Big Ten football power rankings after Week 8: Wisconsin keeps climbing
By Josh Yourish
In Week 8 of the college football season, the Big Ten took a backseat to the SEC. Ohio State and Penn State were both on bye weeks while Oregon, now the No. 1 team in the country after Georgia took down Texas in Austin, beat up on Purdue on Friday night in East Lafayette. With the Buckeyes, Nittany Lions, and Ducks all out of the way, the Big Ten got a chance to showcase its other contender for the 12-team College Football Playoff, the Indiana Hoosiers.
Head coach Curt Cignetti had led his Hoosiers to 6-0, but they had a tough test against true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola and Nebraska on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff game, and they passed with flying colors. Indiana routed the Huskers 56-7 with 105 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries from running back Justice Ellison. Now, at 7-0 and No. 13 in the country, Cignetti has a clear path to 10-straight wins in his first year leading a program that has never posted double-digit wins for an entire season.
The only problem for the Hoosiers, who now appear to be a very real threat for the Big Ten title, is that sixth-year quarterback Kurtis Rourke injured his hand on Saturday and could miss IU’s Week 9 meeting with Washington with ESPN’s College Gameday visiting Bloomington for the first time.
Elsewhere in the conference, Illinois was just the latest team to shut down Michigan, holding the Wolverines to just seven points in a home win over the defending national champs. The Fighting Illini lead the second-tier of Big Ten contenders behind the obvious top 4 and are followed closely by the surging Wisconsin Badgers.
After blowing out Rutgers 42-7, the Badgers scored a 20-point road win over Northwestern on Saturday to get to 5-2 with a 3-1 record in conference play, and a loss to USC now haunting them as the Trojans slide further down the league totem pole. The Badgers have a chance to make a real statement with Penn State in town in Week 9.
A week after nearly knocking off the Nittany Lions, Lincoln Riley’s Trojans made another cross-country trip, this time to face Maryland, and blew another fourth-quarter lead. The Terrapins notched their first Big Ten win of the year 29-28 behind 373 passing yards and two touchdowns from quarterback Billy Edwards Jr.
The top remains unchanged, but the rest of the league continues to be chaotic. Here’s a look at my Big Ten football power rankings after Week 8.
. 5-1 (2-1). Week 8: Bye. . Ohio State. . 1. . . 490
7-0 (4-0). . . Oregon. Week 8: at Purdue 35-0 W. 515. . . . 2
Week 8: Bye. 3. . . 491. 6-0 (3-0). . . Penn State.
Week 8: vs. Nebraska 56-7 W. . . . 4. 482. Indiana. 7-0 (4-0). .
. . 5. 6-1 (3-1). 481. Week 8: vs Michigan 21-7 W. . . Illinois.
Week 8: at Northwestern 23-3 W. . 6. 493. . Wisconsin. . 5-2 (3-1). .
. 5-2 (2-2). Week 8: at Indiana 56-7 L. . . 7. Nebraska. 488. .
Iowa. 4-3 (2-2). Week 8: at Michigan State 32-20 L. . . . . 8. 483.
. 4-3 (2-2). . . Week 8: Bye. . 9. 521. Washington.
Week 8: Bye. . . 4-3 (2-2). . . 487. Minnesota. . 10
485. Michigan. . 4-3 (2-2). . . . Week 8: at Illinois 21-7 L. 11.
486. . Week 8: vs. Iowa 32-20 W. . . 12. 4-3 (2-2). . . Michigan State
. 3-4 (1-3). Week 8: vs. Wisconsin 23-3 L. . . 489. Northwestern. . . 13
Week 8: vs. UCLA 35-32 L. . . 452. . 4-3 (1-3). . 14. Rutgers.
. . USC. . 3-4 (1-4). . 519. Week 8: at Maryland 29-28 L. 15.
. . . 518. 2-5 (1-4). . 16. UCLA. Week 8: at Rutgers 35-32 W.
. Week 8: vs. USC 29-28 W. 17. Maryland. 4-3 (1-3). . . 439. .
18. . Purdue. Week 8: vs. Oregon 35-0 L. 492. . 1-6 (0-4). . .
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