The regular season is over and it is down to Michigan and Iowa in the Big Ten Championship game, but where do those teams rank?
The Game lived up to the hype as Michigan clinched the Big Ten East with a third straight win over Ohio State and will now head to Indianapolis for a third straight year.
Penn State finished off another 10-win season and Maryland guaranteed themselves a winning record with a win over Rutgers. Northwestern also wrapped their surprising season with a win over Illinois.
So where does this leave every team at the end of the regular season? Let’s take a look at our latest Big Ten Power Rankings.
1. Michigan Wolverines 12-0, 9-0 in the Big Ten
Last Week 1
The Wolverines passed their biggest hurdle of the season and beat Ohio State for a third straight time. They picked Kyle McCord off two times and did enough on offense to fend off the Buckeyes. Next up is a third straight trip to the Big Ten Championship game where they will take on Iowa in a rematch of the 2021 game.,
2. Ohio State Buckeyes 11-1, 8-1
Last Week 2
The Buckeyes stay in the second spot despite the loss. They had the ball late with a chance to win the game, but McCord was picked off and their playoff chances might have just gone out the window. They now must hope for chaos as they try and back their way into the CFP for a second straight year.
3. Penn State Nittany Lions 10-2, 7-2
Last Week 3
The Nittany Lions got their 10th win of the year on Friday when they shut out Michigan State 42-0. It was a good year that will land them in the top 10 with a bowl win, but they have to be kicking themselves for not being able to beat Michigan or Ohio State this year.
4. Iowa Hawkeyes 10-2, 7-2
Last Week 4
The Hawkeyes won ugly once again as they beat Nebraska 13-10 on Friday. They had already clinched the Big Ten West, but this gave them 10 wins on the season. They now get another chance at Michigan in the Big Ten Championship game. They lost to the Wolverines 42-3 in 2021.
5. Maryland Terrapins 7-5, 4-5
Last Week 5
Maryland stumbled in the middle of the season, but they still clinched a winning record and will be going to a bowl for the third straight year. Mike Locksley has this team headed in the right direction and they now don’t have to deal with Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan every single year.
6. Northwestern Wildcats 7-5, 5-4
Last Week 6
The most surprising team in all of college football finished the regular season with seven wins. They won just one game last year and looked like they were going to be much of the same this year. Instead, they kept winning and picked up a big 45-43 win over Illinois to wrap up the regular season.
7. Rutgers Scarlet Knights 6-6, 3-6
Last Week 7
They are going to be going to a bowl, but they have to be disappointed with the way the season ended as they lost to Maryland 42-24 on Saturday. It was their fourth straight loss, but all of those losses came against teams above them in these rankings. It is still a good year, but after starting 6-2 they were expecting more.
8. Wisconsin Badgers 7-5, 5-4
Last Week 8
The Badgers finished the season strong with wins against Nebraska and Minnesota, but a three-game losing streak before that sunk their season. They will be going to a bowl game in Luke Fickell’s first year as head coach, but injuries derailed them from a much better season.
9. Nebraska Cornhuskers 5-7, 3-6
Last Week 11
The next four teams could all be swapped and you couldn’t really argue. The Cornhuskers move up despite losing to Iowa. They nearly upset the Hawkeyes for a second straight year but lost on a last-second field goal and will not go bowling this year. They made some strides but came up short in their last four games.
10 Purdue Boilermakers 4-8, 3-6
Last Week 12
The Boilermakers get a slight bump after winning their rivalry game with Indiana for a second straight year. The Boilermakers played well at times this year, but still have a long way to go under Ryan Walters. They finished the season strong, though, and will look to carry that into next year.
11. Illinois Fighting Illini 5-7, 3-6
Last Week 9
The Fighting Illini go into the postseason with a lot of what-ifs. They came up one win short of getting to a bowl and lost their last two games by a combined four points. They also lost to Wisconsin despite winning in the fourth quarter. A year after nearly winning the West, the Illini took a step back.
12. Minnesota Golden Gophers 5-7, 3-6
Last Week 10
The Golden Gophers lost their last four games and finished with just five wins. Due to not enough teams becoming bowl eligible, the Golden Gophers will be playing in a bowl after being the top five win team thanks to academic achievement. It gives them extra practice and with the way the season ended, they could use it.
13. Michigan State 4-8, 2-7
Last Week 13
The Spartans season ended with a thud on Friday night as they were shut out by Penn State 42-0. They ended the year with just two Big Ten wins and scored just three total points against Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan. They will start a new year with a new head coach as Jonathan Smith comes over from Oregon State.
14. Indiana Hoosiers 3-9, 1-8
Last Week 14
The Hoosiers looked like they were going to get a rivalry win to end the regular season, but Purdue battled back to win 35-31. They did get a win over Wisconsin to not go winless in the Big Ten, but consecutive losses to Michigan State and the Boilermakers sealed Tom Allen’s fate as he was fired on Sunday.
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