1. No. 8 Michigan State (nine first-place votes), 139 points
The Spartans did their work to remain top dog of the conference, beating Nebraska in a clash of division favorites. We were given another reminder that Michigan State is really, really good at defense, this time as they held Heisman candidate Ameer Abdullah to 1.9 yards per rush. With the hierarchy of the Big Ten West having basically eaten itself, the Spartans are also tops in the better division of the conference.
2. No. 15 Ohio State (one), 129 points
Ohio State’s road dismantling of Maryland was enough to convince one person they could be the best team in the Big Ten, ending Michigan State’s proud unanimous No. 1 streak at one week. Redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett keeps getting better throwing the ball, this time averaging 11.6 yards per passing attempt and torching a not-awful Terrapin pass defense for four touchdowns.
3. No. 21 Nebraska, 122 points
It was a rough Saturday for Ameer Abdullah, who is probably done at this point as a real Heisman contender. With Wisconsin’s loss to Nebraska, the West really seems like the Huskers’ to lose with all other teams looking significantly flawed. Junior defensive end Randy Gregory continuing to look like a potential Top 15 pick helps too. There is a huge gap after this conference’s top three teams.
4. Wisconsin, 91 points
Passing Is Important: The 2014 Wisconsin Story would be one depressing and very accurate story. You can’t win if you can only do one thing on offense (albeit very well), so at this point, it looks like the Badgers are going to be in for some more losses where they are most definitely the more talented team, but will watch as the red zone offense unforgivingly stalls. “Received 259 rushing yards from Melvin Gordon and somehow lost” should go on offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig’s future tombstone.
T5. Northwestern, 87 points
A good way to bounce back from a stretch of games that could be politely described as “gratuitous humiliation” is to beat Penn State and Wisconsin back-to-back. It’s still hard to say if the Wildcats are for real, but cautiously optimistic is still a pretty positive outlook in the Big Ten, a pretty bad conference.
T5. Rutgers, 87 points
Best described as opponent No. 3 of Michigan’s total free fall, the Scarlet Knights are in for what Minnesota received last week: skepticism that beating Michigan is worth any kind of significance. As of now, Rutgers looks like the best team in the bottom half of the East and offensive coordinator and former Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen is one of the offseason’s best hires.
7. Iowa, 81 points
The Hawkeyes’ schedule is beginning to look even more advantageous than Wisconsin’s, but playing in the Big Ten West will do that. Their toughest opponent between now and a Nov. 22 home date against Wisconsin is Northwestern, which could make them a nifty dark horse candidate in the West. They also get Wisconsin the week after the Badgers play Nebraska, so that should be a huge trap game.
8. Penn State, 80 points
The next stage on the “How low can Michigan go” tour, the Nittany Lions are coming off a bye week after a home loss to Northwestern that suddenly looks a lot more excusable. Sophomore quarterback and preseason Davey O’Brien Award watch lister Christian Hackenberg has been a disappointment, but an extra week of prep against a Wolverines team in the morale equivalent of the fetal position should help his stats.
9. Minnesota, 76 points
The Gophers are coming off a bye week after a road win over Michigan that suddenly looks a lot less impressive. They remain in the Wisconsin zone of being a hypothetically great team if college football would just ban the forward pass already. Unfortunately, that realm doesn’t exist and a little more than 100 passing yards per game just isn’t going to cut it.
10. Maryland, 55 points
After Minnesota, there’s a sizable drop-off in conference rankings that ends at a Terrapins team that got blown out by a possibly great Ohio State team. Starting quarterback C.J. Brown was a game-time decision with a wrist injury against the Buckeyes and was pulled after a pretty bad half, averaging 3.9 yards per passing attempt.
11. Indiana, 43 points
Loss to Bowling Green, win at Missouri, loss to Maryland, win over North Texas, this season has so far been head coach Kevin Wilson’s wild ride. The Hoosiers will have their explosive offense further tested with back-to-back matchups against a strong Iowa defense and lock-down Michigan State defense.
12. Purdue, 24 points
A win over new conference dunce Illinois pulls the Boilermakers out of the bottom spot of the Big Ten. However, they play Michigan State next, so we might see some revertive carnage.
13. Michigan, 22 points
All you need to know about how bad this season could get for the winningest program in college football history is that athletic director Dave Brandon will not fire head coach Brady Hoke until the end of the season, when Brandon himself is probably fired.
14. Illinois, 15 points
Without quarterback Wes Lunt, the Illini are brutally bad. Lunt needs to get healthy and fast if the team wants to reach even one conference win.
