For the third consecutive season I am back with my own personal Big Ten Football Power Poll. Every week I will rank the Big Ten teams how I see them, first by division, and then all fourteen teams in order. Sometimes there is rationality for how I see them ranked, and sometimes its just how I feel at the time. But I promise the rankings will make general sense—no ranking Rutgers #1 or anything stupid like that.

Week seven brought some major shifting of the teams in the East. Coupled with the events of week 6 that didn’t get updated here—stupid real life—and these ranking smay look a bit different than the last time we had a set.

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Big Ten East:

#1 Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes haven’t looked amazing in beating Indiana and Minnesota the last two weeks, but it has been enough. Dwayne Haskins is a potential Heisman candidate and he has nearly single-handedly put Ohio State in the CFP discussion.

The Buckeyes head to Purdue for a national TV prime-time game and will try not to get harbored...again.

#2 Michigan Wolverines

Michigan looks like a legitimate Big Ten East contender after beating the crap out of Maryland and then exposing Wisconsin for the frauds they are. They get one more huge test this week before a bye as they head to a hot Michigan State team for their brotherly feud game.

#3 Michigan State Spartans

Sparty Yes. A last second TV pass propelled the Spartans over Penn State. A week after a huge let down loss to Northwestern the win puts Sparty back ahead of PSU in the rankings. They have a potentially season defining game this weekend when they host the Wolverines.

#4 Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State came off of their bye after their loss to Ohio State and...promptly lost to Michigan State, Ouch. Not a good three week span for the Nittany Lions. They head to Indiana this weekend looking to get back on track.

#5 Maryland Terrapins

Maryland lost to Michigan and then beat up on Rutgers. No surprises there. A trip to Iowa is up this Saturday.

#6 Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana got off to their hot start as usual, but two straight losses to Ohio State and Iowa now put them at 4-3. Penn State comes to town this weekend so its probably 4-4 before what looks like a HUGE game for both teams at TCF Bank Stadium a week from Friday.

#7 Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Rutgers is awful. And that’s being kind. Illinois and Maryland both destroyed the Scarlet Knights and it gets no easier with Northwestern heading to Jersey this Saturday.

Big Ten West

#1 Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa is a flawed #1 team in the West, but with wins over Minnesota and Indiana they take the top spot over the Badgers for now. Maryland comes to town this weekend in a game that could be interesting.

#2 Wisconsin Badgers

The Badgers looked flat in Ann Arbor. Guess they aren’t the best team since sliced bread after all. They can easily redeem themselves this week when Illinois comes to Madison.

#3 Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern has bounced back from a horrible start to get back to 3-3 and first place in the Big Ten West at the moment. Wins over a ranked Michigan State team in East Lansing and a come from behind OT squeaker over Nebraska weren’t pretty but a win is a win. They should easily move to 4-3 this week when they play at Rutgers.

#4 Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue also has moved from the brink of disaster to three huge wins in a row to get back to 3-3. Back to back wins over Nebraska and Illinois are something, but this week would be a huge statement. Can the Boilermakers pull off a harboring once again when the Buckeyes head to West Lafayette? Stay tuned.

#5 Minnesota Golden Gophers

The Gophers looked awful against Iowa, but then looked like they might actually upset Ohio State...for about ten minutes. The Gophers are back to 3-3 but have a very winnable game this weekend for the Chair in Lincoln. I won’t say it’s a must win...but its getting close.

#6 Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois took care of the garbage bowl dispatching Rutgers fairly easily. Then real life came back as the Illini got absolutely destroyed on Homecoming by Purdue. It gets no better this week with a trip to Madison on the schedule.

#7 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Nebraska was thisclose to win #1 of the Frost era last week in Evanston. But then they blew a ten point lead in less than five minutes including giving up a game typing td on a 99-yard drive in under two minutes. Ooof. Can Frost get his first win for the Chair? Lets really really hope not.

Overall Big Ten Rankings (last week in parenthesis)

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (1)
2. Michigan Wolverines (4)
3. Michigan State Spartans (6)
4. Penn State Nittany Lions (2)
5. Iowa Hawkeyes (5)
6. Wisconsin Badgers (3)
7. Maryland Terrapins (7)
8. Northwestern Wildcats (11)
9. Purdue Boilermakers (9)
10. Indiana Hoosiers (8)
11. Minnesota Golden Gophers (10)
12. Illinois Fighting Illini (12)
13. Nebraska Cornhuskers (13)
14. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (14)