Big Ten power rankings after Week 5: A new No. 1 again?

It wasn’t an incredible slate in the Big Ten, but it was an entertaining one.

Michigan football had its first road game of the season, one Urban Meyer envisioned would be a difficult one. It wasn’t.

Penn State thought it would have a breeze of a game at Northwestern. Despite the lopsided score, it also wasn’t.

Michigan State fired its coach officially, and yet nearly came up with the upset victory in Iowa. However, the Hawkeyes prevailed thanks to — you guessed it — defense and special teams.

Maryland rolled Indiana. Purdue surprised Illinois with a blowout. Minnesota held on in nonconference play, and Rutgers destroyed a Football Championship Subdivision team. Ohio State and Wisconsin were off this week.

Here are our latest Big Ten power rankings.

Michigan Wolverines (5-0)

Last week was much better; this finally looked like the No. 2 team in the country.

The Wolverines went on the road to Nebraska and eviscerated the Huskers to the tune of 45-7 — and the score wasn’t even that close. Michigan ran all over the top run defense, and stopped the conference’s top rushing offense until garbage time. It was the most complete performance of the season for the maize and blue.

Next, Michigan travels to Minnesota for its second straight road game.

Penn State Nittany Lions (5-0)

Penn State ended up beating Northwestern, 41-13, but don’t be deceived — this game wasn’t nearly as out of hand as the score indicated. Tied at 13 at halftime, the Nittany Lions had an anemic offensive showing. Drew Allar was pedestrian, as was the run game.

PSU has an opportunity to show out again next week with UMass coming to Happy Valley.

Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0)

Ohio State was on bye this week. Next week, the Buckeyes will take on undefeated Maryland at home.

Maryland Terrapins (5-0)

The Terps continue to roll, this time taking down lowly Indiana. Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa was incredible, throwing for 352 yards and five touchdowns against the Hoosiers. The defense limited both the IU passing and rushing game in a 44-17 victory.

Next, Maryland travels to Columbus for what could be a ranked-on-ranked matchup.

Wisconsin Badgers (3-1)

Wisconsin was on bye this week. It has a potentially tough matchup against Rutgers next.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-1)

The Scarlet Knights played an FCS opponent, Wagner, and did exactly what a Big Ten team is supposed to do in such a game, winning 52-3. However, Rutgers has been known for not doing such things. The run game got back on track after Michigan shut it down the previous week.

RU takes on Wisconsin next week.

Iowa Hawkeyes (4-1)

First, you have to credit the resiliency of the Hawkeyes after losing quarterback Cade McNamara to a potentially catastrophic injury. Iowa couldn’t move the ball with Deacon Hill at QB, but defense and special teams helped out immensely against what appeared to be an inspired Spartans team. Cooper DeJean is invaluable to Iowa, with the game-capping touchdown on a punt return.

Iowa takes on Purdue next.

Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-2)

Minnesota had a close nonconference win over Louisiana, which is actually a pretty decent team. Athan Kaliakmanis wasn’t incredible, but he was efficient, supplementing the run game. The pass defense was good, but the rushing defense wasn’t exactly great, which is troubling considering Michigan comes to town next week.

Purdue Boilermakers (2-3)

Well, well, well, we’ve got ourselves a team now in the Boilermakers. Purdue used a big third quarter to pull away from Illinois, winning 44-19. The defense was decent and the offense wasn’t stellar, but this was a game that wouldn’t have happened two weeks ago. Ryan Walters may be onto something.

Michigan State Spartans (2-3)

Yes, Michigan State moved up a spot after losing to Iowa, 26-16. The Spartans showed fight in a week when they officially fired their head coach. MSU actually looked like it was going to get a rare night win at Kinnick, yet due to Cooper DeJean’s heroics, it walks away with another in the loss column.

Who knows what’s next from the Spartans, who will be on bye this next week before heading to Rutgers.

Illinois Fighting Illini (2-3)

The good news? Illinois wasn’t a turnover machine. The bad news? It was  blown out by a bad Purdue team. Though the Illini kept it close in the first half, the third quarter got out of control. This is just not a good team.

Next, Illinois plays a bad Nebraska team.

Northwestern Wildcats (2-3)

Northwestern showed fight against Penn State, playing the Nittany Lions even in the first half. Despite the score being lopsided, the defense was phenomenal, but the offense struggled mightily against the talented PSU defense.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-3)

Nebraska returns to near the bottom of the conference after playing No. 2 Michigan. The 45-7 loss wasn’t even as close as the score indicates, as the sole touchdown and nearly half of the yards accumulated came in garbage time. Heinrich Haarberg tossed his first interception on the Huskers’ first drive and it was costly, as the Wolverines capitalized with a TD on the ensuing drive.

Matt Rhule is looking for answers after thinking Nebraska was a little better than it ended up being.

Indiana Hoosiers (2-3)

A week after the weirdest postgame celebration known to man, Indiana followed with an abysmal loss to Maryland. The Hoosiers are winning their race to the bottom.

Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire