Big Ten power rankings: Minnesota’s Cinderella run was fun while it lasted
By Ethan Lee
Just as soon as Minnesota appeared to have a path to the playoffs, the Iowa Hawkeyes eliminated ruined the Golden Gophers’ perfect season.
Well, there goes college football’s chance at having Cinderella story this season. Minnesota, against all odds, made it to mid-November before suffering its first loss of the season. The Golden Gophers have been a great storyline to follow and can still have an amazing season when it’s all said and done, but it’s disappointing to see them fall at this point.
That said, we now enter a phase where Minnesota can cause absolute chaos moving forward. Should P.J. Fleck‘s team win the Big Ten West, it’ll get a shot at taking on Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game. If Minnesota can do the unthinkable and beat the Buckeyes then, the playoff picture gets weird.
But that’s all assuming that the Penn State Nittany Lions don’t find a way to upset Ohio State on Saturday. So, long story short, the Big Ten has plenty of opportunities to get really weird and really entertaining in the coming weeks.
Rutgers hasn’t accomplished a lot in 2019, but one thing the Scarlet Knights can be proud of is the fact that they scored 21 points on Ohio State. That’s about all Rutgers has going for it this season, but it’s a solid accomplishment for a remarkably awful team.
Northwestern won big, but the Wildcats were playing UMass. Northwestern is still really, really bad, but at least the Wildcats aren’t as bad as UMass. It can always be worse unless you are UMass. Then there’s a good chance that it can’t actually be worse.
There were moments against Wisconsin when the Nebraska Cornhuskers legitimately looked like they had figured things out. But, Nebraska still lost by 16 points. Scott Frost and the Huskers still have a long way to go. Hopefully, Nebraska fans will be patient as Frost’s contract was extended out to 2026.
Maryland was off with a bye week. The Terrapins will face off against the Huskers this coming Saturday in a game that’s featuring two worn out, struggling teams. Nebraska has lost four games in a row and, should the Huskers lose one more, they won’t be able to be bowl eligible this season. Maryland’s chance at making a bowl game is already ruined, and the Terps have lost five games in a row.
Michigan State’s season continues to get worse and worse. The Spartans were blown out by rival Michigan and now sit at 4-6 on the season. Michigan State needs to win its final two games to even make it to a bowl game. Given that those games are against Rutgers and Maryland, Michigan State should be able to do that with ease. But, well, Michigan State also shouldn’t even be in this position right now.
If Purdue is going to make it to a bowl, the Boilermakers can’t afford to lose another game this year. A bye week this past Saturday surely helps Purdue prepare for its final games of the season at Wisconsin and then against Indiana. Neither of those games is going to be easy for Purdue.
Illinois also had a break thanks to a bye week. The Fighting Illini have impressed all season long, far exceeding the expectations many had for them this season. Illinois has a tough test as it heads to Iowa this weekend and then gets a chance to close out the season against Northwestern. Seven wins would look great on this team. Eight would be phenomenal for this program.
Against Penn State, the Indiana Hoosiers simply couldn’t keep up with one of the best programs in the Big Ten. But Indiana came close. On the road, the Hoosiers fell by a touchdown to the Nittany Lions. That’s certainly progress for this developing program.
The Wisconsin Badgers probably shouldn’t have had too much of an issue with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Wisconsin ended up winning by 16 points, but this game should have been even more of a blow out for Wisconsin.
Iowa ended one of the best feel-good stories of the season when the Hawkeyes halted the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota’s perfect season came to an end and Iowa finally got a notable win over a really good team this season.
Indiana legitimately challenged Penn State. The Nittany Lions had a difficult time putting the Hoosiers away. Of course, Indiana didn’t keep up with Penn State, but this past Saturday, the Nittany Lions didn’t look like a team that could legitimately challenge Ohio State.
Minnesota’s perfect season has officially come to an end. That doesn’t mean that this season can’t still be spectacular for the Golden Gophers, but it does mean that securing the Big Ten West is a little more difficult now. P.J. Fleck the Gophers must take down Wisconsin to be able to lock up a spot in the conference title game.
I’m not convinced that Michigan is all that great of a team this season. Sure, there are moments of absolute brilliance that the Wolverines display, but then this team has a habit of choking in big moments. We’ll find out just how good this team is once it faces Ohio State.
Speaking of Ohio State, the Buckeyes are still the best team in the Big Ten. They’re not going anywhere. That isn’t changing any time soon. Yes, Ohio State gave up 21 points to Rutgers, but things happen. This team still looks remarkably dominant and is going to be a nightmare for just about anyone that faces it.
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