POWER RANKINGS

Power Rankings: Iowa Good? Penn State, Michigan Bad? Who knows?

Seriously, do any of y’all have a clue outside of the top four?

By Auston Matricardi Nov 19, 2020, 9:32pm EST

Iowa v Minnesota — Mekhi Sargent #10 of the Iowa Hawkeyes carries the ball against Jordan Howden #23 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the fourth quarter of the game at TCF Bank Stadium on November 13, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Iowa defeated Minnesota 35-7.

A lot to go over in this week’s power rankings. Risers, fallers, Jim Harbaugh replacements.

Let’s do the damn thing:

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0)

Last week: Covid Bye

Up next: Home vs. Indiana (OSU -20.5)

SP+ Ranking: 1

Previous CQ Ranking: 1

Mama’s cheeky boy
— patrick mayhorn (@patrick_mayhorn) November 20, 2020

2. Indiana Hoosiers (4-0)

Last week: 24-0 win at Michigan State

Up next: Away vs. Ohio State

SP+ Ranking: 26

Previous CQ Ranking: 2

If you’re on this website, there are plenty of other posts with takes and analysis on the Hoosiers. Therefore, you should all use this time to read Tom Allen in-home recruiting stories instead:

Tom Allen continues powerful eating energy under though circumstances @ShutdownFullcas @edsbs @thejasonkirk @celebrityhottub @HollyAnderson pic.twitter.com/0cii1hZ8Tx
— Reader Matt (@mattylukewarm) November 18, 2020

True Story: Coach Allen came to my house recruiting me for college. My mom made a lasagna for everyone. By the time this man left the house (3 hours) he had eaten 4 huge plates of it. He had won me over and I signed. It was incredible
— Taylor Carney (@TaylorCarney90) November 14, 2020

Good read here on Tom Allen.

And I'll say it again: I want more Tom Allen in-home stories. #iufb https://t.co/ajhjsZ6869 pic.twitter.com/vSV6JYHCRC
— Mike Miller (@MikeMillerSTL) November 18, 2020

3. Wisconsin Badgers (2-0)

Last week: 49-11 win at Michigan

Up next: Away vs. Northwestern (UW -7)

SP+ Ranking: 3

Previous CQ Ranking: 3

The Badgers actually played football! And they did it well! Wisconsin ran for 341 yards, held Michigan to just 219 yards and picked off Joe Milton twice. Maybe Michigan is really bad, maybe Wisconsin is really good, maybe it’s a bit of both.

4. Northwestern Wildcats (4-0)

Last week: 27-20 win at Purdue

Up next: Home vs. Wisconsin

SP+ Ranking: 32

Previous CQ Ranking: 4

Peyton Ramsey once again owns Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium. True Hoosier icon.

5. Iowa Hawkeyes (2-2)

Last week: 35-7 win at Minnesota

Up next: Away vs. Penn State (IA -2.5)

SP+ Ranking: 13

Previous CQ Ranking: 7

Kirk Ferentz may sneakily have a pretty darn good football team. Granted, the Hawkeyes lost to Purdue and Northwestern by a combined five points to open the season before torpedoing the corpses of Michigan State and Minnesota, so it’s hard to say whether they’re good or bad. They’ve got Penn State this week...so...uh...yeah that’ll definitely help us sort things out.

6. Purdue Boilermakers (2-1)

Last week: 27-20 loss vs. Northwestern

Up next: Away vs. Minnesota (PU -2.5)

SP+ Ranking: 43

Previous CQ Ranking: 5

Purdue lost to a ranked team without a few of its best players. Meh. If the Boilers can avoid an upset on Friday night (yes we’re still doing the stupid Friday night Big Ten games for some reason) they’ll be in pretty decent shape.