Big Ten Power Rankings

1) Penn State- Clarke and Royster continue to impress as PSU finally snapped that losing streak against Michigan. We'll see if they can deal with some other demons this week when they try and win at Ohio State. And I'm not referring to Buckeye fans.

2) Ohio State- Hey look, it's number one vs. number two this week. Please God, if you can spare any time from helping the Rays and Bills, don't let Ohio State win this week. Try and remember all the good things Joe Pa did during the crusades.

3) Minnesota- Woooo! Minnesota. Don't rip me too bad for this one. There is just no one else deserving of this spot. Actually rip me to shreds, this is ridiculous. However, the Gophers are 6-1 with Purdue, Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa left. How did this happen?

4) Michigan State- Oh, you heard that talk about no one deserving #3 Michigan State? Yes, I was talking about you. No one is allowed to lose 45-7 at home and hang around in the power rankings. Those are the rules, I didn't make them up, I just enforce them. Actually, I make them up.

5) Illinois- Scary good offense, scary bad defense. I may be overrating the Illini here, but I think they can outscore just about everyone the rest of the way.

6) Northwestern- The Wildcats passed a huge test this weekend. Sure, Purdue is not a great team, and of course Northwestern students are good at tests, but Northwestern needed to show it could bounce back. The win sets them up for a great chance to go 8-4 or even 9-3 on the year.

7) Iowa- The Hawkeyes dismantled Wisconsin Saturday, beating the Badgers at their own game. Back to back tests against Illinois and Penn State will be huge...losses.

8) Purdue- Purdue is one of three winless teams in the conference, but Tiller's squad has a pretty easy slate the rest of the way. We'll see if they can send Wilford Brimley Joe Tiller out with a win streak.

9) Michigan- Michigan moves up a spot after a 46-17 loss. That's what happens in an underachieving, embarrassing conference. Speaking of embarrassing, a loss this week sends Michigan's season firmly into that category.

10) Wisconsin- What a giant disappointment this season has been. The Big Ten looked like a three team race, but Wisconsin couldn't even find the starting blocks. The Badgers are 0-4 in the league and with Illinois and Michigan State still on the schedule, they could miss a bowl.

11) Indiana- Thinking about just substituting "Indiana" for the number eleven.