Chapman's B1G Power Rankings [BLOG]

By Brian Chapman, 97.1 The Ticket

Finally, everyone in the B1G has played a conference opponent and we're starting to see the chips fall into place. Michigan State is still the top dog after beating Nebraska, but their biggest news probably came from outside of East Lansing as several top ten teams lost their first game of the season to give the Spartans more hope for the College Football Playoff. The Wolverines suffered another humiliating loss (that Rutgers enjoyed so much they felt the need to rush the field) and lost Derrick Green for the season. Meanwhile, J.T. Barrett isn't making anyone forget about Braxton Miller, but he's sure becoming a household name in the conference.

So how do I see the conference heading into October 11? Like this:

1. Michigan State (4-1, 1-0, last week No. 1)… Nebraska may have made a comeback in the 4^th Q, but it was too little too late because the Spartans closed the casket in the 3^rd. It wasn't a pretty game for the offense as Cook was wildly inaccurate at times, but there is no question that this is Michigan State's conference until someone knocks them off. I don't see that happening this season.
2. Ohio State (4-1, 1-0, last week No. 4)… The Deep South Buckeyes may not have a perfect defense, but they forced four turnovers in their 52-24 against Maryland on Saturday. The real story in Columbus, however, is the emergence of redshirt freshman QB J.T. Barrett. He was 18/23 for 267yds and 4 TDs as he shredded the Terps defense. Suddenly an offense that was expected to take a major step back without Braxton Miller is one of the conference's best and that makes the Buckeyes a threat once again.
3. Nebraska (5-1, 0-1, last week No. 3)… Michigan State opened up a huge lead on the Corn Huskers in the 3^rd quarter on Saturday, but Pelini's boys charged back to make the final score respectable. So what do I do? I chalk that up to the Spartans throwing in the towel on the game much like their student section did. This was not a close game and should not be treated as such. That said, Nebraska lost on the road to one of the ten best teams in America and there's no shame in that. Even with road trips to Northwestern and Wisconsin left on the schedule, I believe Nebraska still has a great shot to finish 6-2 in the conference.
4. Northwestern (3-2, 2-0, last week No. 12)… After a 1-2 start, Pat Fitzgerald has ramped up his Wildcat defense into perhaps one of the conference's best in just two weeks. First, they held Christian Hackenberg and Penn State to just six points in Happy Valley. Then they forced four turnovers and held Wisconsin to just 14pts last week. That's 20pts allowed and two good wins for Northwestern. If they win their next two games against Minnesota and Nebraska, a B1G West title will be all but locked up halfway through the B1G season.
5. Wisconsin (3-2, 0-1, last week No. 2) … Maybe Wisconsin is not that good. They entered last week No. 2 in my power rankings last week and since then two games have reshaped my opinion on the quality of this team. The first was Wisconsin's surprising 20-14 road loss to Northwestern. Melvin Gordon ran for over 250yds, but the Badgers passing game was as inept as it gets. Joel Stave couldn't stop throwing interceptions and he and Tanner McEvoy combined to complete just 12 of 29 passes. No one can beat good competition on a consistent basis with passing numbers like that. The second game was the LSU-Auburn game. Wisconsin's season opening loss by four points to LSU didn't seem too bad when the Les Miles's squad looked like a national title contender. Then they got crushed 41-7 on Saturday by Auburn. Losing two games to teams that have no shot at the College Football Playoff means Wisconsin is far from great.
6. Penn State (4-1, 1-1, last week No. 6)… Penn State is coming off of a bye week and based on how James Franklin fared at Vanderbilt after a bye, the Nittany Lions should have no trouble bouncing back for a win against the Michigan. Also, Penn State's lone loss doesn't look nearly as bad after seeing Northwestern take down Wisconsin.
7. Minnesota (4-1, 1-0, last week No. 8)… Minnesota had a bye last week, but it was a great bye for the Golden Gophers. Their only loss this year came on the road to TCU who improved to 4-0 with a 37-33 win against Oklahoma. That makes Minnesota's 4-1 record look a lot more credible, hence the jump in the power rankings. They still have to prove they can pass the football, but in the down trodden B1G, they're not so bad.
8. Maryland (4-2, 1-1, last week No. 5)… The Terps finally faced a ranked team on Saturday and they played as you'd expect a typical Maryland team to play against a ranked big name squad. They were never competitive against the Deep South Buckeyes in a 28pt home loss. They definitely have some talent at wide receiver and they should have no trouble getting to a bowl game, but as we expected, they are no more than a middle of the pack B1G team.
9. Rutgers (5-1, 1-1, last week No. 7)… The last time I saw this team play, they were shutout in the second half by We Are Penn State and turned it over five times in their only loss of the season. Against Michigan, they were a much different team. Gary Nova looked like Gary Heisman, with three touchdown passes and over 400yds passing and they prevented Michigan from forcing its third turnover of the season. The Scarlet Knights were also nearly unstoppable on third down. The competition stiffens significantly in the final six games of the season, but with some positive trends against the Wolverines, Rutgers could be a tough test the rest of the season.
10. Indiana (3-2, 0-1, last week No. 9)… After a brutal home loss to Maryland, the Hoosiers bounced back with a 25p home victory. Unfortunately, it did nothing to help them in the B1G standings as their win came against lowly North Texas. After their win at Mizzou a couple of weeks ago, I have to imagine nobody in the B1G will overlook the Hoosiers. That will make it much more difficult for this team to pull off the additional upset or two needed to make a bowl game.
11. Iowa (4-1, 1-0, last week No. 10)… Last week I said that the Hawkeyes are no lock to play in a 13^th game despite needing two more wins because of their weak offense and they did nothing to change my mind last week because… they had a bye. This week they face Hoosiers team that's put up 73 total points in two road games this year. If Rudock and company can go point for point with Indiana and eke out a win on Saturday, a bowl will be a lock. If not, and that's a big if, their season could go the way of the Wolverines.
12. Michigan (2-4, 0-2, last week No. 11)… Michigan just lost to Rutgers. Think about that. The lowly former Big Least school Rutgers! Some say there's optimism they can win two or three B1G games because of how hard they played against Rutgers. Some say they'll have trouble without Derrick Green for the rest of the season. I think the worst takeaway from the Rutgers game is that not even Blake Countess (who wears Charles Woodson's No. 2 jersey) can't even be trusted. Gary Nova threw for over 400yds and 3 touchdowns against Michigan and guess who gave up each of those touchdowns. Blake Countess.
13. Purdue (3-3, 1-1, last week No. 14)… I sincerely apologize to the Boilermakers. Last week I labeled them the worst team in the B1G and they proved me wrong. In the battle for the basement, they went on the road and knocked off the Fighting Illini by double digits. They won't win again, but knowing they are not the worst team in the conference makes this a tremendously positive season for Purdue.
14. Illinois (3-3, 0-2, last week No. 13)… When you can't force Purdue to turn the ball over and you give up 551yds at home, there's only one way to describe you. Worst team in the Big Ten.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2014/09/25/big-ten-power-rankings-blog/  Week 5

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2014/10/01/big-ten-power-rankings-blog-2/ Week 6