Big Ten football power rankings after Week 11

In an entertaining week of Big Ten football, the real contenders are adding to their resumes. Indiana and Oregon both showed they can win gritty games. Fernando Mendoza will be on his way to New York soon, and both he and Dante Moore could be the top two quarterback picks in future NFL drafts. USC put together a solid win due to its stars showing up big. Clarity in the Big Ten might be emerging, but there’s still a lot of ball left.

Here are my Big Ten football rankings after Week 11:

The Hoosiers faced adversity, and Fernando Mendoza finally got his Heisman moment. On the brink of an upset, Mendoza drove the Hoosiers 80 yards and gave his best playmaker and opportunity to make a play. That Omar Cooper Jr. did. Anything can happen in the Big Ten, and Indiana showed they can still come out on top amidst chaos. Indiana will finish this season without any question marks, and they will have the Heisman winner on their side.

2. Ohio State Buckeyes (9-0)

Ohio State had their way with the Boilermakers as expected. The Boilermakers could not do anything against Ohio State’s defense for all but one quarter. The Buckeyes continue to look more and more impressive on all sides of the ball. It won’t be clear how good this team really is until their game versus Michigan at the end of the season.

3. Oregon Ducks (8-1)

The Ducks survive a thriller, off of another game-winning drive that featured yet another elite throw by Dante Moore Jr. You have to imagine that as long as Dante Moore can get the ball last, you have to love the Ducks’ chances to win any ball game.

The USC Trojans have an offense that can put up numbers with the top 3 teams in the Big Ten, but they still could also get smacked in the mouth against Iowa this weekend. USC has given every reason to be concerned about them, but sprinkled in some hope that this season will be different. Fans can decide whether to believe or not in this year’s team and Lincoln Riley. The Trojans are still at the very east, the clear 4th-best team in the Big Ten.

If Michigan can get some players back from injury this week, they should be in a great position to head into the last game of the season at 10-2. Not only will there be a heated rivalry at play, but also real playoff implications for Michigan. This is a very underrated team that can even when their quarterback plays terribly. Michigan will be a team to keep an eye on in the last few weeks.

Iowa gave another top team in the country their toughest challenge. I know they have 3 losses, but find a team with losses better than theirs. The Hawkeyes got in their own way of winning this game, but still proved to be a team you cannot take lightly. They have a great shot to beat USC on the road this week, and any other team other than the top three, they can definitely beat.

Illinois has a perfect match-up off the bye with a game against Maryland. I expect Illinois to roll over the Terps and maintain their spot right below the top of the Big Ten.

8. Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-3)

Regardless of the adversity, Nebraska just keeps winning. TJ Lateef was as good as he could have been in his first start, the Cornhuskers were great on defense until garbage time. This was a huge win to keep this season from spiraling after the loss of Dylan Raiola.

9. Washington Huskies (6-3)

Washington can not be taken seriously anymore. This team can not be considered a good football team when they get embarrassed in road games game after game. Unfortunately for the Huskies, the team cannot play every game at home. The loss versus Wisconsin simply can not happen, and until they prove otherwise, I will never expect this team to win another road game. The hope of getting into the College Football Playoff is beyond dead.

10. Minnesota Gophers (6-3)

Minnesota desperately needed the bye week to get things in order and prepare for the rest of the season. With a match-up on the road against Oregon this week, their hope is that they can just keep this game competitive. With their up and down games this season, that remains to be seen. They will either push Oregon to the brink like they did last season, or they will get blown out like they did against Iowa recently.

It was a great 5-3 start for the Wildcats and a great start against USC in the first half on Friday. The Wildcats collapsed after a 14-14 score in the first half, losing to USC 38-17. The rest of the season could play out just like the game versus USC did. Michigan is the next opponent for David Braun and the Wildcats. That could be yet another team that outwills the Wildcats. Northwestern remains back right in the middle of the pack after showing hope of being higher in the standings.

Athan Kaliakmanis propelled the Scarlet Knights to a big win. Rutgers has always been a talented team and had enough firepower to play with the mid-tier teams, but it just comes down to their defense and their inability to close out games. This game their defense played well against Malik Washington bottling him up in the second half. This was the exact win Rutgers needed; now they will look to secure another bowl bid season under Greg Schiano.

13. UCLA Bruins (3-6)

The magical run and the 3-0 stretch for the Bruins is long past them. Against a Nebraska team without Dylan Raiola, they were outmatched. The Cornhuskers could do whatever they want offensively. The Bruins, on offense, had to scratch and claw back to make this game more interesting. The Bruins hopes of bringing meaning back to this season are all but over.

14. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-6)

Penn State showed life under Terry Smith against a really good Indiana team. Great sign that this team did not throw the towel in just yet. If they played how they played last week, they could go on a late run to get a bowl game.

15. Maryland Terrapins (4-5)

Maryland put up a disastrous performance on defense, and their offense proved not to be as good as Rutgers. Change needs to happen after a loss like this. Malik Washington has every reason to head to another program to be the star quarterback he can be.

16. Michigan State Spartans (3-6)

Freshman Alessio Milivojevic will be the big focus point for the rest of the season and seeing him develop. There is not much else to look forward to with this team for the rest of the season. The 6 game losing streak might go all the way into next season with how good Penn State looked last week.

17. Wisconsin Badgers (3-6)

After the word that Luke Fickell was returning, the Badgers showed up for their head coach. I guess all hope is not lost with Wisconsin. They snapped a 6-game skid, and their defense played amazingly against a lethal Huskies offense. Their leading passer was their punter, who threw one pass the entire game. This team is still very bad.

18. Purdue Boilermakers (2-8)

With Wisconsin getting a huge upset Saturday, for the time being, Purdue is now the worst team in the Big Ten. Not much to write home about their blowout loss to Ohio State. The Boilermakers were terrible on defense, minus a strong first quarter in which they held a 3-0 lead. After that, the game went as you would expect it to. Offense could only muster up a garbage-time touchdown. Barry Odom still has a lot of work to do with this program.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Week 11 Big Ten football power rankings after USC beats Northwestern

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