Big Ten power rankings after Week 11: Final showdown on the way

It’s now very clear who the top two teams in the Big Ten are.

After Michigan football ran and ran and ran all over Penn State, despite not having Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines, the Nittany Lions have been eliminated from top contention in the conference. Ohio State‘s offense is getting better and better, as evinced by the annihilation of Michigan State.

The West, however, is still a mess. Iowa leads, but Wisconsin is a shell of itself due to injuries. Northwestern and Illinois continue to rebound after rough starts.

Here are our latest Big Ten power rankings with Week 11 in the books, and we’re inching closer to the Week 13 showdown between Michigan and Ohio State.

Michigan Wolverines (10-0)

Michigan football ran over Penn State, pretty much literally. The only pass attempt in the second half didn’t count. It resulted in a pass interference call, meaning all of J.J. McCarthy’s eight passes came in the first half.

Both Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards got moving. Though many plays were stopped for short gain, we saw both players have the electric runs we came to expect in 2022. The defense was stellar, not allowing much from the Nittany Lions.

A road game at Maryland awaits before the regular-season finale against Ohio State.

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Ohio State Buckeyes (10-0)

After Ohio State did not have great showings offensively in a number of games, apparently, MSU was the elixir that cured the Buckeyes’ ills.

If OSU had wanted to, it would have beaten the Spartans in a similar fashion to how Michigan football had a few weeks ago. The Buckeyes moved the ball with ease. While MSU crossed into Ohio State territory quite often, those drives stalled almost immediately.

Penn State Nittany Lions (8-2)

James Franklin can’t coach his way out of a box. Perhaps the ebb and flow of the game could have gone differently if he hadn’t made so many boneheaded decisions. Whether it was going for 2 early in the game, looking to go for it on fourth down before calling a timeout and punting, or others, the experienced head coach was outcoached by Sherrone Moore, who learned only an hour or two before the game that he would be filling in for Jim Harbaugh.

A New Year’s Six bowl awaits, which appears to be the ceiling for a Franklin-coached team.

Iowa Hawkeyes (8-2)

The West is theirs if they want it.

Iowa continues to somehow roll even while looking inept. It beat a pretty good Rutgers team, shutting out the Scarlet Knights and even showing some prowess offensively against a solid defense.

The Hawkeyes can book their tickets to Indianapolis assuming an implosion doesn’t happen over the next two weeks against Illinois and Nebraska.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-4)

Rutgers showed better against Ohio State than it did against Iowa, and while the Scarlet Knights remain bowl-eligible, this was not the same team we’ve seen for most of the year.

Yes, RU went up against a terrific defense, but the disappointing thing was how its own defense couldn’t stop an Iowa team that has trouble moving the ball. With Penn State and Maryland next, will Rutgers win another game?

Northwestern Wildcats (5-5)

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Northwestern went on the road and blew out Wisconsin in Madison. Oh, you haven’t heard that before — at least not in recent memory.

Even playing against a depleted Badgers squad, Northwestern went into Camp Randall and was the aggressor. Considering where this team has been the past few years, it’s as impressive of a turnaround as you can imagine. David Braun should have his interim tag removed immediately because he’s done a masterful job in Evanston.

Maryland Terrapins (6-4)

After losing every game in October and its first in November, Maryland finally rebounded by winning 13-10 over Nebraska. No, it wasn’t pretty and this team is a far cry away from early season expectations. But a win is a win, and it came at a crucial time considering Michigan football comes to town next week and a surging Rutgers closes the regular season. At least the Terps have ensured bowl eligibility, which counts for something.

Illinois Fighting Illini (5-5)

Illinois outlasted Indiana, which isn’t saying much. It was an offensive explosion for the Illini in Week 11, with quarterback John Paddock having an incredible game. He passed for 507 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. The defense still isn’t great, but Bret Bielema’s club is a win away from bowl eligibility, which didn’t appear a possibility early in the season.

Wisconsin Badgers (5-5)

Though Tanner Mordecai and Braelon Allen returned, perhaps it would have been better if they hadn’t. A half-strength Wisconsin put up a better showing against Ohio State a few weeks ago than it did against Northwestern, as the Wildcats jumped all over the Badgers. A game that should have cemented bowl eligibility for Luke Fickell’s club didn’t go that way, so now UW has to see what it can get against Nebraska and Minnesota.

Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-5)

Despite a promising middle part of the season where it appeared the Gophers put it together, Minnesota went into West Lafayette and were blown out by what appeared to be a hapless Purdue team. There’s no good way to put it, but if you lose that way to what had been the worst team in the conference for the bulk of the season, you have bigger problems than trying to reach bowl eligibility.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-5)

After having a few weeks where it looked like everything was falling in line for Nebraska, the slide continues. The Huskers defense did a good job against Maryland, but the Terps hadn’t won a game in over a month and apparently, Matt Rhule’s team was the elixir to their ills. This is a confounding team that has lost games it shouldn’t have but won some unexpectedly, as well. We’ll see if Matt Rhule can get a win in the next two weeks to become bowl eligible.

Purdue Boilermakers (3-7)

OK, so wasn’t expecting that.

While Nebraska isn’t much to write home about, Purdue had cemented itself as the worst team in the conference. And yet, any given Saturday, apparently.

The Boilermakers dominated for the first time all year and while they’re not playing for anything, perhaps this showing is a sign of a team growing and can take some momentum into the offseason.

Indiana Hoosiers (3-7)

The Hoosiers showed some life in the loss to Illinois, but it wasn’t enough to secure a win. The offense looks much improved after the coordinator change, but the defense continues to be intermittent.

Michigan State Spartans (3-7)

Back to the bottom with you, MSU.

After a surprising home win over Nebraska in Week 10, Michigan State went down into Columbus and made an offense that looked like a shell of what we’ve known the Buckeyes to be look like CJ Stroud surrounded by his 2021 weapons. The defense was abysmal, the offense moved the ball past the 50 multiple times before sputtering out, and the Spartans showed they’re not even in the same stratosphere as OSU and Michigan.

Oh well. You hate to see it.

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Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire