The state of the Big Ten took a big hit this week. Penn State did not look like a BCS contender, and Iowa was exposed as soon as Ricky Stanzi went down. By default, Ohio State (which had already played its way out of any sort of national prominence with losses to USC and Purdue) slides into the top spot and in position for the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin is probably doing too little, too late having lost key games to Ohio State and Iowa.
What are your thoughts? Who belongs in the Rose Bowl? Iowa and Ohio State play this week - the loser will likely be out of any BCS bowl contention. Penn State has the easiest closing schedule (Indiana and Michigan State), but would need Ohio State to lose to Michigan and Iowa to lose its final two games (Ohio State and Minnesota) to win the conference. Wisconsin might still be in play for a BCS bowl if it finishes the season 10-2 and other teams across the nation trip up before the season ends.
All 11 conference teams remain bowl eligible. How many teams actually deserve to play in a bowl?
On to the power rankings. Last week's rank in parenthesis.
1. (3) Ohio State (5-1, 8-2) - Terrell Pryor almost played the Buckeyes out of conference title contention in a disastrous loss to Purdue in October. On Saturday, he brought them right back.
2. (4) Wisconsin (4-2, 7-2) - Do the Badgers have a legitimate BCS bowl chance? Currently No. 20 in the BCS, Wisconsin has a favorable closing schedule (Michigan, Northwestern and Hawaii) to finish 10-2.
Follow the jump for the rest of the rankings.
3. (1) Penn State (4-2, 8-2) - Penn State's cupcake schedule came back to bite them. The whole season rested on two games - and the Nittany Lions lost them both.
4. (2) Iowa (5-1, 9-1) - Freshman quarterback James Vandenberg should not get blamed for the loss, although his stat line was lacking. Iowa was bound to lose a close game eventually.
5. (7) Northwestern (3-3, 6-4) - Who is the only unranked bowl eligible Big Ten team? Northwestern. The Wildcats have alternated wins and losses since Oct. 10 and now face an Illinois team trying to save its season.
6. (6) Michigan State (3-3, 5-5) - Michigan State and Purdue might be playing for a spot in a bowl game at Ross-Ade Stadium on Saturday. If the Spartans lose, they'll have to win against Penn State to qualify for a bowl.
7. (5) Minnesota (3-4, 5-5) - With a tough second-half schedule, Minnesota wasn't expected to win games against teams like Ohio State and Penn State. Illinois? That's a different story. Luckily, South Dakota State is the Gophers' next opponent which should make them bowl eligible.
8. (9) Purdue (3-4, 4-6) - A month ago, Purdue's season was over. Even if they played respectable for the last six games, there was no chance the Boilers would make a bowl. That's a different story after three wins in four weeks - a bowl, believe it or not, is realistic.
9. (11) Illinois (2-5, 3-6) -The Illini definitely played the toughest part of their Big Ten schedule in September and October. Minus a game in two weeks against Cincinnati, Illinois can finish its season with a respectable record.
10. (10) Indiana (1-5, 4-6) - It's very hard not to play the game of "What If's" with the Hoosiers. What if IU didn't force crucial fumbles against Eastern Kentucky and Western Michigan to start the season? What if IU's Big Ten road record was currently 3-0? What if...
11. (8) Michigan (1-5, 5-5) - Michigan has not won a game against a FBS school since IU went to Ann Arbor in Sept. 26. And Michigan didn't even look that great in that game.
