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

On the one hand, Wisconsin had its best offensive performance of the season. On the other hand, it was against Illinois. But after playing five top 10 teams in their first nine games, the Badgers are thrilled to finally have some easy opponents to close out the regular season. While playing easier teams before potentially playing in the Championship Game can seem like a recipe for disaster, this team is extremely battle tested.

Corey Clement absolutely showed out with 123 yards and three touchdowns. While Saquon Barkley is getting all the attention as far as Big Ten running backs go, Clement is extremely talented too, and he wants to remind people that he’s still here.

Once again, defense was the story for the Badgers as they had four interceptions in the first half, which led to Jeff George Jr. getting pulled from the game. But Wes Lunt didn’t fare much better, and on the whole, Illinois went 0-for-9 on third down conversions.

While the Badgers didn’t need to get strong quarterback play, it remains a concern for them. Nobody is convinced that Alex Hornibrook or Bart Houston or a combination of the two will beat Michigan, and in their previous encounter with them, that proved to be the difference. Penn State might actually be a harder team to gameplan for since they haven’t played them. Wisconsin is marginally better on defense, but Penn State’s offense is much more dynamic.

So long as the Badgers don’t lose to Purdue or Minnesota, they will get to the Championship Game. But even with a conference title, it’s hard to imagine the playoff committee giving a two-loss team a playoff berth. Then again, their strength of schedule is as good as anyone else in the country, so who the hell knows?