Big Ten power rankings, Week 11: Save us, Wisconsin, you’re the Big Ten’s only hope

10

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-5, 3-3)

Last week: W vs. Maryland, 31-24
Last rank: 13th

Three wins in the Big Ten is practically uncharted territory for Rutgers, so they should be commended for getting there. Even though they’ve all come against the bottom teams in the conference, this come-from-behind win was the best of the Chris Ash era and has the fans thinking they can go bowling. That’s a stretch, since they’d have to beat one of Penn State or Michigan State even if they knock off Indiana.

Even with steady play from Gio Rescigno, it was the Rutgers running backs that powered them to victory, especially Gus Edwards who ran for over 100 yards and caught the game-winning score. Rescigno was able to make timely throws when his team needed them, and his poise on the game-winning drive was something Rutgers has been sorely lacking for the better part of three years.

Whether or not this season ends in a bowl game, there’s finally a reason to get excited about Rutgers football.

9

Purdue Boilermakers (4-5, 2-4)

Last week: W vs. Illinois, 29-10
Last rank: 12th

If you had doubts about whether Jeff Brohm had this program heading in the right direction, he now has more Big Ten wins in one season than Darrell Hazell did in four. It’s an extremely low bar, to be sure, and he earned it against Illinois, but Purdue did something their fans aren’t used to seeing – a comfortable win.

Purdue didn’t need to craft a complicated gameplan to take down Illinois. All they had to do was rely on their strength, their running game, and capitalize on their opponent’s weakness, their run defense. Three running backs combined to put up 161 yards, but D.J. Knox was the most noteworthy player, as his 85 yards were highlighted by this insane touchdown run:

It’ll be worth keeping an eye on what Purdue does at quarterback. They’ve been using David Blough and Elijah Sindelar interchangeably, but with Blough out, they’ll have to rely on Sindelar. And if he goes down, they might have to improvise their way through the rest of the season.