Big Ten power rankings after Week 9: Contender falls despite win, West gets murkier

After a week in which the dominant topic in the Big Ten had nothing to do with football itself, the focus finally shifted back to the game everyone loves.

Michigan football, after eviscerating rival MSU in Week 8, was on bye but had to sustain being the main character of college football all week with the allegations of illegal sign stealing. Rutgers, Iowa and Illinois were also off in Week 9.

That left two of the other big-time Big Ten teams in action. Ohio State struggled with an injury-riddled Wisconsin while Penn State found itself tied with bottom-feeder Indiana late into the fourth quarter before pulling away. Minnesota extended Michigan State’s conference winless streak, Northwestern surprised Maryland and Nebraska dominated Purdue.

With that in mind, here are our latest Big Ten power rankings.

Michigan Wolverines (8-0)

Michigan football was on bye this week but spent the week deflecting being the main topic of college football due to the off-field allegations. Next, Michigan hosts Purdue for a night game.

Ohio State Buckeyes (8-0)

Despite playing a decimated Wisconsin team, Ohio State more survived than won. TreVeyon Henderson was excellent in his return from injury and Marvin Harrison Jr. was Marvin Harrison Jr. The defense continues to impress, but against what’s been an anemic offense.

It’s difficult to really understand what this team is. It has the best two wins in the country, but has not looked impressive in the process. But wins are wins.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-2)

Yes, we moved Rutgers up to No. 3 on the bye week — deal with it. Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State and Maryland are up next.

Penn State Nittany Lions (7-1)

Perhaps it was a letdown week after an emotional loss to Ohio State last week, but Penn State looked abysmal on Saturday. Drew Allar still doesn’t look comfortable (he threw his first career interception in the game), the running game isn’t clicking, and the defense gave up quite a few big plays — something we haven’t seen all year.

Maryland, Michigan, Rutgers and Michigan State are left.

Wisconsin Badgers (5-3)

Despite not having most of its key players, Wisconsin gave all it had to Ohio State, losing by two scores in a game that wasn’t really that close.

The Badgers relied on Braedyn Locke at quarterback and he — well, did about as well as he could. Braelon Allen left the game with injury and appeared in a walking boot after, and Chimere Dike also left the game early with injury.

Considering, it was about as good of a performance against one of the top teams in the conference. A loss was expected but a close game without all of the top players wasn’t.

Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-3)

It took a long while and turnovers really hampered the Gophers, but eventually Minnesota did what it was supposed to do against Michigan State.

Jordan Nubin was excellent at running back for Minnesota, and Athan Kaliakmanis, despite having an in-game injury, played well in a gutsy performance. The defense was stellar, and this is another team that could win the West.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-3)

Nebraska is shockingly on the cusp of bowl eligibility and just has to win one of its last four against Michigan State, Maryland, Wisconsin and Iowa. Could the Huskers actually win the Big Ten West?

It was a great game for both Heinrich Haarberg offensively and the whole of the defense. Matt Rhule has this team believing, and it really has a shot at making the postseason for the first time in years.

Iowa Hawkeyes (6-2)

Iowa was on bye this week, but the injury-riddled Hawkeyes will face a surging Northwestern team next week.

Northwestern Wildcats (4-4)

Would you believe it, Northwestern is two games away from bowl eligibility! Northwestern is playing much better football in recent weeks and Brendan Sullivan really stepped up at quarterback, both throwing and running the ball. The defense was still lacking, but forcing two turnovers against the Terps, it did just enough. Get a win against Iowa next week and everything truly changes.

Maryland Terrapins (5-3)

Turns out September Maryland is a thing again. The Terps have not won in the month of October, having lost three straight, this time in a surprising loss to Northwestern. Taulia Tagovailoa turned the ball over twice, once through the air and another time on the ground. This continues to be a confounding team that has all the pieces, but cannot put everything together.

Illinois Fighting Illini (3-5)

Illinois was on bye this week and moved down only because another team moved up. Next, the Illini play Minnesota.

Indiana Hoosiers (2-6)

Well, Indiana showed signs of life going into Happy Valley and playing tough against Penn State. Tying the game with minutes to go in the fourth quarter is promising, but Tom Allen chickened out by running three straight times off the turnover instead of trying to score a touchdown.

Brendan Sorsby played a gutsy game and the defense was mostly solid. That’s worth enough to move up two spots this week.

Purdue Boilermakers (2-6)

Purdue was on bye last week and still looked as if it was as it traveled to Nebraska. Yes, the Huskers have improved greatly, but this was a team that was in the Big Ten Championship a year ago and now has nothing going for it. Hudson Card was errant, the run game was terrible, and the defense got gashed on the ground.

More bad news? The Boilermakers head to Ann Arbor next.

Michigan State Spartans (2-6)

Despite forcing multiple turnovers and short fields, the MSU offense did nothing with it. The Spartans are onto their third quarterback this season and are desperately searching for answers.

This now feels like the worst team in the conference and a winless season in the Big Ten is certainly within the scope of reality.

Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire