them to beat Wisconsin, they could’ve at least come out fighting. Instead, they made the Badgers offense, who have been average at best this year, look like one of the best in the country.

It doesn’t matter that it was just Rutgers, this win was therapeutic for Spartans fans after what they’ve had to put up with this season. They limited Gio Rescigno to 40 yards passing, although part of that was because we saw plays like this. And while this will probably be the last win they get to enjoy this season, at least it gives them something to rally behind.

At least now, people can’t make fun of Michigan State for having the same record as Rutgers. They can, however, make fun of them for having the same record as Purdue.