Big Ten Football Power Rankings 12/02/24(Final Regular season Standings)

18. Purdue Boilermakers

A dreadful season for Purdue ended in the most painful of ways, with a 66-0 loss to in-state rival Indiana. The Boilermakers went wire-to-wire in these rankings; they started the season 18th and never moved higher.

17. Maryland Terrapins

Maryland began their game against Penn State with optimism but was far from ready to pull off an unexpected win on the road during their final regular season matchup. Finally, their long season has come to a close for Maryland.

16. Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern was expected to endure a difficult season, and they did. Their season concluded with a double-digit loss against Illinois at Wrigley Field; can they make enough strides to return to bowl season in 2025?

15. Michigan State Spartans

Michigan State desperately needed a win to become bowl eligible, yet managed an embarrassing performance at home against Rutgers on a chilly and snowy East Lansing field. The Spartans were a huge disappointment this season.

14. Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin saw their national-record streak of bowl seasons abruptly halt with an uninspiring finish to 2024 season under Luke Fickell, as expectations are not being met. Yet it isn’t time to panic in Madison; next season will certainly prove interesting!

13. UCLA Bruins

UCLA improved as the season went on; they played an ungodly schedule, and they are a better team than their record would indicate. The Bruins offseason moves will be interesting, and if they make the right ones, they should be much improved next season.

12. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Nebraska finally earned bowl eligibility after its six-win season and now looks forward to attending a bowl game. However, it could still finish with a losing record. Its offense went cold against Iowa, but it will have time to work with Dana Holgorsen on improving things before bowl season kicks in.

11. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Rutgers concluded its regular season with an emphatic road win against Michigan State to achieve back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2012.

10. USC Trojans

USC came close to giving Notre Dame a significant playoff scare. Still, an inability to complete two late drives that resulted in pick-sixes from Notre Dame ensured USC settled for a.500 regular season record and more attention was drawn towards Lincoln Riley and his future plans.

9. Washington Huskies

Washington took an expected drastic fallback from their national championship push last season. They experienced both highs and lows during their inaugural year in the Big Ten conference – perhaps reflecting its new-age nature — though a bowl win remains possible this year.

8. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Minnesota steadily improved all season and ended it by defeating Wisconsin, marking an outstanding year for P.J. Fleck and his Gophers. Will such success elevate Fleck into one of this season’s coaching rumors and carousels?

7. Michigan Wolverines

Michigan took down Ohio State at Ohio State just a couple of weeks before they almost took out Indiana; the Wolverines have improved as much as any team during this season and looked poised to be a challenger next season.

6. Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa finds ways to win even when its offense struggles to convert on third-down situations and yard production is limited; leading rusher Kaden Johnson was held under control against Nebraska; yet they know exactly how to beat the Cornhuskers! A win is always better than losing, and Iowa certainly knows how to clinch it against Nebraska.

5. Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois secured Abe’s Hat with a 10-point win against Northwestern at Wrigley Field. Illinois can go into bowl season, hoping to achieve its first 10-win season since 2001!

4. Penn State Nittany Lions

The Nittany Lions will play in the Big Ten Championship game, but that does not make them the second-best team in the Big Ten. Penn State lost at home to Ohio State and almost lost to Minnesota last weekend.

3. Indiana Hoosiers

The Hoosiers made a statement in a 66-0 win over Purdue to win the Old Oak and Bucket trophy. They had a shot to prove themselves at Ohio State last week and came up short. It looks like they will get a shit to prove their point in the College Football Playoffs.

2. Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes lost to Michigan for the fourth straight year, this time as a twenty-point favorite. Is Ryan Day on the hot seat? After watching him use back-to-back timeouts at the end of the Michigan game, maybe it’s time to question Day’s ability to manage a game.

1. Oregon Ducks

Oregon has sat at number one in every sense; they beat the Ohio State Buckeyes and will now face a Big Ten Championship game showdown with Penn State. A win over Penn State makes them one of the favorites to win it all.