Penn State Nittany Lions

Big Ten Conference Power Rankings After Week 7

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Week 7 of the season is in the books for the Big Ten Conference.

The Big Ten Conference had all but two of its teams in action for Week 7 and the week was capped off with a nice game between the Buckeyes and Badgers.

Ohio State came out on top in overtime against Wisconsin and as a result, will stay at the top of the rankings this week. Nebraska and Northwestern also notched nice wins, with the Cornhuskers remaining undefeated.

Biggest disappointment in the conference is far and away Michigan State. They will have to fight and claw their way just to get bowl eligible.

Ohio State Buckeyes

(6-0, 3-0)

Last week: 5-0, 2-0Last rank: 1st

Ohio State survived a close one in Madison against Wisconsin Saturday night. In the first half, the Badgers shut down the Buckeyes leading to a 16-6 lead for Wisconsin at the break. Ohio State needed a second half comeback and overtime to finally win by 7. Ohio State looked human in this game, but Wisconsin is really good on defense. The Buckeyes travel for another night game next week against Penn State.2

Michigan Wolverines

(6-0, 3-0)

Last week: (6-0, 3-0)Last rank: 2nd

The Wolverines were on bye this week and they’ll host Illinois next week.3

Nebraska Cornhuskers

(6-0, 3-0)

Last week: 5-0, 2-0Last rank: 4th

Nebraska jumped out to a 17-0 lead against Indiana and then hung on for a 27-22 victory. The Cornhuskers are quietly undefeated, mostly due to the attention Ohio State and Michigan are getting. They lead the division race for the Big Ten West. Next week they host Purdue before back-to-back road trips to Madison and Columbus.4

Wisconsin Badgers

(4-2, 1-2)

Last week: 4-1, 1-1Last rank: 3rd

The Badger defense flummoxed the Buckeyes through the first half and Wisconsin led through three quarters. They could not survive Ohio State’s comeback though and fell in overtime, 30-23. Wisconsin has a real solid defense and have only lost to the top two teams in the conference by a touchdown each. They’ll travel to Iowa City next week to take on the Hawkeyes.5

Penn State Nittany Lions

(4-2, 2-1)

Last week: 4-2, 2-1Last rank: 5th

Penn State had the week off to prepare for their showdown under the lights against Ohio State.6

Iowa Hawkeyes

(5-2, 3-1)

Last week: 4-2, 2-1Last rank: 7th

Iowa jumped off to a huge lead, leading Purdue 35-7 at halftime, and finished with the 49-35 win. The Hawkeyes had a turnover-free game and Akrum Wadley ran all over the Boilermakers for 170 yards and a touchdown. Iowa hosts Wisconsin next week in a Big Ten West battle.7

Indiana Hoosiers

(3-3, 1-2)

Last week: 3-2, 1-1Last rank: 6th

The Hoosiers came within two points of Nebraska twice in the second half, but couldn’t take the lead and lost 27-22. Indiana has now dropped two straight after their big win over Michigan State. They will look to get back on track next week as they travel to Evanston for a game against Northwestern.8

Minnesota Golden Gophers

(4-2, 1-2)

Last week: 3-2, 0-2Last rank: 9th

After losing two straight, Minnesota got back to winning on Saturday with a solid road win against Maryland, 31-10. With Gopher quarterback Mitch Leidner out with a concussion, Minnesota turned to their rushing attack, led by Rodney Smith who ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns. The Gophers next three games look manageable, starting with a home game against Rutgers next week.9

Northwestern Wildcats

(3-3, 2-1)

Last week: 2-3, 1-1Last rank: 10th

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that Northwestern needed to find some offense. Two weeks ago against Iowa they scored 38 and now hung 54 on Michigan State in their win over the Spartans, 54-40. Now, the Wildcats defense did record a safety and the special teams did have a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, but still impressive to score over 50 points and rack up nearly 500 yards total offense. Northwestern is back at .500 and faces Indiana next week.10

Maryland Terrapins

(4-2, 1-2)

Last week: 4-1, 1-1Last rank: 8th

Everything seemed to be going right for the Terps two weeks ago and now after two-straight losses, they don’t look as formidable. Entering the game, Maryland had four turnovers for the season and they doubled that amount in the game versus Minnesota. It did not help matters with quarterback Perry Hills out. The Terps look to right the ship versus Michigan State in primetime next Saturday night.11

Michigan State Spartans

(2-4, 0-3)

Last week: 2-3, 0-2Last rank: 11th

Many thought Michigan State would take a step back this year, but nobody could have foreseen the season being this bad after six games. Michigan State gave up 54 points to Northwestern at home on their way to their fourth-straight defeat. With Michigan and Ohio State left on their schedule, the Spartans will most likely have to win their other four games just to be bowl eligible. It’s been a tough year in East Lansing.12

Purdue Boilermakers

(3-3, 1-2)

Last week: 3-2, 1-1Last rank: 12th

A week after a overtime win against Illinois, the Boilermakers couldn’t keep pace against Iowa, losing 49-35. A positive for Purdue was that quarterback David Blough threw for 458 yards and 5 touchdowns. It doesn’t get any easier with a road trip to Lincoln next Saturday.13

Illinois Fighting Illini

(2-4, 1-2)

Last week: 1-4, 0-2Last rank: 13th

I guess congratulations are in order for Lovie Smith’s squad picking up their first conference win of the season, but it came in a Big Ten pillow fight versus Rutgers. Illinois was gifted five turnovers on the day and they did take one of those back for a 78 yard pick six. A daunting task for Illinois next week as they visit the Big House.14

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

(2-5, 0-4)

Last week: 2-4, 0-3Last rank: 14th

Not sure what else can be said about Rutgers. They are by far the worst team in the conference. It took them until the fourth quarter to score a touchdown, their first points in 11 quarters. We knew before the season that head coach Chris Ash had a rebuilding project on his hands and now that looks even tougher. They travel to Minnesota next week.