My latest Big Ten football power rankings with a twist
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa –Three-fourths of the way through the regular season and the Big Ten football race has sort of been seperated into four different groups.
So, instead of ranking the conference’s 14 teams from one to 14, which is what I usually do, I took a different approach with my latest power rankings by putting them into four groups.
Group 1
Michigan, 6-0, 9-0 – So far, the Wolverines have only been beaten when they were severely outnumbered in the now controversial tunnel that leads to the locker rooms for both teams at Michigan Stadium.
Ohio State, 6-0, 9-0 – The Buckeyes struggled to defeat lowly Northwestern 21-7 last Saturday, which might be enough to put Ryan Day on the hot seat even though the game was played in extremely windy conditions.
Group 2
Penn State, 4-2, 7-2 – James Franklin would see these rankings and say that it’s unfair that his team is in a group by itself, and that it’s unfair that Penn State has to play at Indiana and at Rutgers in the same season.
Group 3
Illinois, 4-2, 7-2 – With victories over Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, and with losses to Indiana and Michigan State, it’s fair to say that Illinois is way more unpredictable than a meal at the Beef House.
Wisconsin, 3-3, 5-4 – The Badgers are starting to play like a typical Wisconsin team, which means Jim Leonhard must have Barry Alvarez on speed dial.

Iowa, 3-3, 5-4 – The Hawkeyes have won two games in a row by a combined score of 57-16 and Spencer Petras politely called out the media after last Saturday’s 24-3 victory at Purdue. As the great Bob Dylan said, “The Times, They Are A-Changin.’
Minnesota, 3-3, 6-3 – I would pick P.J. Fleck to win a 40-yard dash against all the other Big Ten coaches.
Purdue, 3-3, 5-4 – There is no truth to the rumor that Charlie Jones tried to transfer back to Iowa during halftime of last Saturday’s game.
Maryland, 3-3, 6-3 – The Terrapins lost at Wisconsin 23-10 last Saturday and will play at Penn State this coming Saturday before hosting Ohio State on Nov. 19. In other words, Maryland is in trouble.
Michigan State, 2-4, 4-5 – Just when you thought the Spartans had hit rock bottom on and off the field, they did what Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota couldn’t do by defeating Illinois.
Group 4
Nebraska, 2-4, 3-6 – The Cornhuskers are the best 3-6 team in the Big Ten.
Rutgers, 1-5, 4-5 – I wonder if Greg Schiano will receive a bonus since Rutgers led Michigan 17-14 at halftime last Saturday.
Indiana, 1-5, 3-6 – The Hoosiers haven’t recovered since being crushed by Iowa in the 2021 season opener.
Northwestern, 1-4, 1-8 – The Wildcats put forth an outstanding effort against Ohio State to where you might have thought the game was played in Dublin, Ireland.