Big Ten Power Rankings, Week 13: More than playoffs on the line in Michigan vs. Ohio State

Michigan State and Indiana nearly spoiled the party, but the Big Ten’s marquee matchup will have everything on the line in Week 13.

It’s hard to think of the last time the Big Ten had this much momentum behind it. Last week, Michigan remained in the College Football Playoff and was ranked ahead of Clemson despite losing to Iowa. In this week’s AP Poll, three Big Ten teams were in the Top 5 for the first time in 56 years. The polls are meaningless at this point, but that’s got to bode well for their playoff outlook.

While it looked like both Ohio State and Michigan were both playing well enough to get into the playoff, the team that loses The Game won’t make it.

That being said, the Buckeyes stand a good chance of making it as a non-conference champion. Unlike Louisville, they actually got into the top four despite the fact that they probably won’t play in the Championship Game. And while Michigan State nearly spoiled it, a win over Michigan should vault them into the final rankings.

Week 13 is always a special week in college football, but with the final picture wrapped up in most other conferences, The Game will be the most meaningful matchup of them all. And when these two teams get together, there will be more than just playoffs on the line. With that in mind, let’s dive right in to the penultimate edition of the Big Ten Power Rankings.

Just in case you were wondering, Rutgers football is still bad. There were probably more people at the game than watching on TV, and there were 65 people at the game, give or take. If Rutgers is trying to make people feel bad for picking on them, it’s starting to work. It was certainly sad to see them get shut out on Senior Night.

But if there’s one silver lining for Scarlet Knights fans, it’s that they weren’t the only team shut out this week. Illinois fell 28-0 to a rejuvenated Iowa team that was fresh off of beating Michigan. On the day, their offense totaled 198 yards.

While hiring Lovie Smith was meant to inspire confidence in this fanbase, their results this season haven’t done that. Their closest loss of the season is still their overtime loss to Purdue.

Before this game, Purdue fans had to endure watching this team get their hopes up by carrying an unexpected lead at halftime only to have it slip away. At least Wisconsin did them a favor by putting it out of reach early so that they didn’t have to suffer. And while David Blough can usually be counted on to pad his stats in garbage time, he had a woeful outing in throwing two touchdowns to three interceptions and finishing with a 9.8 QB Rating.

If there’s one thing all of these bottom three teams are thankful for, it’s that next week is the end of the season.