Michigan State Spartans

Big Ten Football Power Rankings: Week 5 edition

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

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Sep 24, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers wide receiver Jazz Peavy (11) runs for yards after a catch against the Michigan State Spartans during the first half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Week 5 of the Big Ten football power rankings are here and the Wisconsin Badgers are on the rise.

College football is barreling through the 2016 season already. We are in Week 5 and nearly halfway through the regular season with Big Ten football play starting up. There have been a few conference matchups to this point already, and that makes it easier to decide where everyone stands in our weekly power rankings.

Michigan State didn’t have the greatest game against the Wisconsin Badgers at home, falling 30-6. The Spartans blew an opportunity to move up even farther in the AP Poll and have a good position before the playoff rankings are released.

Poor offense and four turnovers, along with the absence of starting middle linebacker Riley Bullough, did Michigan State in and now it’s forced to move forward without junior linebacker Jon Reschke for a ‘significant time’, according to Mark Dantonio.

Let’s take a look at the Big Ten football power rankings for the fifth week of the season. You might be surprised at some of the movement near the top and in the middle of the pack.

Illinois Fighting Illini

1-2, Last Week: 13

Illinois had a much-needed bye in Week 4 after suffering blowout losses to North Carolina and Western Michigan in its previous two games. Getting out-scored 82-33 by teams not even in the Top 25 can be an issue, especially if one of them is a MAC program.The Lovie Smith era isn’t off to the best of starts, but that might change once Big Ten play gets into full-swing — or maybe not.

This week: at No. 15 Nebraska

Northwestern Wildcats

1-3 (0-1 Big Ten), Last Week: 12

Northwestern is off to a horrendous start in the 2016 season. Losing the home opener to Western Michigan is turning out to be a better loss than it looked to be at first, but an Illinois State defeat in Week 2 was embarrassing. The Wildcats then took down a pesky Duke team, but opened conference play with an 11-point loss to Nebraska at home. The Cornhuskers are for real this season, it seems, but Northwestern desperately needs to take advantage of home games.

This week: at Iowa

Sep 24, 2016; Bloomington, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Ricky Jones (4) catches a pass during the second half of the game at Memorial Stadium. Wake Forest defeated Indiana 33-28. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

Purdue Boilermakers

2-1, Last Week: 14

Purdue has a winning record. Let that sink in for a second. The Boilermakers have been in the Big Ten’s cellar, in terms of overall record and power rankings, for the better part of the last couple of years. Darrell Hazell hasn’t done the best job of turning the program around, and he might be out by the team the season ends, but at least his team is still fighting. The only loss Purdue has on the season isn’t a bad one, dropping one at Cincinnati a couple weeks ago. The Boilermakers took down Nevada on Saturday, 24-14.

This week: at Maryland

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

2-2 (0-1 Big Ten), Last Week: 11

Chris Ash is looking to do what Purdue’s Darrell Hazell cannot — turn an ailing program into a perennial winner. The former Ohio State assistant has taken over Rutgers and is just 2-2 in his first four games as head coach. His two losses, though, were to No. 14 Washington in Week 1 and Iowa this past weekend. The Scarlet Knights played the Hawkeyes tough, losing by just seven points and holding Iowa’s offense to only 14. That was a major step in the improvement process.

This week: at No. 2 Ohio State

Indiana Hoosiers

2-1, Last Week: 8

Even without Nate Sudfeld and Jordan Howard, the Indiana Hoosiers’ offense remains electric with plenty of options. Indiana is coming off its first loss of the season, however, dropping a home game to Wake Forest. However, junior JUCO transfer quarterback Richard Lagow put up video game-like numbers for the Hoosiers, passing for 496 yards and three touchdowns, but his five interceptions did Indiana in. The run game struggled and might do so yet again in Week 5, facing one of the best rushing defenses in the nation.

This week: vs. No. 17 Michigan State

Sep 24, 2016; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes running back LeShun Daniels Jr. (29) runs with the ball during the second half at High Points Solutions Stadium. Iowa defeated Rutgers 14-7. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State Nittany Lions

2-2 (0-1 Big Ten), Last Week: 7

Putting up just 191 total yards while allowing 515 in a Week 4 loss to Michigan goes to show just how far the Nittany Lions have to go as a program. Ever since Bill O’Brien left, James Franklin has been struggling to pick up the pieces and turn the Nittany Lions into winners again. Losing 49-10 in Ann Arbor was embarrassing enough as it is, but dropping to 2-2 on the season with as much talent as Penn State has is just unacceptable. Franklin might be nearing his end with the Nittany Lions.

This week: vs. Minnesota

Maryland Terrapins

3-0, Last Week: 10

If Maryland keeps on winning, the Terrapins will keep on climbing in our weekly power rankings. Sure, the Terrapins got the week off, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still move up due to the teams in front of them losing and playing poorly. Former Michigan defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin is doing one heck of a job with the program already and he’s off to a 3-0 start while recruiting more effectively than those before him did. Maryland might just surprise some people in Big Ten play this year.

This week: vs. Purdue

Iowa Hawkeyes

3-1 (1-0 Big Ten), Last Week: 9

Things for Iowa are not getting much better. After losing a gut-wrenching home game to North Dakota State in Week 3, the Hawkeyes barely squeaked by Rutgers in Week 4 and lost leading receiver Matt VandeBerg to a foot injury. Just how serious is the injury? Well, head coach Kirk Ferentz believes he’s going to be out at least a month and could return for the bowl game. Iowa might need to rely on LeShun Daniels Jr. and Akrum Wadley in the run game as C.J. Beathard has been struggling under center for the past couple of weeks.

This week: vs. Northwestern

Sep 24, 2016; Evanston, IL, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers tight end Cethan Carter (11) celebrates his touchdown with teammates against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at Ryan Field. Cornhuskers won 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota Golden Gophers

3-0, Last Week: 6

Minnesota is playing for former head coach Jerry Kill every week. He was forced into an early, unexpected retirement because of health issues, and the players loved him. Minnesota is off to a 3-0 start and will look to carry that success over into Big Ten play, but the Golden Gophers will have to show much more force against tougher opponents moving forward. They have been allowing inferior foes stay in games until the very end, beating both Oregon State and Colorado State by just seven points at home.

This week: at Penn State

Michigan State Spartans

2-1 (0-1 Big Ten), Last Week: 2

Call me crazy for dropping Michigan State all the way down to No. 5 after a home loss to the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers, but the three teams who jumped the Spartans looked much better in Week 4 and have yet to lose a game this season. Michigan State couldn’t get anything going against Wisconsin’s defense, turning the ball over four times, one of which was a fumble returned over 50 yards for a touchdown. Tyler O’Connor might not be the answer at quarterback and a youth movement might be brewing in East Lansing.

This week: at Indiana

Nebraska Cornhuskers

4-0 (1-0 Big Ten), Last Week: 5

Nebraska is turning it around. The Cornhuskers lost six games decided by one score or less in 2015, but have gotten off to a 4-0 start in 2016, already with one game decided by just three points. Mike Riley and the Cornhuskers look to be a serious threat to win the Big Ten West and that side of the conference is actually looking much more competitive than it was a season ago. Tommy Armstrong is playing well and going into Evanston to steal a win from Northwestern under the lights is a good way to kick off Big Ten play.

This week: vs. Illinois

Sep 24, 2016; East Lansing, MI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers offensive lineman Brett Connors (64) prepares to snap the ball to Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Alex Hornibrook (not pictured) during the first half of a game against Michigan State at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan Wolverines

4-0 (1-0 Big Ten), Last Week: 3

Despite the fact that Michigan has yet to play a single game away from Ann Arbor this season, and that won’t change in Week 5, the Wolverines have been impressive in almost every aspect of the game. Michigan took down Penn State 49-10 last week and made it look easy. The run game accounted for over 300 yards while Wilton Speight didn’t need to do much through the air. Still, Michigan hasn’t played a tough defense yet and that will prove what Speight truly has to offer. He might be the Wolverines’ top X-factor moving forward.

This week: vs. No. 8 Wisconsin

Wisconsin Badgers

4-0 (1-0 Big Ten), Last Week: 4

Wisconsin is one of the toughest teams in the Big Ten. The Badgers have an elite defense and with freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook already tested by a Spartan defense, he looks to be the future for the offense. The Badgers are the only team in the country with two wins over top-10 foes at this point in the season and they look to be for real. I would have put them at No. 1 in the conference power rankings, but Ohio State is looking far too strong to pass up right now. Wisconsin might just run away with the Big Ten West.

This week: at No. 4 Michigan

Ohio State Buckeyes

3-0, Last Week: 1

How much scarier can Ohio State be? Well, an already nightmarish opponent is coming off a bye week and is only going to get stronger. The Buckeyes took down Oklahoma, on the road, in Week 3 to improve to 3-0 on the year. Not only did Ohio State beat Oklahoma, but the Buckeyes dismantled the Sooners by a final score of 45-24. J.T. Barrett is a true Heisman frontrunner while Mike Weber is taking over for Ezekiel Elliott nicely. This team is the strongest in the conference right now by a wide margin.

This week: vs. Rutgers