14) Nebraska Cornhuskers

Nebraska has fallen way short of the promise coming into the season, and as I said last week, I expect them to occupy the basement of the big ten all season long. The Cornhuskers had a five-point lead over Ohio State with just 30 seconds left. They then promptly imploded and lost in overtime.

13) Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Rutgers won two non-conference games this past week, and they own an upset of Purdue, but with all that being said, I don’t expect much from the Scarlet Knights as we move forward through the season.

12) Michigan Wolverines

The Wolverines lost to Central Florida last week, and they face a massive week if they want to get their season headed in the right direction as they will face Rutgers and a home matchup against Michigan State.

11) Penn State Nittany Lions

The Nittany Lions move up in these rankings of the strength of a home win against the Indiana Hoosiers. I think the ceiling for this Penn State team is right around this spot in the rankings.

10) Maryland Terrapins

The Terps appear back on track after a crazy early season, but I need more than wins over Lehigh and Brown to buy that they might be a contender.

9) Northwestern Wildcats

The Wildcats had an excellent record, mainly because of a weak schedule. They had a chance to change that perception over the weekend, and they almost pulled it off. However, they came up short against Michigan State after leading early. Even though they came up short, they do like they are in for a good season.

8) Indiana Hoosiers

The Hoosiers record looks pretty until you take a closer look. They have now lost three road games to Syracuse, Wisconsin, and Penn State, which has to be unacceptable as a Hoosier fan. This team has a tremendous one-two punch with Davis and Thompson, but the guard play has been spotty at best.

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7) Iowa Hawkeyes

The Hawkeyes beat Western Illinois and have now won three straight games. We will see how good they are with games against Maryland and Wisconsin coming up this week.

6) Minnesota Golden Gophers

Many questions need to be answered about Minnesota, and we should start getting those answers this week as the Gophers are home vs Illinois, then road trips to Indiana and Michigan State.

5) Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue was beaten at home by Wisconsin last night, a shocker. Every time Purdue gains steam, they come up with an effort like this.

4) Wisconsin Badgers

The Badgers had an impressive win last night at Purdue, and this really could be the surprise team this year in the Big Ten.

3) Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes, after being off a couple of weeks, struggled to beat Nebraska in overtime, but the time off had to hurt the cohesiveness of the Buckeyes. Ohio State is one of the best teams in the Big ten, and I expect they will be hitting their stride again after a couple more games.

2) Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois’s games this past week were cancelled, but the win the week before against Missouri was impressive, and this is a talented team.

1) Michigan State Spartans

The Spartans beat High Point and a tough win at a solid Northwestern team. The Spartans talent level would put them as the fourth or fifth-best team in the Big Ten, but coaching gives them a shot to finish better than that,