Corn Nation Power Poll Week 8

Paul:  It's good to see what Harbaugh is doing in Ann Arbor.  College football is better when Michigan and Ohio State are good and when their matchup Thanksgiving Friday means something.  I flipped Michigan and Ohio State, but left #3 and #4 unchanged because I still think Nebraska will lose to Wisconsin next week. If they win, I’ll adjust my vote. If they don’t, my rankings won’t change. After those four, it’s ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ until the bottom three. Northwestern and Penn State seem to have figured out how to play football and might push up in the rankings as we go through the second half of the season. Illinois, Purdue, and Rutgers are just awful. But I suppose I should give kudos to Rutgers for almost looking like an FBS-level team.

Greg: What the hell is going on in the Big Ten? Ohio State losing to Penn State, Maryland beating Michigan State by two scores, Rutgers.....losing? Oh, we’ve come to expect that last one. Call me crazy, but I think our poll is still closer to where the conference is than what the AP/Coaches Poll says. Minor setback for Brutus, but that definitely elevates Michigan’s status, and should both teams win out, makes their meeting Thanksgiving weekend all the more meaningful.

Jill: Last week I thought about voting Michigan #1 over Ohio State but that switch was easy this week. The Buckeyes definitely look mortal while Harbaugh just keeps on Harbaughing. I still have Wisconsin above the Huskers even after they lost their leading tackler for the season. Our offensive line is just too beat up for me think that the Huskers can take advantage and a week won’t be enough time to heal. Getting Jordan Westerkamp back will be nice though.

Don’t look now but Northwestern and Penn State are playing some competent football. It’s almost like NW found one online but it got backordered until halfway through the season. Iowa, Indiana, and Maryland are all similar in that they can play some decent football sometimes but never seem to get it all together at the same time. Minnesota might be in the boat too but I have less confidence in the Gophers to do that than the other three.

And the bottom of the conference is bad. Purdue gets applause for their spunky effort against the Huskers but I would be surprised if they reach bowl eligibility. Stranger things have happened - maybe Darrel Hazell was the problem.

Also, Sparty No. Just No.

Brian: Michigan is #1 till they get knocked off. I suppose 2-4 is what you think of it, although if Nebraska can find a way to win both games, they’re the lock at 2 due to being the driver seat in the West & undefeated. Going to give NW the benefit of the doubt due to looking like they’ve figured it out. I dunno if Penn St is that good, but when you beat the Buckeyes with that 4th quarter, you get the benefit of the doubt for this week at least.

Andy: So we finally had an upset to shake things up...except I'm not shaking much up. And a few of these are based on the fact that all will work itself out in the end.

#1- Michigan - Slides into the #1 spot courtesy of Penn St. & Urban Meyer's indecision.
#2- Ohio St. - Yes, this is as far as I'm dropping them. They've still got a head-to-head win against Wisconsin & I can't justify jumping the Huskers over them based on their lack of anything resembling a quality win.
#3 - Wisconsin - Man, that defense. But keep drinking to that brutal schedule finally wearing them down just in time for this weekend's matchup.
#4 - Penn St. - Yes, I know they're 5-2 and the Huskers are 7-0, but quality wins pay big rewards in my book & taking down the #2 team in the country is high quality. 
#5 - Nebraska - "7-0!! We're 7-0!!!! You hater! You asshole!!" Reeeee-lax. We are finally to the part of the schedule that matters. Win this week, we shoot to #2. Win the next week, we jump right over Michigan whose own schedule has been less than perilous thus far. (But they do have a win over Wiscy and, unlike us, put bad competition away early)
#6 - Northwestern - otherwise known as Nebraska's signature win to this point
#7-10 - Maryland, Minny, Iowa, Indiana - The middle tier. Zzzzz
#11-14 - Mich St, Purdue, Illinois, Rutgers - The bottom of the barrel. And with the Wolverines coming to East Lansing, Sparty's nightmare isn't ending soon.