Big Ten power rankings: Will underdogs prevail in Rivalry Week?

After making it past James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Ohio State Buckeyes are headed back to the Big Ten Championship Game.

Ryan Day has been a solid successor to Urban Meyer, keeping the Buckeyes afloat and remaining controversy-free in his first season leading Ohio State. After guiding his team past the Penn State Nittany Lions, Day and the Buckeyes are headed to the Big Ten Championship Game. But there’s still one big test for Ohio State up ahead. And that’s the Michigan Wolverines.

Urban Meyer had no issues beating Michigan and Jim Harbaugh has yet to lead the Wolverines to victory over Ohio State and the Buckeyes have beaten the Wolverines each of the past seven seasons.

There’s some reason for hope for Michigan fans, just as there has been for the past few seasons with Harbaugh in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines look good heading into this game, just as they have over the past couple of years. Earlier this season, Michigan looked dominant against Notre Dame. Can Michigan play up to that level when it faces Ohio State?

Another week, another deflating shut out loss for Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are having yet another bad season. But, on the bright side, the football season is almost over. And that means that Rutgers won’t have to deal with more painful losses on the football field.

This season started out as a lot of fun for Maryland Terrapins fans as the Terps blew out multiple foes. Since then, Maryland has fallen hard and has been blown out by multiple foes. Being bowled over by Nebraska on Saturday was rough and that loss to the Cornhuskers is a great microcosm of this season.

Northwestern was actually able to put up a solid fight against a team that might make the Big Ten championship game as the Wildcats challenged the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Northwestern lost, unsurprisingly, but the Wildcats looked as good as they had all season on Saturday.

Well, the Boilermakers officially won’t be going to a bowl game this season. Purdue, with its back against the wall, was able to snag back-to-back wins against Nebraska and Northwestern but fell short against Wisconsin. Now, at 4-7, Purdue is set to face Indiana this week.

After a long, difficult season, the Michigan State Spartans looked solid on Saturday. But, they had to play Rutgers to do that. Michigan State has underachieved all year and a five-game losing streak was the epitome of that. Being able to shut out Rutgers was important for MSU, but the Spartans still aren’t any good and must beat Maryland to make it to a bowl game.

Nebraska couldn’t afford to lose to Maryland if Scott Frost and the Huskers wanted to make it to a bowl game, and the Huskers came out on top of the Terps Saturday. Now Nebraska needs to take down Iowa to earn bowl eligibility. That won’t be such an easy task.

Illinois just didn’t have enough offensive firepower to be able to overcome Iowa’s stout defense. The Fighting Illini already locked up bowl eligibility and have a chance to improve their bowl prospects with a win against Northwestern.

Indiana had a rough time when the Hoosiers hosted Michigan. The Wolverines were able to plow right through Indiana’s defense, making the Hoosiers look silly Saturday evening. Indiana can lock up an eight-win season should the Hoosiers get a road win over Purdue.

Putting Illinois away was a difficult task for the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Fighting Illini challenged Iowa far more than many would have expected at the beginning of the season. Now, Iowa is looking to deny its neighbor to the west, Nebraska, a shot at a bowl in Scott Frost’s second season. A win over the Huskers would secure bragging rights and help recruit against Frost and his program as the Huskers continue trying to build.

One more win and Wisconsin will be in the Big Ten Championship Game. All the Badgers need to do is beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers, which is probably easier said than done. Minnesota started the season off slow and improved as the year went along, having something of a Cinderella-sort of season. But Wisconsin can beat the Golden Gophers and deny them a chance at taking on Ohio State, which would blemish Minnesota’s enjoyable season.

Penn State lacked the firepower to keep up with Ohio State and a defense strong enough to completely shut down Justin Fields and the ridiculous offense the Buckeyes boast. James Franklin and company have had a great season, but they won’t be in the Big Ten Championship Game this season.

Can Minnesota finish the regular season out strong and earn a spot in the Big Ten Championship? The Golden Gophers must get past Wisconsin and the Badgers will be a tough team to beat. P.J. Fleck‘s team must be ready for a challenge this weekend as Wisconsin will no doubt be ready to prove itself as the best team in the Big Ten West.

Is this the season that Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines finally get past Ohio State? Will this be the year that the Wolverines end their losing streak to the Buckeyes and make a statement against the team that has dominated and controlled the Big Ten the past few seasons? Or will this be like every other year of Harbaugh leading Michigan, with the Wolverines gaining momentum before facing the Buckeyes and then crashing into a brick wall in their biggest game of the year?

Ohio State had a bit of a scare against Penn State on Saturday, but the Buckeyes took care of business and knocked the Nittany Lions over. Will Ohio State continue to control its own playoff destiny by beating Michigan? Or will Ryan Day and his team appear mortal for the first time all year?

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