All the regular season games are now complete in the Big Ten, and only two teams have a conference game left. That would be the Big Ten Championship game of course, and there are two familiar combatants.
Ohio State and Wisconsin are the two teams that have reached Indy the most, so off we go again. It’s a little zany because the Buckeyes blew the doors off the Badgers earlier this year, so there’s that. Make of it what you will. Either way, it’s a chance to get some more hardware so both teams will put the pads and helmets on and perform feats of athletic endeavors in Lucas Oil Stadium.
Meanwhile, the rest of the conference is done aside from those nine teams that are going bowling. But that won’t likely change the destiny of what’s been written in stone almost for this 2019 season.
Here’s the final power rankings for the regular season.
14. Rutgers – (Last week 14)
The season is mercifully over, and now the Scarlet Knights can begin the Greg Schiano era — again. There’s a ton of wood to chop folks.
13. Maryland – (Last week 13)
The season is mercifully over, and now the Mike Locksley era can continue. They’re all out of wood folks.
12. Northwestern – (Last week 12)
Yup. The season is mercifully over and now Pat Fitzgerald can quite being so salty towards the media. Where the heck did this pile of turds season come from anyway?
11. Nebraska – (Last week 11)
You guessed it. The season is mercifully over and now Scott Frost and company can start the promotional train on being the darkhorse to win the Big Ten West again. Boy was everyone wrong on that one.
Next … 10 thru 6
10. Purdue (Last week 10)
Toot! Toot! The season has mercifully been derailed and over, and now Jeff Brohm can focus on getting healthy and trying to be the little engine that could again.
9. Michigan State (Last week 9)
In the case of the Spartans, the season mercifully continues. Put an APB out on the Michigan State offense. When you barely score enough to beat Maryland, well — cause for concern.
8. Illinois (Last week 8)
Way to end the season strong Illini. After proving all the doubters wrong, the season ended on a sour note to Northwestern. They say you can throw the record out in rivalry games, but maybe not so much in this titanic struggle.
7. Indiana (Last week 7)
The Hoosiers have had a very successful season, winning eight games for the first time since — get this — 1993. Next step … beat a team that’ll announce your arrival. The losses game to Ohio State, Michigan State, Penn State, and Michigan.
6. Iowa (Last week 6)
It was a tough, hard-fought win for the Hawkeyes over forced rival Nebraska. At the end of the day, it’s another consistently solid, yet not exceptional year for Iowa. We’ve grown accustomed to a Kirk Ferentz year.
Next … 5 thru 1
5. Michigan (Last week 5)
We were tempted to move the Wolverines down in the power rankings after being smoked again by Ohio State. But, the reality is that this team has looked good against everyone not named Penn State, Wisconsin, or Penn State. So, average it is. Here’s a reality check for Wolverine fans. Michigan is Iowa, but in the East Division.
4. Penn State (Last week 3)
It was a little bit of a lackluster effort, but the Nittany Lions got the win. Still, you and I — and James Franklin — still believe this team is not elite.
3. Minnesota (Last week 2)
You don’t get spanked around with so much on the line and not drop. We didn’t penalize the Gophers that much though because the boat has been rowing through the waters pretty solidly all year.
2. Wisconsin (Last week 4)
The Badgers are back where we thought they would be just a few weeks into the season. Now, they get a second crack at the Buckeyes to try and win a Big Ten Championship and get possibly into a New Year’s Six bowl. I’ll bet Paul Chryst would love to have that Illinois game back.
1. Ohio State (Last week 1)
Ohio State proved again it is the class of the league and most likely punched its ticket to the College Football Playoff. This team has a chance to go down as one of the best in the history of OSU. That’s saying something for a program that now owns the highest winning percentage of all FBS college programs with at least 25 years in the highest division.
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