Only five weeks remain for Wisconsin football and the rest of the Big Ten teams in the regular season. It’s becoming clear Michigan and Ohio State are the class of the East division after Ohio State beat Penn State 20-12 last week.
On the other hand, the West division is wide open after Minnesota defeated Iowa 12-10. Wisconsin football now leads the West after defeating Illinois, but they have to play Ohio State this weekend. At week nine, where do I rank the Badgers and the rest of the Big Ten?
Week 9 Big Ten Power Rankings
- Michigan
- Ohio State
- Penn State
- Wisconsin
- Maryland
- Rutgers
- Iowa
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- Illinois
- Northwestern
- Purdue
- Indiana
- Michigan State
Why Wisconsin Football at 4?
The Badgers got a nice comeback win on the road at Illinois last week. Wisconsin put up 18 points in a fourth quarter and scored with less than a minute left. It would have been easy to throw the towel in once they were down 21-7. Under Paul Chryst, Wisconsin football would not have won this game.
Ohio State is going to be a tall task for the Badgers. Assuming they lose, they would need to run the table in November and hope for one more Iowa loss to win the West. Iowa’s remaining schedule is easy, but they can easily lose a game. Look for Rutgers and Nebraska to be possible opponents they lose to.
Remaining Big Ten Takeaways
I didn’t move Penn State after the loss to Ohio State because Penn State is easily the third best team in the Big Ten. It’s not close either.
Michigan is still number one, but it’s incredible how easy the schedule has been. They don’t have a tough game until November 11 when they take on Penn State. If the Wolverines lose even one game, it’s hard to see them making the College Football Playoff.
How about Rutgers winning their sixth game of the year and gaining bowl eligibility? They have played really well this year and it’s looking like a better win on the Wisconsin football schedule.
At some point, there was a feeling the bad offense of Iowa was going to come back and bite them. Minnesota isn’t that good either and if they can go on the road and beat them, Iowa can win every game remaining on their schedule. However, they could easily lose every game remaining on their schedule. They have the easiest ride to the West title. I would not sleep on the Badgers, though.
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