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Big Ten power rankings: Will Michigan blowout Ohio State?

By Ethan Lee

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 17: Khaleke Hudson #7 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates a second half fumble recovery with Tyree Kinnel #23 while playing the Indiana Hoosiers at Michigan Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 31-20. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - NOVEMBER 17: Khaleke Hudson #7 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates a second half fumble recovery with Tyree Kinnel #23 while playing the Indiana Hoosiers at Michigan Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan won the game 31-20. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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PISCATAWAY, NJ – NOVEMBER 17: Rutgers Scarlet Knights running back Jonathan Hilliman (23) runs the ball during the fourth quarter of the college football game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Rutgers Scarlet Knights on November 17, 2018, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, NJ (Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ – NOVEMBER 17: Rutgers Scarlet Knights running back Jonathan Hilliman (23) runs the ball during the fourth quarter of the college football game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Rutgers Scarlet Knights on November 17, 2018, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, NJ (Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Big Ten East will be decided when Michigan invades Ohio State but can the Buckeyes defense even make it a close game?

This past weekend was an interesting one for the Big Ten. Some of the best teams in the conference were matched up with several of the worst teams in the conference and, well, the good teams struggled in those games.

Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State all had issues on Saturday, but they all still came out on top. There’s a good chance that Michigan and Ohio State were looking ahead to their game next weekend and Penn State was likely just sleepwalking when it faced Rutgers, but it was interesting to see these teams challenged.

But that’s about all of the intrigue that came directly out of this past weekend’s results. Indirectly, though, things could get interesting for the Big Ten this weekend. More than likely, there’s going to be a ton of shakeup in the power rankings after the final week of the regular season. Buckle up, folks, because things might just get weird.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights actually challenged the Penn State Nittany Lions for a while! That’s good! Especially for Rutgers! What’s not good is that Rutgers didn’t actually win the game and ended up losing by double digits. Still, what Rutgers did to slow down Penn State’s vaunted offense is pretty impressive. Trace McSorley completed just 45.9 percent of his passes and the Nittany Lions only gained 322 total yards. Rutgers will close things out against Michigan State in what will almost certainly be a sloppy game.

Illinois had a pretty rough time against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Illini accomplished the rare feat of being shutout AND losing by 63 points at the same time. That’s impressive, but not in a good way. Illinois had some momentum going at the beginning of the month and effectively lost it all over the past two weeks. Illinois gets to face Northwestern to end the season and that probably won’t be much fun for the Illini.

Indiana experienced heartbreak on Saturday, which is nothing truly new for this program. The Hoosiers did a great job of challenging the Michigan Wolverines but simply didn’t have enough to keep up with the best team in the Big Ten. Tom Allen should be proud of how his team competed, but it’s certainly got to be painful to lose a game like this. Indiana will face Purdue in a game that will send someone to a bowl.

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