Big Ten Power Rankings #6

This week’s edition of Big Ten Power Rankings according to football reporters Jacob Carpenter and Cash Kruth (last week’s rankings in parentheses):

1. (1) Penn State (9-0 overall, 5-0 Big Ten)
2. (2) Ohio State (7-2, 4-1)
3. (3) MSU (8-2, 5-1)
4. (6) Northwestern (7-2, 3-2)
5. (4) Minnesota (7-2, 3-2)
6. (8) Illinois (5-4, 3-3)
7. (5) Iowa (5-4, 2-3)
8. (7) Wisconsin (4-5, 1-5)
9. (11) Purdue (3-6, 1-4)
10. (10) Indiana (3-6, 1-4)
11. (9) Michigan (2-7, 1-4)

The distance between the Big Ten’s top two teams and the rest of the league is as wide as the state of Pennsylvania. It’s painful trying to organize the bottom nine teams, but MSU stays at No. 3 with its last-second win, Northwestern jumps Minnesota on the strength of its narrow victory over the Golden Gophers this week, and Illinois gets bumped above Iowa for a win over the Hawkeyes. I’m still not convinced Wisconsin is the eighth-best Big Ten team, but I’m starting to think I say that every week and it never comes true. Finally, Michigan is last. I repeat, Michigan is last. Once more, Michigan is last.

Cash’s rankings:
1. (1) Penn State
2. (2) Ohio State
3. (3) MSU
4. (6) Illinois
5. (7) Northwestern
6. (4) Minnesota
7. (5) Iowa
8. (8) Wisconsin
9. (11) Purdue
10. (9) Michigan
11. (10) Indiana

I’m honestly sick and tired of ranking this pathetic conference. Truthfully, I have no idea who to put where. The top three are solidified, but after that it’s a crap shoot. Illinois beat Iowa, so I can’t rank the Hawkeyes ahead of the Illini. Northwestern beat Minnesota, even though the Wildcats are, in my opinion, simply not good. Iowa also lost to Minnesota, which means they can’t be ranked above the Gophers. I think Jacob and I need to come up with a computer system to make this easier.

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