There was plenty to sort through from week 10's action as we head into week 11. Making this power ranking has become harder and harder as the season has progressed. That is in large part because last week was a nightmare scenario for the Big Ten West, as the East just continued to roll along.

Let's dive into my changes and why I made them before this weekend's games inevitably blow up the rankings once again.

| Rutgers #6 --> #4 | Iowa #8 --> #5 | Maryland #7 --> #6 | Minnesota #9 --> #8 | Indiana #14 --> #13 |

Ah Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights took on the Scarlet & Gray in what was a much closer game than the score of 35-16 indicated. Rutgers was able to regularly get deep into Buckeye territory, but settled for three field goals and a pick six (yikes) in their trips.

I still think they are one of the best teams in the conference and their performances against Michigan and Ohio State have proven that to me in losses.

Iowa's ascension back to #5 can only be marketed as "everybody else just looks downright bad." The Hawkeyes continue to find ways to win games with an offense that resembles the creativity of your son's pee-wee football team. Props to Iowa for figuring it out on a game-by-game basis, some teams just know how to win.

Moving Maryland up after a 36-point loss to Penn State makes me cringe. It was one of those accidents that just sort of happen where you stare at it wondering how the spoon landed upright on the tile floor. When three of the four worst teams in the Big Ten beat three of the four best teams in the Big Ten West, things got messy. That's all I have to say about that.

Can we just repeat what I said about Maryland and use the same reasoning for Minnesota after their loss to Illinois? Thanks.

Lastly, its the only team in this whole section (besides Iowa) that actually won their game. Indiana came out and pretty much controlled the game against Wisconsin in an impressive fashion for the first half. Then, they clung to their lead and the play of their defense in the second half to get the win 20-14.

The changes that the Hoosiers made at quarterback and offensive coordinator may be starting to work out for the better after a solid showing the week prior versus Penn State.

| Michigan #1 | Ohio State #2 | Penn State #3 | Northwestern #10 | Illinois #11 | Michigan State #12 |

I do not think that I really have to sit here and justify the top three this week, there has not been a change there in quite some time now. I have been steadfast in the fact that Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State are the best in the conference in that particular order. We will find out more about the UM and PSU components on Saturday.

Really, most of these matchups were expected except for maybe Illinois' upset over Minnesota. Northwestern kept it close in a classic 10-7 Big Ten West loss to Iowa, while Michigan State took down Nebraska.

The wins for MSU and Illinois both felt like flukes to me. I understand that head-to-head matchups SHOULD matter (and they do) but the body of work also needs to be weighed.

| Wisconsin #4 --> #7 | Nebraska #5 --> #9 | Purdue #13 --> #14 |

Man was I wrong when I decided to put some confidence into Matt Rhule and Luke Fickell's teams in the coach's first seasons on the job.

I know they were missing Braelon Allen, but Wisconsin had seemingly figured some things out on both sides of the ball. They must have felt so too, because they sleep walked into their game against Indiana.

The Hoosiers jumped out to a 17-7 lead by halftime but failed to gain more than 36 yards in the entire final 30 minutes of play. Still, they kicked one field goal and did just enough to keep the Badgers from winning in that period. A pitiful effort from Wisconsin.

The more I think about the Nebraska loss, the more blame I put on myself. "It's not you, it's me." I should have never given that amount of confidence to a 5-3 team. Looking over their schedule and their performances of late I had lulled myself into a false sense of growth from this team because their identity is so strong.

All it took was a Michigan State squad that had lost six straight games to take down the Cornhuskers. QB Heinrich Haarberg's three turnovers was a major factor in that 20-17 final score, something he has typically avoided doing this season.

Purdue ran into one of the best Michigan teams of all-time, so there were no surprises in that matchup. Instead, I moved them down a spot because Indiana earned a bump up.

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