The month of November has arrived and Wisconsin football is in their home stretch of the 2023 regular season. It was a brutal loss for the Badgers as they fell to Indiana 20-14. The Hoosiers are one of the worst teams in the Big Ten. The Big Ten West is likely over for Wisconsin football as well.
No teams wants to separate themselves in the Big Ten West. That could happen this week or begin to happen. Here is where I rank Wisconsin football this week in my Big Ten power rankings.
Week 11 Big Ten Power Rankings
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Penn State
- Iowa
- Rutgers
- Nebraska
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
- Maryland
- Illinois
- Northwestern
- Indiana
- Purdue
- Michigan State
Why Wisconsin Football at 8
It doesn’t matter if you’re a head coach in your first year or 15th year, there is no reason for Wisconsin to have lost to Indiana last Saturday. You can’t lose a game like that and expect to play in the Big Ten Championship game.
The good news? The Big Ten West has been wild all season and there’s still a path for the Badgers to get to Indianapolis. However, they don’t deserve to win the West at this point. It’s a little harsh, but that’s the reality of it.
Outside of the fourth quarter against Illinois a few weeks ago, the Wisconsin offense has struggled since the win at Purdue at the end of September. It’s hard being down a quarterback, running back, and key receiver, but there’s still more than enough talent this roster to get away with a win against a bad team.
No more games are looked at as an easy win anymore for Wisconsin football. Northwestern is not good and Nebraska and and Minnesota are more than winnable games. But there isn’t a ton of optimism surrounding the Badgers offense. The defense can only do so much.
Other Big Ten Takeaways
I decided to move Ohio State to the top of the power rankings after their road win against a good Rutgers team. Michigan had another blowout win, but it was against Purdue. It’s incredible how easy the Wolverines schedule has been to this point. Unless Ohio State loses a game, I can’t put Michigan ahead of Ohio State unless they win the head-to-head in a few weeks.
While I think Wisconsin is better than both Nebraska and Minnesota, both teams are playing with more confidence and are just playing better than the Badgers right now. I think Wisconsin will be favored in both games, but they could easily lose both games too.
Rutgers and Iowa is the best game in the conference this week outside of Michigan-Penn State. I ranked the Hawkeyes ahead of Rutgers because Iowa beat Wisconsin while Rutgers was never really in that 24-13 win by the Badgers early last month.
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