Big Ten Power Rankings: Vol. II

It's time for the second installment of the Power Rankings. The Power Rankings are voted on by our writers, and, due to life in the volatile Big Ten, will be subject to numerous changes throughout the season. The number after the team is their average vote, and the change from last week is in parentheses after that.

Enough with the introduction, click on to see the list.

1. Ohio State - 1.2 (up 1)

The Buckeyes have moved into a tie for first in the conference standings, and their dominating win at Nebraska was in stark contrast to the losses that most Big Ten teams have been piling up on the road.

2. Michigan State - 2 (down 1)

MSU lost at Michigan this week and followed it up by embarrassing Purdue at home. The Spartans look like they are going to stay near the top of the rankings all year.

3. Michigan - 3.2 (up 2)

The middle of the pack teams in the rankings all had issues this week. Michigan took care of the Spartans at home and lost to Arkansas (?) on the road when they couldn't quite dig themselves out of a large deficit.

4. (tie) Illinois - 4.8 (no change)

Things haven't been going very well for the Illini after their big win against OSU. A loss at Penn State and a home loss to Wisconsin made this a week to forget for Illinois fans.

4. (tie) Indiana - 4.8 (down 1)

It was good for the Hoosiers to bounce back against Penn State, but their loss at Nebraska drops them a spot this week.

6. Wisconsin - 5 (no change)

Look for the Badgers to start climbing the rankings if they continue to play well. Their average in the poll jumped up 1.8, but it wasn't quite enough to catch UI or IU. They've won four in a row including at Illinois, so they may have gotten over their early conference struggles.

7. Purdue - 7.4 (no change)

The less that can be said about the game at MSU, the better. The Boilers have trouble scoring for long stretches in games, and it has cost them a couple of wins.

8. Minnesota - 7.8 (up two)

The Golden Gophers hopped both Iowa and Northwestern after beating the Wildcats handily and picking up a road win at PSU.

9. Iowa - 8.8 (down two)

Iowa's only game this week was a loss at Purdue, and that left the door open for Minnesota to pass them. The Hawkeyes will have a chance to rise in the rankings this week if they can win at Indiana.

10. Northwestern - 10 (down one)

Two lopsided losses moved Northwestern down this week. They need to turn it around if they want to get that elusive tournament bid.

11. Penn State - 11.2 (no change)

Beating Illinois at home wasn't enough to get Penn State out of the eleventh spot. They could make a quantum leap forward with a win at Ohio State in their next game.

12. Nebraska - 11.8 (no change)

Nebraska had a successful week by their standards. The blowout loss to Ohio State wasn't unexpected, and their home win over Indiana came after they trailed by a considerable margin in the second half. Every team in the conference has a win or two like that, so that wasn't enough to knock off PSU.