Big Ten Football: Power Ranking The Running Backs Going Into Week Six

Week one of Big Ten play is in the books.

On the rushing front, Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson leads the conference in yards per game, and has a whopping yards per carry average of 9.2 to go with eight touchdowns on the ground. But Denard is obviously not a running back.

Last week exposed some pretenders, showcased some young talent, and proved conference play is a whole different animal than the non-con schedule.

The only back to rush for over 100 yards last week was Minnesota's DeLeon Eskridge, and he is not even the Gopher's starter...

Filled with Freshman sensations and stellar upperclassmen, let's take a look at this week's power rankings...

T10. Dan Dierking: Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue is led in rushing by a fullback.

That pretty much sums up their season.

That and the fact he has rushed for 205 yards and two touchdowns...

Oh yeah, and Robert Marve is out for the season...

And they are located in Indiana...

Ok, that's enough.

T10. Arby Fields: Northwestern Wildcats

One touchdown, 160 yards, 2.9 yards per carry.

Fields comes in tied for dead last...there's not much more to say.

9. Michael Shaw/Vincent Smith: Michigan Wolverines

Yeah, yeah, yeah...Denard takes all the yards, carries and touchdowns from these guys.

These two are somewhat impaired by their quarterback extraordinaire, but numbers are numbers.

Neither one of them has over 255 yards so far this season rushing, but the duo has scored nine touchdowns so far this season.

As the Wolverines get into the meat of the Big Ten schedule, expect these two to get a few more carries per game, if only to preserve Denard's health.

8. Darius Willis: Indiana Hoosiers

Willis is another back who is impaired by his quarterback.

Ben Chappell is averaging 336.2 yards per contest passing, which is tops in the league.

Willis has scored four touchdowns and averages 4.3 yards per carry.

He also has one touchdown through the air, expect that number to increase as Chappell uses him as a target in the end-zone...

7. Evan Royster: Penn State Nittany Lions

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EVANSTON, IL - OCTOBER 31: Evan Royster #22 of the Penn State Nittany Lions runs against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 31, 2009 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Royster is one of the "old guys" who has not lived up to his hype this season.

Royster has only scored once on the ground.

Royster was expected to get more carries than last season, and he may, but those caries have not translated into the expected yards and points.

There is still time for Royster to move up in the rankings, but he will have to get on his horse...

6. Duane Bennett: Minnesota Golden Gophers

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TEMPE, AZ - DECEMBER 31: Runningback Duane Bennett #22 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers rushes the football against the Iowa State Cyclones during the Insight Bowl at Arizona Stadium on December 31, 2009 in Tempe, Arizona. The Cyclones defeated the Golden

Bennet has gained the yards this season, averaging 4.4 yards per carry.

The downside is, he has had a hard time finding the end-zone, scoring only two touchdowns so far this season.

5. Dan Herron: Ohio State Buckeyes

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CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 02: Dan Herron #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes breaks away from Travon Bellamy #31 of the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium on October 2, 2010 in Champaign, Illinois. Ohio State defeated Illinois 24-13. (Photo by Jonathan

Herron runs for the reigning conference champs, and he produces when needed.

With superstar quarterback Terrelle Pryor taking the bulk of the rushing yards, Herron has made the most of his carries, finding the end-zone five times.

4. Mikel LeShoure: Illinois Fighting Illini

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ST. LOUIS - SEPTEMBER 4: Mikel Leshoure #5 of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini is tackled against the University of Missouri Tigers during the State Farm Arch Rivalry game on September 4, 2010 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. The

The one bright spot in Illinois's thus far pedestrian season has been junior running back Mikel LeShoure.

LeShoure has rushed for three touchdowns, 6.2 yards per carry and a total of 478 yards on the ground.

Expect big things from him going forward...

3. Adam Robinson: Iowa Hawkeyes

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TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 18: Runningback Adam Robinson #32 of the Iowa Hawkeyes watches from the sidelines during the college football game against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium on September 18, 2010 in Tucson, Arizona. The Wildcats defeated the

Robinson has been extremely good this season, rushing for 480 yards and six yards to this point in the season.

His size and versatility make him hard to bring down, while he has home run speed.

Should Iowa hope to remain in the race for the conference crown, Robinson will be a big part of that process.

2. John Clay/ James White: Wisconsin Badgers

John Clay is the reigning Big Ten Offensive player of the year.

And he may not be the best running back on his team.

After Clay's string of ten straight 100 yard games with a touchdown was ended last week against Michigan State, questions have been raised about his ability to carry the rushing attack, and with good reason.

While Clay leads the running backs in the conference with 581 yards, and has scored six touchdowns.

That is the same amount of touchdowns as Freshman James White has scored in the last two weeks.

1. Le'Veon Bell/ Edwin Baker: Michigan State Spartans

Freshman Le'Veon Bell and Sophomore Edwin Baker have been spectacular so far this season, rushing for 12 touchdowns so far this season.

Baker and Bell are both in the top ten in individual rushing statistics, but combined, they form the most potent rushing attack in the Big Ten...