Big Ten power rankings after Week 5: More clarity two weeks into conference play

We’re now, finally, onto strict conference play.

While many teams opened Big Ten season last week, some still had nonconference opponents in Week 4 due to having played Big Ten teams earlier in the season. No longer, as all 14 teams were in action on Saturday, with seven games matching all of the against each other.

Thus, we learned a lot more. Who’s good, who’s middling, and who’s flat-out bad. There were no ranked-on-ranked matchups, but there were some intriguing contests. Michigan at Iowa, Purdue at Minnesota, MSU at Maryland, and Illinois at Wisconsin come to mind, while Ohio State hosted Rutgers, Penn State hosted Northwestern, and Indiana had a night game at Nebraska.

PREVIOUSLY: Big Ten power rankings after Week 4

Thus, there was a lot of movement, especially considering Minnesota’s loss. The Gophers were No. 2 last week, but some other teams managed to impress.

Here are our latest Big Ten power rankings with Week 5 now in the books.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-3)

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Sorry Nebraska, we’re keeping you at the bottom despite finally getting a win.

The Huskers at least took a tie game and found a way to win for a change, but that doesn’t erase the memory of everything that’s happened up to now. Nebraska is in bad shape, and beating Indiana doesn’t change that. At least the Hoosiers beat some teams with a pulse. Nebraska has yet to do that, unless you count Indiana.

Win another one, and you might get out of the basement. With Rutgers up next, there’s a chance it happens next week.

Northwestern Wildcats (1-4)

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Credit for keeping things close, we guess.

Northwestern put up a defensive fight at Penn State, keeping Sean Clifford completely off-kilter, while allowing plenty of yardage in the run game. And that was the opposite problem on the other end, as the Wildcats had a complete inability to run the ball.

For now, this is a team that is going to have to keep looking back to the Nebraska game in Week 0 and saying, ‘remember when?’ because while this was a better effort against a quality team, Northwestern doesn’t look destined for much more than its singular win.

Indiana Hoosiers (3-2)

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Indiana was on the verge of having a very respectable record heading into Michigan week, but it lost to Nebraska.

Yes, Nebraska has infinitely more talent, but if you’re really trying to rebound, losing to the oft-losing Huskers is not the way to do it.

Again, the Hoosiers asked Connor Bazelak to get pass happy, as he attempted 44 throws against Nebraska. Completing 50% along with only 67 yards rushing, that wasn’t going to be a recipe for a road win.

The defense played OK, not great. They allowed 270 yards through the air and 115 yards rushing, but special teams — which has usually been a problem area for the Huskers — allowed a Nebraska punt return.

With Michigan up next, chances are high that the previously 3-1 Hoosiers end up 3-3. And they still have Ohio State and Penn State on the schedule.

Michigan State Spartans (2-3)

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Michigan State might not win another game this year. This team is overmatched in the Big Ten, and the take every transfer in college football strategy may have worked last year, but it’s not paying off the same this year.

The pass game didn’t work, the run game was abysmal, and the defense is a disaster. That Mel Tucker got a $95 million, all-guaranteed contract is mesmerizing given that MSU now has three-straight losses. And it’s got a bear of a schedule, with Ohio State up next, then Wisconsin, a bye week, then Michigan. The only respite (maybe outside of Wisconsin) could be Rutgers? But even that’s not a ‘gimme.’

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-2)

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Well, that was expected.

After making it a game against Iowa last week, Rutgers did what was anticipated in Week 5, by getting throttled at the hands of vaunted Ohio State.

The offense got nothing going, but the silver lining is perhaps the pass defense, holding C.J. Stroud to under 200 yards passing. The corollary, however, was that Ohio State rushed all over the Scarlet Knight defense, so one good didn’t make up for the defensive performance as a whole.

As said, this was to be expected, but if Rutgers is going to contend for anything, it’ll need marked improvement after two-straight losses.

Wisconsin Badgers (2-3)

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If you’re Wisconsin and you manage two yards rushing, you’re not going to win a game.

A week after getting throttled in Columbus, the Badgers followed that up by looking just as bad against their former head coach, Bret Bielema. Wisconsin got bullied up front, and turned the ball over with impunity. At this point, Graham Mertz is a bust, failing to live up to not only his five-star status as a recruit, but even a lower four-star ranking. His turnover habits reappeared after a good start to the season, and at the moment, Wisconsin doesn’t look anywhere close to contending for anything.

This is a bad team up in Madison.

Purdue Boilermakers (3-2)

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This was much closer to the Purdue that was expected, though it wasn’t because of the offense.

Aidan O’Connell returned to the lineup and threw for 199 yards, but also threw two interceptions, while the rushing game managed 160 yards. It was, however, the defense holding the Golden Gophers to just 47 yards rushing while also picking off Tanner Morgan three times that made the difference.

Big road win for the Boilermakers after a disappointing start to the season. They’re still alive in the conference, they just need to figure out a way to be consistently who they are supposed to be.

Iowa Hawkeyes (3-2)

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Iowa decided to have a passing attack, which is surprising to pretty much anyone. But it was a necessity after falling to 20-0 entering the fourth quarter. As Michigan went to more of a prevent defense, the Hawkeyes took advantage, scoring two touchdowns late, and driving once while failing to convert on a fourth-and-short while down just two possessions.

Uncharacteristically, the Hawkeye defense was susceptible to the run game, as Michigan sliced and diced Iowa with Blake Corum, while J.J. McCarthy kept the defense off-kilter. It’s still easy to envision this team contending for the West, especially considering it only has one Big Ten loss at the moment. But it’ll need to find more ways to move the ball than throwing to Sam LaPorta.

Maryland Terrapins (4-1)

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Maryland returned to form, throttling the Spartans in all phases.

Taulia Tagovailoa went 32-for-41 for 314 yards with a touchdown while the rushing attack was equally impressive, amassing 175 yards and two more touchdowns on the ground. The Terps held MSU to 100 yards rushing and ultimately outplayed Sparty from the get go.

Given that Maryland has tended to look bad after its first Big Ten loss, this was a needed win to keep the Terrapins’ confidence up. Impressive win.

Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-1)

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Just as Minnesota started to look like Cinderella in the Big Ten, the Gophers went out and dropped the ball.

Or, rather, they threw the ball to the other team.

Tanner Morgan threw three interceptions while the Gopher rushing attack stalled out entirely against the Boilermaker defense. Minnesota managed only 47 yards on the ground in a home game. That, mixed with a bevy of turnovers was a recipe for disaster.

Minnesota still has solid standing in the West, given the other teams around them, and it only has Penn State as a tough Big Ten East game, but this was a disheartening showing from a team that looked like a possible contender in the conference.

Illinois Fighting Illini (4-1)

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Is Wisconsin awful or is Illinois good? Perhaps a little of both.

Bret Bielema got revenge on his old school, as the Illini absolutely throttled the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison. It wasn’t an overwhelming offensive attack, but the Illinois defense held Wisconsin to just two measly rushing yards. Graham Mertz tossed two interceptions while the Illini recovered an Isaac Guerendo fumble.

This is a team heading in the right direction and with Minnesota stumbling on Saturday, the West is up for the taking. Iowa is up next with the aforementioned Gophers coming up the following week.

Penn State Nittany Lions (5-0)

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Penn State didn’t move up here because it deserved it, let’s be clear.

While the Nittany Lions allowed just 31 yards rushing to Northwestern, and were overall solid on defense, holding the Wildcats to 7 points, PSU was anemic in its passing game. Sean Clifford managed just 140 yards, a touchdown and an interception while going 50% from the field. That would be all good and well if Penn State was playing a good team, but Northwestern has been a layup for every team that doesn’t reside in Lincoln.

The rushing game was impressive and carried the load — which has been a long time coming — with Nick Singleton leading the way with 81 yards, but this is the second-straight week that Penn State barely managed to take down an overmatched opponent. The bye week could help restrategize before the Nittany Lions travel to Michigan in two weeks.

Michigan Wolverines (5-0)

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Michigan hadn’t won in Kinnick Stadium in nearly two decades, but that streak ended on Saturday behind a power-rushing attack.

The Wolverines didn’t ask much from quarterback J.J. McCarthy and instead relied heavily on Blake Corum, who had 137 yards on 29 carries. McCarthy added 155 yards through the air and, most importantly, didn’t turn the ball over.

The defense shut down the Hawkeye run game, allowing just 35 yards and a touchdown. However, the odd stat is that Spencer Petras went 21-for-31 through the air for 246 yards and another touchdown. The pass defense had lapses late in the game, but overall displayed a solid effort.

What Michigan has shown is that it will play a very different game plan against whichever opponent it’s up against. And as long as the wins keep coming, it’s a good strategy.

Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0)

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The Buckeyes found a new way to dominate.

Against Rutgers, the defense carried the load. A week after the Scarlet Knights had decent passing numbers against a powerhouse Iowa defense, they managed just 80 yards through the air and 107 yards on the ground. Perhaps the Jim Knowles defense is rounding into form.

On offense, it was a rather pedestrian day for C.J. Stroud and the OSU quarterbacks. Stroud went 13-for-22 for just 154 yards (along with two touchdowns and one interception) while Kyle McCord went 2-for-3 for 7 yards. But running back Miyan Williams continued to be impressive, amassing 189 yards on 21 carries with an astounding five touchdowns.

Right now, considering Georgia struggled in Week 5 and we’ve seen Alabama be less than impressive earlier in the season, Ohio State appears to be among the best of the best in all of college football.

The Buckeyes will likely return to their aerial attack next week when it goes to East Lansing.

Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire