Big Ten Power Rankings: Illinois, Purdue climb to top of second tier in the conference

The Big Ten continues to be a wonderful mess outside the top handful of teams, with more chaos after the top tier of teams this weekend. Unsurprisingly, the majority of our movement in the Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 6’s games is in the middle of the league.

Ohio State and Michigan held serve at the top, while Penn State enjoyed a bye.

Purdue had the most impressive win of the week, knocking off Maryland in a tight contest, while Illinois continued its ascent with an ugly win over Iowa. Let’s take a look at the rest.

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Today we update the Big Ten Power Rankings following Week 6 games.

2022 Big Ten Power Rankings – Week 6

1. Ohio State

Quarterback CJ Stroud threw for 361 yards and six touchdowns as Ohio State torched Michigan State 49-20 to stay unbeaten. No Jaxon Smith-Njigba, no Miyan Williams, no problem for the Buckeyes. Now Ohio State gets a bye week to prepare for a stingy Iowa defense, followed by a road trip to No. 10 Penn State.

2. Michigan

After the scary first-half collapse of assistant coach Mike Hart on the sideline, Michigan seemed to regroup at halftime to pull away with a 31-10 win over Indiana. The Wolverines scored 21 and blanked the Hoosiers after halftime, taking charge to stay unbeaten. Next week’s contest against No. 10 Penn State will be a true challenge before Michigan hits its bye week.

3. Penn State

The Nittany Lions had a bye week following a closer-than-expected 17-7 win over Northwestern a week ago. Penn State will have been using it to prepare for the showdown with No. 5 Michigan at The Big House, the first clash of the top contenders in the Big Ten in the East division.

4. Illinois (+1)

On the one hand it’s easy enough to fault Iowa for being completely offensively inept, playing a big part in Illinois’ 9-6 win Saturday. On the other, that the Fighting Illini managed to pull it out despite losing starting quarterback Tommy DeVito in the first quarter was impressive. Next week’s contest at Minnesota will be another good test.

5. Purdue (+2)

Jeff Brohm‘s squad has to be kicking itself for late-game miscues against Penn State and Syracuse in the first three weeks of the season, having now won back-to-back road games against previously unbeaten Minnesota and one-loss Maryland the past two weeks. Saturday’s 31-29 survival at Maryland required stopping a Terrapins’ two-point conversion attempt in the final minute (with a successful first attempt negated by penalty).

6. Maryland (-2)

Maryland appeared to have tied the game at 31-31 against Purdue in the final minute when quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa hit receiver Rakim Jarrett for a two-point conversion, but an ineligible man downfield negated it. The next attempt failed, and Purdue hung on for a 31-29 win that could prove pivotal in the Big Ten West race.

7. Minnesota (-1)

Minnesota was off this weekend following a 20-10 defeat last week against Purdue. The Golden Gophers will have to try to bounce back from their first loss of the season with back-to-back road trips against No. 24 Illinois and No. 10 Penn State. Those games will determine if Minnesota can remain in the top half of the Big Ten Power Rankings.

8. Wisconsin (+1)

Yes, it was lowly Northwestern, but a 42-7 blowout win was exactly what the doctor ordered for Wisconsin after two straight losses. Quarterback Graham Mertz threw for 299 yards and five touchdowns as the Badgers defense hounded Ryan Hilinski into a pair of interceptions, chasing him from the game. Wisconsin will travel to Michigan State next weekend.

9. Iowa (-1)

There’s not a whole lot more you can say about the Hawkeyes at this point; the offense is putrid and doesn’t seem to have any answers. Even so, the Hawkeyes looked like they might have the game won when they returned a fumble for 82 yards for a touchdown before replay overturned it. Instead, Iowa suffered another frustrating defeat. In its three losses this year, Kirk Ferentz‘s team has scored a combined 27 points.

10. Nebraska (+3)

The Cornhuskers have rallied to win two straight under interim coach Mickey Joseph, even if Friday night’s 14-13 win over Rutgers was pretty ugly. Quarterback Casey Thompson was briefly injured before halftime but returned after the break and led a game-winning fourth-quarter drive that he capped with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Trey Palmer. Next up is a tough road trip to Purdue.

11. Indiana

The Hoosiers dropped their second straight, falling 31-10 against Michigan after failing to score in the second half. The Wolverines held the Hoosiers to just 222 total yards, including just 19 on the ground. Indiana has lost three straight and will now host Maryland.

12. Rutgers

The Scarlett Knights have scrapped in most of their games this season but just didn’t have enough in the tank to top the Cornhuskers. Rutgers jumped out to a 13-0 lead before the offense faltered and was blanked after halftime. Three turnovers were killer, and Rutgers remains near the bottom of the Big Ten Power Rankings.

13. Michigan State (-3)

The Spartans were blasted by the Buckeyes to fall to 0-3 in conference play, bringing up the rear in the Big Ten East along with Rutgers. Michigan State gave up 614 total yards in the game, while managing only seven yards rushing in the contest. A home date with Wisconsin is next before a merciful bye week on Oct. 22.

14. Northwestern

The Wildcats have lost five straight, suffering a blowout to the Badgers on Saturday in a 42-7 whooping. The road isn’t getting any easier anytime soon, either. Northwestern will get a week to regroup before it takes on back-to-back road games at Maryland and Iowa, followed by a home date with No. 2 Ohio State.

Want to see how this week’s power rankings compare to our previous edition? Check out the 2022 Week 5 Big Ten Power Rankings here!