After this weekend, the Wisconsin Football schedule will be half way completed. Currently, the Badgers sit at 4-1 after a 24-13 win over Rutgers last Saturday. This week, they take on the Iowa Hawkeyes at Camp Randall for the Heartland Trophy. Heading into this weekend’s slate of games in the Big Ten, here is where I rank Wisconsin Football and the rest of the Big Ten after five weeks:
Wisconsin Football and Remaining Big Ten Teams Week 6 Power Rankings
- Michigan
- Ohio State
- Penn State
- Wisconsin
- Maryland
- Iowa
- Rutgers
- Minnesota
- Purdue
- Nebraska
- Northwestern
- Indiana
- Michigan State
- Illinois
Why Wisconsin Football at 4?
The biggest reason I bumped Wisconsin Football ahead of Maryland is because of the Terrapins loss to Ohio State last week. It’s not a bad loss by any stretch for Maryland, but it was their first true test of the season.
On the other hand, the Badgers already had an early season test and while they lost on the road to Washington State, I give the Badgers the edge because of their victory over Rutgers.
The schedule won’t get much easier for the Terrapins as they still have to face Penn State and Michigan. Wisconsin’s schedule isn’t as difficult, but a test against Ohio State looms in two weeks.
Rest of the Big Ten Takeaways
What a difference a year makes for the Illinois Fighting Illini. This time last year, the Illini were ranked and the clear favorites to win the Big Ten West until a late year losing streak/. This year? This might be the worst team in the Big Ten.
The top half of the Big Ten in my power rankings have been pretty consistent all year. From teams 8-11, you can make a case for them to be anywhere. I do think we’ve seen enough to make the determination Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan State are the bottom teams in the conference.
At 3-3, Minnesota is very fortunate to not be 2-4 and 0-3 in the Big Ten. After a blowout loss to Michigan, the Golden Gophers still have Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Iowa to play. There’s a good chance Minnesota, who was looked at as potentially a Big Ten West dark-horse, could be fighting for bowl eligibility by the time the season is over.
More will be learned about Iowa this week. Sure they are 5-1, but they only have one convincing win all year and it was to a non power five team in Western Michigan. They struggle to move the ball on offense and they rely so heavily on their defense to create momentum. There’ no doubt that narrative changes if they beat this Wisconsin Football team in Madison, but there’s a reason they are 10 point underdogs as a 5-1 team going on the road against a 4-1 team.
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