Big Ten Power Rankings: Week 14

Wisconsin has had one of the toughest schedules in the country, so they shouldn’t be accused of looking past an opponent. But prior to kickoff, they already knew they clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game, and for the first half, it looked like they had one eye on Indianapolis.

But after falling behind 17-7, give the Badgers credit for making the right adjustments on defense and pitching a shutout in the second half while forcing four turnovers. Their offense came up big too by scoring 24 unanswered points.

As long as they have Corey Clement, who scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and Jazz Peavy, the Badgers’ offense should be fine. But there’s a good chance they won’t have Alex Hornibrook in the Big Ten title game, seeing as how he left the game in the second quarter. Since Paul Chryst has been playing his two quarterbacks interchangeably, Bart Houston won’t be rusty, and he finished this game 9 of 14 on pass attempts.

But Wisconsin’s strength remains its defense. They’ve looked good on offense in recent weeks, but it’s easy to run up the score against Illinois and Purdue. Against ranked teams, Wisconsin’s gameplan has generally been to use the strength of their defense to make it a dog fight.

While Wisconsin’s win wasn’t as convincing as Penn State’s, they should head in to the Championship Game as the favorite. Then again, despite their strength of schedule, their signature win to date is still LSU who currently sit outside of the Top 25. And with two losses to Michigan and Ohio State, leaving out Big Ten champion Wisconsin might be an easier call than leaving out Big Ten champion Penn State.

But Wisconsin has been the highest ranked two-loss team in the country ever since their loss to Ohio State, and winning a conference title could force the Playoff Committee to make a tough decision.