Big Ten football power rankings after Week 12

There was not much movement in the rankings this week for the Big Ten. At the top, the biggest contenders have only strengthened their resumes. USC proved itself to be in the tier with Oregon, right below Indiana and Ohio State. Iowa, even with four losses on the season, should still be viewed just below the top-tier teams. With teams fluctuating at the bottom of the rankings, the constant theme is that Purdue once again will be the worst team in the Big Ten.

Here are my Big Ten football rankings after Week 12:

The Hoosiers are now 11-0 for the first time in program history. Fernando Mendoza, after another Heisman level performance, is the first Hoosier quarterback with 30 touchdowns in a season. Curt Cignetti and Mendoza are both creating history at Indiana together and are looking to get a championship at the end of the season. Indiana is the best team in the country 12 weeks into the college football season.

2. Ohio State Buckeyes (10-0)

The Buckeyes win with their offense running all over the Bruins, displaying just how complete a football team they are. Right now, Ohio State and Indiana, in my opinion, are 1A and 1B. It is a matter of personal preference which team you view as better, but until the Big Ten Championship game, these two teams are interchangeable. Indiana has the better resume, but many still view Ohio State as the best team in the country.

3. Oregon Ducks (9-1)

Oregon responded perfectly to last week’s thriller. Dante Moore did not have one of his best weapons, and yet still he had a great day against the Gophers. The Ducks defensively had no issues with the Gophers’ struggling offense either. The Ducks are still in a great position for the College Football Playoff as long as they can be the version of themselves that steamrolled the Gophers.

Following the Trojans’ encouraging win against the Hawkeyes, there is more optimism that this team has a shot against the Ducks next Saturday. Lincoln Riley and this team reminded everybody just how dangerous they can be as they completely dominated Iowa in the second half. This is an offense that can score on anybody, and a defense that, once it gets going, you can be in some real trouble against. The Trojans have what it takes to take down the Ducks, but will they do it? That is up for debate. They sure did give confidence that they can, though, in their win against Iowa.

This is one of the more inconsistent 8-2 teams you will see in college football. Bryce Underwood still has ways to go, but he also has the talent to be a star quarterback in contention to be a high draft pick. Despite their quarterback struggles, they have a run game that will keep them in a lot of games. This is not a team that will win with style; this is a team that wins games that feel like a roller coaster. It is yet to be determined just how good this team is.

Iowa is as tough as they come, but they can never finish a game versus a good team. Even the USC Trojans, who are suspect at times putting games away and coming up in the clutch themselves, made the Hawkeys fold in the second half. Iowa, still in my mind, is one of the best teams in the Big Ten, and I trust them more to win a game other than the teams listed below them.

7. Washington Huskies (7-3)

The Huskies are one of the best teams in the country at home, but if they face any competent team on the road, they lose every single game. There simply is not a contending team like them. Not many teams in the country are more talented than the Huskies; without their starting running back and starting receiver, they still manage to put up 49 points on Purdue easily. With a rough game versus the Bruins this upcoming week, it will be interesting to see which Huskies team shows up.

Illinois moves to 7-3, and this is a really solid Fight Illini football team. Defense is playing well, the run game is coming alive, coupled with a nice passing game. This is not a College Football Playoff-contending team, but still a team that could be a tough out for a lot of teams in the country.

9. Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-3)

Although Dylan Raiola goes down for the rest of the season, the Cornhuskers showed great fight and beat UCLA last week. The Cornhuskers are coming off a bye week, ready to make the most out of the rest of the season. TJ Lateef looked impressive, and this run game still remains one of the toughest to stop in the country. They could still finish 9-3 or 8-4 to close out a solid season, given the circumstances.

10. Minnesota Gophers (6-4)

The Gophers got beat down once again, and this time they were able to manage 13 points. Oregon dominated the Gophers in every fashion. The Gophers are winless on the road this season, but will that break that next week versus Northwestern? Who knows. Minnesota, at least, will, of course, have a close game finish versus Northwestern because it plays to the level of its competition. This team barely beats average teams, and once they face someone equal in talent or better, they get blown out. Hard to tell which Minnesota team you will get each week.

Northwestern was a field goal away from getting a huge upset over the Wolverines. It still is impressive how this season has kind of played out after the poor start by Northwestern. The talent gap has been huge against the best of the Big Ten, but the Wildcats have remained competitive and feisty. They have a real shot to win at least one of their last two games to go bowling.

Another week where Penn State looks impressive. An emotional first win for Terry Smith, great moment to see. Under interim head coach Terry Smith, Penn State continues to look respectable. It may be time to begin those same UCLA-type discussions about Terry Smith if this continues. This team has shown up for him. They could run the table and get bowl eligible these next two weeks. At the very least, this is no longer a bottom-of-the-rankings team in the Big Ten.

13. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-5)

Rutgers gets the break from all the chaos in the Big Ten this week and is coming off an encouraging win. Hopefully the Scarlet Knights enjoyed their vacation, as they have to go to Columbus for a matchup with the Buckeyes next.

14. Wisconsin Badgers (3-7)

Since the Luke Fickell news of the extension, the Badgers have been playing better. They played well against Oregon, hung in the battle with Indiana for a little bit, and they beat a good Washington team. This defense has life to it, especially with young studs like freshman Mason Posa. The Badgers can really leave this once-disastrous season with some momentum with an upset of Illinois and a win against the suspect Minnesota Gophers. This is no longer one of the worst teams in the conference.

15. UCLA Bruins (3-7)

UCLA looked terrible without Nico Iamaleava against Ohio State. It seems like this team is reverting back to one of the worst teams in college football. This season needs to be over quickly for this team. Glad outlook for the USC vs UCLA game looks totally different now.

16. Michigan State Spartans (3-7)

It was a competitive first two quarters for the Spartans against Penn State, but you can only do so much with that poor offensive line. Penn State looked miles ahead of this team, and the Spartans, just like the fans, may have given up hope on Jonathan Smith. The effort is just not there anymore and I don’t think Iowa is a good matchup next week for it to come out.

17. Maryland Terrapins (4-6)

The fall off for this team has been tremendously sad. Malik Washington looked like one of the more exciting players in college football, and after a win against a bad Wisconsin team at the time, this team has been on snooze for the rest of the season. 6 straight losses for the Terrapins. Only one time has Maryland been worse than it has been this season in conference play. I am not sure if this team can even beat Purdue. I think last game of the season, Michigan State will end the season on a high note type of win against them. One last thing, please fire Mike Locksley.

Once again, the Boilermakers find themselves at the bottom of the Big Ten. This team has not made that much improvement, seeing as how they only improved their win total by just 1. It looks like they will not get a win in the Big Ten this season after many close attempts. This program might need a complete reset.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Week 12 Big Ten football power rankings following USC’s win over Iowa

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