Big Ten Power Rankings: What We Learned in Week 13

The Big Ten season has all but wrapped up—the only thing left is crowning the champion—and ten teams are on their way to the couch.  

Eight of those teams have a week of anticipation to see where they will end up this bowl season.  (Note to Minnesota and Indiana: try not to eat too much Rotel this holiday season.)

It has been an up and down season for everyone in the conference.  Every team (outside of Indiana), has had its share of exhilarating wins, and no team was immune from a crushing loss.  There were surprises (Michigan, Illinois), alongside the inevitable (Wisconsin vs. Michigan State Big Ten championship game).

We were treated to a heaping helping of schadenfreude in Columbus, got to watch the final throes of Ron Zook in Champaign, got a reason to hate Michigan again (you know, besides the obvious reason: it being Michigan) and saw a storied program welcomed to the conference.

Now that the regular season is in the books, eyes begin to shift to next month and next year.  Soon the only rankings that will matter will be recruiting rankings (which really don't matter as much as anyone thinks they do), and the closest thing anyone will have to actual football news are scattered reports out of spring camps.

Since thinking about the offseason depresses the hell out of me, let's take one more look back at the season that was with the final installment of the regular season's Big Ten Power Rankings.

No. 12: Indiana (1-11, 0-8) (12)

Last Week: Lost to Purdue 33-25

Year one is in the books, and it is hard to find the optimism that once surrounded Kevin Wilson's introduction as head coach in Indiana.

The latest loss to Purdue is simply indicative of the rest of the seasons's struggles on both sides of the ball.  The Hoosiers showed promise on offense gaining almost six yards per play—the same as Purdue— but were inconsistent at holding the ball.  

Indiana only converted six of its 14 third downs and had almost a third fewer first downs as Purdue.  Even with Stephen Houston continuing to run well (seven rushes for 129 yards), and Tre Roberson contributing over 200 yards of total offense (146 yards passing, 69 yards rushing), Indiana was only able to muster 25 points.

This might have been enough, but on the other side of the ball Indiana was its normal, ineffective self.  As a team, Purdue averaged 5.3 yards per carry on the ground and the Boilermakers' 55 run plays (for almost 300 yards), were almost as many plays as Indiana ran as an offense (60).  

The weapons to build upon are there.  

Houston and Roberson are both young and should have fruitful careers in coach Kevin Wilson's offense, but even if that is the case, this team is going to need to find a way to play better defense or else all the scoring in the world won't save Wilson's job.  

Indiana has had no defensive identity for years, and this 1-11 campaign has been more of the same.

No. 11: Illinois (6-6, 2-6) (10)

Last Week: Lost to Minnesota

Ron Zook's reign of terror ended with a whimper on a cold Saturday in Minnesota.

The fact that Zook even made it this far is a testament not only to the Illinois athletic administration's patience (read: incompetence), but to the sheer adaptability and luck of Zook.  The man has spent the last decade as the coach of either Florida or Illinois, and probably two-thirds of that time has been spent squarely on the hot seat.  

Only one current Big Ten coach was active at his school when Ron Zook was hired.

Zook was even given the opportunity to clean out his coaching staff two years ago and replace his coordinators rather than he himself getting the boot.  That had to be the biggest gift any athletic director has ever given a head coach, and less than two years later Zook has already squandered it and the goodwill built up by six straight wins to open the season.

This game was like so many others in this season's collapse: The ineffective offense couldn't move the ball (2.8 yards per play) or stay on the field (11 first downs and two third down conversions in 14 tries). Fumbles and special teams gaffes kept the defense on its heels.

Illinois dream season has done a complete 180 degree turn.  Instead of riding the best start in half a century to a BCS bowl, Illinois lost its last six games in hapless fashion.  There is no way that Zook survives this collapse.

Unfortunately, Illinois isn't going to be able to lure Urban Meyer in to clean up Ron's mess.

No. 10: Minnesota (3-9, 2-6) (11)

Last Week: Beat Illinois 27-7

Hope is a beautiful thing in college football.  Despite all the losses and misfortune Minnesota has suffered this year, it is easy to see a team taking the right steps towards rebuilding on a solid foundation.

Minnesota went from being a Big Ten team that even Purdue beat up on, to a team that went 2-3 in its last five games while giving a scare to Michigan State in East Lansing.

The Gophers have been so much more effective because of the improved play of quarterback MarQueis Gray, who is finally starting to show signs of progress after a shaky start to the season.  In this game he threw for just 88 yards and a touchdown, but ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Minnesota rushing attack to 250 yards and nearly five yards per rush.

Equally important in Minnesota's turnaround has been better play from the defense, and this game was no exception.  

The Gophers successfully held Illinois to just 168 yards of offense and two third-down conversions while tallying five sacks for 32 yards and adding a fumble recovery deep in Illini territory to set up the game's first score.

Minnesota is still a long way from finishing the kind of program overhaul that Jerry Kill will need to put this team back in bowl games every year. But, unlike Indiana, Minnesota has been able to improve enough to steal a couple wins down the stretch.

This is the kind of encouraging sign that will give the program momentum for the long offseason.

No. 9: Northwestern (6-6, 3-5) (8)

Last Week: Lost to Michigan State 31-17

Last year under similar circumstances, Northwestern was able to jump out to a big lead on Michigan State at home, only to see the Spartans claw back for the win.  This year Michigan State took the halftime lead and showed the Wildcats how to close out a game.

After trading field goals in the first quarter and stalemating for most of the second, Northwestern gave up a 97-yard touchdown drive and then a punt return touchdown in the final two minutes of the first half, digging a hole too deep to climb out of.  

Northwestern was able to crawl back to within seven points twice in the second half, but that 14-point lead was ultimately too much.

For the game, Northwestern held close to Michigan State in yards, first downs and third down percentage.

But, they had to work much harder to do so—Northwestern ran almost 20 more plays—to do it.  Dan Persa had another Dan Persa game: 23/32, 245 yards, two touchdowns, but not one of the Wildcat running backs could get any momentum against Michigan State's defense.  

Northwestern finished the day with 117 yards rushing, but with just 2.9 yards per carry.

Defensively the Wildcats held Michigan State to a good yardage total, but Michigan State barely had to run any offensive plays to get there—just 56 for a per play average of 6.8 yards.  Add in the back-breaking punt return touchdown, and it isn't hard to see that Northwestern was plainly overmatched in this one.

However, the Wildcats still have six wins and a good chance at a bowl invite if the Big Ten can get an at-large BCS bid.  

It isn't progress per se, but it isn't the collapse that could have been.

No. 8: Purdue (6-6, 4-4) (9)

Last Week: Beat Indiana 33-25

Purdue got a win over rival Indiana, the rights to the Old Oaken Buckey and the last win necessary for bowl eligibility.

But Purdue may have lost something important too.

The offense was clicking for Purdue en route to 500-plus yards, and nearly 300 rush yards on better than five yards per carry. However, Purdue lost one of its most productive backs, Ralph Bolden, to a knee injury (Bolden missed all of 2010 with an ACL injury).  

Bolden has spent the year as one of the most relied upon backs in the Purdue rush-by-committee offense, leading the team with 56 yards per game.

Overall, the game went almost exactly how Purdue wanted it to.  The Boilermakers were able to rush the ball consistently for yardage (55 carries at 5.3 ypc), and pass the ball efficiently to keep the defense honest (19/31, 214 yards one touchdown).  

On top of that, Purdue's excellent kicker Carson Wiggs' four field goals bailed Purdue's offense out when it stalled in Indiana territory.

With the win, Purdue once again gets bragging rights in the state after being upset by Indiana last year in this game.  More importantly, Purdue has opened itself up to the possibility of a bowl invite.  The Boilermakers are one of ten Big Ten teams eligible for a bowl game this year, and should be a prime candidate to go to Detroit for the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

7. Ohio State (6-6, 3-5) (7)

Last Week: Lost to Michigan 40-34

And thus ends the short tenure of Luke Fickell.

Ohio State came out on Saturday looking like a much different team than it had for most of the season.  The rush offense that was until this point the focus of the Ohio State game plan was largely bottled up.  Dan Herron finished the game with just 36 yards on 15 carries, and the Buckeyes as a team ran for just four yards a carry and 132 total.

However, if there was any game in which Ohio State fans could find hope for the future, it was this one. 

Braxton Miller stepped up big time for his team, and his ability to make plays with his feet and arm led to a huge day for the freshman.  Miller finished the game with 14 completions on 26 attempts, 236 yards and two touchdowns to just one interception, all the while burning Michigan deep more than any other team this season.  

He even added 96 yards and a touchdown on the ground with a number of scrambles and quarterback draws that kept drives alive. 

Unfortunately for Ohio State's offense, the defense wasn't able to stop the Wolverines when it mattered most.  Outside of a forced fumble that set up a touchdown in the second quarter, pretty much every Michigan drive ended in points. 

And now Ohio State fans wait for the announcement that seems all but certain.  Urban Meyer, who requested Saturday off from his game assignment of...you guessed it, Michigan vs. Ohio State, is widely believed to be the next Ohio State coach pending an announcement of the worst kept secret in college football.

How quickly and how effectively he gets the Buckeyes back to the top of the conference is still up in the air, but one thing is certain: This will make Ohio State fans the most optimistic they have been since the opening of the 2010 season, and for good reason.  

It isn't everyday you get to hire a coach under 40-years-old who has a pair of BCS championships to his name.

No. 6: Iowa (7-5, 4-4) (6)

Last Week: Lost to Nebraska 20-7

From the looks of it, Iowa could have used another day's rest to digest the big Thanksgiving meal from the day before.  It certainly looked like Iowa was in a food coma for stretches of Friday's game.

The Hawkeyes offensive triumvirate had a disappointing game, and the team was held to just 270 yards of offense and two turnovers.  James Vandenberg completed less than half of his passes, was sacked once and intercepted once in what was one of his worst games of the season. 

His favorite target, receiver Marvin McNutt, only caught four passes for 29 yards, while running back Marcus Coker was held to just 87 yards—28 under his per game average.  As a whole, the Iowa offense failed to sustain drives.  The Hawkeyes were two for 12 on third downs, had two turnovers and didn't get inside the Iowa 35-yard line until the fourth quarter.

On the other side of the ball, Iowa was able to slow the Husker offense to just 3.6 ypc on the ground, but Nebraska rushed the ball 61 times on the way to 222 yards.  The Husker offense was markedly better at staying on the field (10/21 on third down with one fourth-down conversion on one attempt), which helped Nebraska control the ball and field position for most of the game.

Iowa could have really helped its bowl placement with a win in Lincoln, but overall this loss does little but give away one last false sense of progress.  The team was routinely outplayed this year in big games, and needs to make a lot of progress to get back to challenging for Big Ten titles.

No. 5: Penn State (9-3, 6-2) (4)

Last Week: Lost to Wisconsin 45-7

What had looked like Penn State's dream season for most of the year became a nightmare, and a lopsided loss to Wisconsin is as fitting an end to it as one could find.

The Nittany Lions held the pole position in the Leaders Division race for so long that it was almost shocking to see the team roll over so completely against Wisconsin.  This is a Penn State team that continually found ways to win through the season despite bad quarterback play, oftentimes relying on suffocating defense and just enough of a run game to close out lesser opponents.

However, "lesser opponents" is key here.  

Over Penn State's first five conference games, the Nittany Lions didn't play one team that would win more than half its conference games, and even then Penn State only scored more than 20 points twice.  The last two games against Ohio State and Nebraska played into Penn State's hands as well, both teams were run-first outfits with shaky quarterback play.

Not Wisconsin.  

The Badgers have easily the best offense in the conference, and against a stout Nittany Lion defense they showed it.  Wisconsin went for 448 yards while running for better than five yards per carry, led by Montee Ball's 156 rushing yards and Russell Wilson's 135 passing yards.

Penn State now enters the most tumultuous offseason in its history.  

The stain of the Jerry Sandusky scandal could possibly knock Penn State into a much worse bowl game than their record deserves. The Nittany Lions now have to find a coach to replace Joe Paterno, and there are no clear answers at quarterback next year with both ineffectual options returning and no one else in the fold to feasibly compete for the job.  Things could get much worse before they get better.

No. 4: Nebraska (9-3, 5-3) (5)

Last Week: Beat Iowa 20-7

It was a game like so many others played in Lincoln on the day after Thanksgiving—a suffocating defense and relentless run game wrapped in red controlled the game and got a victory for the home team.

On the day, Nebraska was ultimately not as effective running the ball, gaining only 3.6 yards per carry vs. Iowa's 3.7. But that hardly matters when you consider that Nebraska ran the ball more than twice as many times on the way to 222 yards.  

Rex Burkhead once again led the way with 160 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries, despite an injury to his right foot that left him in a walking boot earlier in the week.  With Martinez held in check because of an injury, it was up to Burkhead to shoulder the load, and he did so to great effect.

Defensively, Nebraska was able to do to Iowa what Michigan did to the Huskers a week ago: control third down.  

Iowa was only able to convert two third downs and one of its two fourth-down attempts.  This helped Nebraska keep control of the ball and limit Iowa to 20 fewer plays overall.  Add in the tough pass defense that saw James Vandenberg complete less than half of his passes, and the Iowa offense was held to its worst performance since playing Penn State early in the season.

Nebraska's season isn't going to end with a trip to the Big Ten championship game or a BCS at-large bowl birth, but the Huskers have positioned themselves solidly as the fourth team in the bowl pecking order— good enough for New Year's Day—and possibly double digit wins.  

Not a bad opening act in the Big Ten.

No. 3: Michigan (10-2, 6-2) (2)

Last Week: Beat Ohio State 40-34

After last weekend many assumed that the game wouldn't be close.  Michigan was playing some of its best ball of the season while Ohio State was playing some of its worst.

Not that any of that matters.  

Ohio State came out with guns blazing in the most aggressively-called game of the season and behind a true freshman quarterback that already is starting to show his potential the Buckeyes not only struck first, but struck often en route to a halftime lead.

The breaks continually fell for Ohio State as Denard Robinson fumbled to set up an Ohio State touchdown in the second quarter, and Will Hagerup bobbled a snap deep in Michigan territory to set up an Ohio State field goal in the fourth quarter.  On top of that, the Michigan defense played one of its worst games of the season, continually breaking down in pass coverage or being victimized by the fleet-footed Miller on third-down scrambles.

Yet, the story of the day was ultimately that of Denard Robinson's next step in development.  After slowly acclimating himself to Al Borges' hybrid offense—with plenty of growing pains along the way— Robinson put together his best game of the season and one of the best games of his career.  

On 17 pass attempts, Robinson threw as many incompletions as he did touchdowns (three), while also rushing for 170 yards on 26 carries.  Opposite him, Fitzgerald Toussaint continued to assert himself as Michigan's breakout player of the season with 120 yards on 20 carries.

This win is big in many ways for the Wolverines.  It is the first 10-win season since 2006 and it has given Michigan as many Big Ten wins in this November as the last three combined. It could lead to a BCS at-large birth.  

While that is all well and good, it pales in comparison to the fact that Michigan finally beat Ohio State again, and did so on a day when many things went wrong.  This win is the cherry on top of what has been a better season than anyone could have expected from the Wolverines.

No. 2: Michigan State (10-2, 7-1) (1)

Last Week: Beat Northwestern 31-17

Michigan State refused to lose focus with the Big Ten Legends division already wrapped up, and put the finishing touches on the school's second straight 10-win season. Michigan State started slow but broke out a big lead late in the half to push the game largely out of reach.  

First it was a long drive with under five minutes left in the half to go up 10-7, then following a Northwestern three-and-out Michigan State's Keshawn Martin returned a punt 57 yards for a touchdown.  

Two record breaking touchdown passes (Cousins now has the most touchdown passes in Michigan State history), from Kirk Cousins in the second half would extend the lead and keep Northwestern two touchdowns back.

Defensively the Spartans once again put up a strong effort.  

The run defense held the Wildcats under three yards per rush and the pass defense wasn't great but did sack Dan Persa six times for 31 yards.  Northwestern needed 75 plays to gain as many yards as Michigan State's offense was able to gain in just 56 plays.

Now, Michigan State moves on to a rematch with Wisconsin for the Big Ten title.  After last year's BCS bowl snub, Michigan State has been playing with a chip on its shoulder.  The Spartans have an opportunity to secure a spot in their first Rose Bowl in over 20 years, while putting the conference on notice that Michigan State is now a force to be reckoned with.

No. 1: Wisconsin (10-2, 6-2) (3)

Last Week: Beat Penn State 45-7

The last time Wisconsin beat a ranked conference team with Big Ten title aspirations it was the beginning of October and the college football world looked much different.

Since that day, Wisconsin has lost twice on last minute touchdown passes while dispatching every other unranked conference opponent outside of Illinois by a wide margin.  This game against Penn State was the kind most expected to see every week.

The Badger offense was a runaway train with Montee Ball moving into second on the single season touchdown record (four scores) to go along with his 156 yards rushing.  When the Badgers weren't making short work of the vaunted Nittany Lion run defense (third in the conference coming into the week), Russell Wilson was just doing what Russell Wilson does: make passing the ball look effortless.  Wilson completed 18 of 28 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns.

However, most comforting for Badger fans is how well the defense played.  

Wisconsin's two losses this year have come when the defense allowed 30 or more points in a game, but in this one Penn State was lucky to get seven—a long touchdown pass to Curtis Drake—before Wisconsin rattled off 45 unanswered points.  

Wisconsin forced four turnovers, held Penn State to just 12 first downs and four third-down conversions.  Ultimately Penn State gained fewer total yards than Wisconsin had rushing yards.

Now comes make-or-break time for Wisconsin's season.  

After starting off as a possible national championship contender, Wisconsin suffered two heartbreaking defeats and looked to be out of the Big Ten title race.  Now, the Badgers get a rematch on a neutral field against the first team to beat Wisconsin this season.

A win gets Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl—not a bad consolation prize after a season that could have ended much worse.