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

By David Rouben

Nov 19, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes celebrate a win over the Michigan State Spartans after a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes celebrate a win over the Michigan State Spartans after a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 19, 2016; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Corey Clement (6) celebrates a touchdown with his teammates in the second half of the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross Ade Stadium. The Wisconsin Badgers beat the Purdue Boilermakers 49-20. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2016; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Corey Clement (6) celebrates a touchdown with his teammates in the second half of the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross Ade Stadium. The Wisconsin Badgers beat the Purdue Boilermakers 49-20. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

While Ohio State and Michigan might’ve been accused of overlooking their opponent, Wisconsin didn’t. Given that they’ve had arguably the toughest schedule in the country, though, they shouldn’t be accused of overlooking any opponent. The season may be winding down, but Wisconsin is in pole position to travel to Indianapolis, and they want to leave no doubt that they deserve to be Big Ten champions.

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Paul Chryst has been using both of his quarterbacks recently without raising questions of a possible quarterback controversy. But after Alex Hornibrook struggled in the first quarter, Bart Houston came in and led the Badgers on an 87-yard touchdown drive. From there, they finished the first half with 35 second quarter points.

And as if we needed more proof the Badgers have a strong defense, they picked off David Blough three times in the first half. They now have seven in the past two weeks, and are getting contributions from all over the place. T.J. Watt has been dominant all season, so you’d never guess that he recorded his first interception on the year.

We saw how Louisville’s loss affected Wisconsin when they moved up to number five in the AP Poll. With their only losses being hard-fought battles against Michigan and Ohio State, it’s clear that they’re the best two-loss team in the country. They should be favored in the Championship Game unless they play Michigan or Ohio State. And even then, they proved how tough of an out they were in their previous meetings.

If the Badgers win two more games this season, they’ll give the playoff committee a very tough choice to make in their final rankings.

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