Corn Nation’s Big Ten Power Poll Week 5

Greg: A little shake-up here and there, but otherwise, I think 1 & 2 cemented their foothold. I’m not going to knock Wisconsin for a one-score loss to Michigan. Nebraska took the lickin’ and kept on tickin’, a sign of good things. But I think I speak for all across Husker Nation when I say that it’s a good thing we have a BYE this week. There’s something not right in East Lansing, but Sparty still has big games ahead to show their mettle. I think I underestimated Illinois a little bit, so I’m giving them a slight bump. Rutgers and Purdue are just bad.

Jill: Outside of the top 4 and bottom two, I could be talked into just about any order. Matchups between any teams I put from 5-12 could probably go either way. The injuries + inconsistent offense for Wiscy and injuries + general inconsistency for the Huskers make them vulnerable on any given Saturday to any mid-tier B1G team having a good day.

It will be nice to get some rest and treatment for all the walking wounded at One Memorial this week. I had Indiana picked as my "scary" game in our preseason outlook and that has not changed for me. The Hoosiers seem to have found a little bit of defense and the Huskers have yet to find overdrive until the 4th quarter. Here’s to hoping the coaching staff finds a way to top off the transmission fluid and Nebraska quits grinding gears.

Mike: One through four seem pretty obvious, as are 13 and 14. The rest is a big guess at this point. Yes, a one loss Wisconsin stays ahead of undefeated Nebraska based purely on strength of schedule. I’m leaving Michigan State ahead of Indiana despite the head-to-head result; call it a hunch or call it a belief that home field was the difference. Or maybe it was a bounce-back for the Hoosiers.

Paul: The Dark Lord of the Underworld has something special going on in Columbus and Harbooger has Michigan playing better than it has in years. Those two are easy. The bottom half is easy. They stink. All of them. Positions 3-6 are tough though. Wisconsin, even with a loss, gets the nod over Nebraska at this point. We’ll settle the issue on the field in three weeks. Is Maryland or Indiana better? I think Indiana has a more powerful front court...oh wait.

Andy: Ohio St – Currently the king

Michigan & Wiscy – Takes over #2 for beating Wisconsin in another Big 10 shitfest. Wasn’t the massive blowout many predicted, so folks are going to have to decide – either Michigan ain’t all that and a box of Runzas or time to admit Wisconsin may be pretty good. Can’t have it both ways anymore.

Nebraska & Maryland – Undefeated paper champions. NU drops only to #4 because Maryland’s opposition is slightly shittier than theirs.

Indiana & Penn St. – Medium-size wins Saturday allow a climb for both.

Minny & Sparty –same size drops for middling type losses. And it’s simply not happening for Mich St this year.

Northwestern & Iowa – Northwestern gets the 10-spot for winning the newest Big 10 fake trophy – The I-88 Pooper Scooper

Everyone else- These three couldn’t finish .500 in the MAC this year.