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

It’s hard to pinpoint where it went wrong for the Wolverines. Perhaps all the chaos around them meant they were bound to get caught up in it, or perhaps Iowa’s stout defense got up for this contest with an upset on their mind. Or maybe Kinnick Stadium possesses some special type of hoodoo-voodoo for Jim Harbaugh.

While everyone was concerned about Michigan’s offense coming into the year when they had to run a quarterback competition, Wilton Speight has exceeded everyone’s expectations. Having arguably the best receiving corps in the conference has helped him get settled, but he’s looked better each week, and has improved on plenty of his mechanics such as the deep ball.

But he couldn’t solve Iowa’s defense. He threw for a season low 103 yards and went 11-for-26. For just the second time all season, he didn’t throw a touchdown pass. It looked like we were headed for a blowout when Michigan scored twice on their first four possessions, but they only managed one field goal from that point on.

Michigan’s biggest strength is their defense, though, and they had a great game. They limited CJ Beathard to 66 passing yards and forced two turnovers. They limited Iowa to 4-for-16 on third downs, but converting on two of their three fourth down attempts was a difference maker.

Due to the circumstances of the Big Ten, this loss affects the Buckeyes more than it affects them. The top three teams in the Big Ten East all have a 6-1 record, and because of tiebreakers, the Wolverines remain at the top of the heap. They can easily make the Playoff if they win out.

But if they lose to Ohio State, then Penn State will make it to the Championship Game so long as they win out. And it’s easy to think that the playoff committee weighs a conference championship very heavily. If the Wolverines really hate Ohio State, then they lost this game on purpose while gambling on the hope that they’ll still win The Game.

Michigan may be a better team than Penn State and Wisconsin, but they should be punished for losing to an unranked team, and losing Wilton Speight drastically hurts their chances of beating Ohio State. They still control their own destiny, but their margin of error just got very small.