Saturday Blitz Conference Power Rankings Week 4
4. Big Ten
Finally, the Big Ten has earned some respect. Finally, the Big Ten has proven that it does belong with the other Power Five conference. Finally, the Big Ten has proven that it’s not even the worst of the Power Five conferences. It took two weeks, but we saw Big Ten football at its best this past weekend.
Indiana pulled off the biggest shocker by upsetting Missouri. The Tigers were supposed to be one of the better SEC schools this year, but that didn’t phase the Hoosiers. Nebraska also pulled off a huge quality win for the conference, beating Miami 41-31 late Saturday night in a battle between two schools that were once the dominant programs in college football. Those two wins alone, though, wouldn’t usually be enough.
When you add in the fact that Iowa and Maryland both beat ACC schools, Rutgers beat a very good independent squad in Navy, and the conference went 12-1 in non-conference games, this past weekend was a great look for the Big Ten. Michigan did lose to Utah, unfortunately, but the Wolverines are simply a bad team who need to fire Brady Hoke immediately. They shouldn’t even wait. However, the rest of the conference looked very good last weekend, and that’s a major plus.