Big Ten Power Rankings #7

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

Jacob’s rankings:

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

Penn State’s loss to Iowa might be worse than Ohio State’s lone defeat in conference to the Nittany Lions, but I’m going with the head-to-head record to give Penn State the edge over the Buckeyes at No. 1. Also, has there been any Big Ten team more disappointing this year than Illinois, which lost to Western Michigan on Saturday? In any given year, it’s big news if a Big Ten team loses to one Mid-American Conference school. This year, three Big Ten teams have lost to schools from the MAC (Illinois, Michigan and Indiana twice).

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

I can’t believe Illinois lost to Western Michigan. I mean, I know the Illini have been up and down throughout the season, but with the talent on that roster and Juice Williams at quarterback, there’s no reason they should lose to a school from the Mid-American Conference. The top three obviously remain the same, with Iowa getting bumped up after an impressive win. Even with its loss to U-M, I still like Minnesota enough to keep them in the top five over an unimpressive Northwestern team.

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