Big Ten Football Power Rankings 2017: Week 9 edition
By Shane Lunnen
Maryland lost their third straight as they were completely overwhelmed at Wisconsin. It is easy to forget the Terps had a promising start to the season, but the win over Texas seems so long ago now.
The Terps could only muster 268 yards of total offense and they turned over the ball twice. Star wide receiver DJ Moore, who had over 200 receiving yards the previous week against Northwestern, was held to only three catches and 44 yards against the Badgers.
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With five games remaining, all against Big Ten East foes, it’s hard to imagine the Terps getting to bowl eligibility. At one point on the power rankings, they were as high as sixth. The free fall to the bottom of the conference could continue with their remaining schedule.
Minnesota beat Illinois Saturday to improve to 4-3 overall and notch their first conference win of the season. They were fortunate enough to escape a close one against the woeful Illini.
The key to the Gophers victory was their rushing attack. They ran over the Illini for nearly 300 yards on the ground, led by running back Kobe McCrary with 153 yards and a touchdown. Running back Rodney Smith also pitched in 103 yards of his own. It was a good thing the ground game was working since quarterback Demry Croft was terrible on the day, going 5-for-15 for 47 yards. He had a touchdown but threw two interceptions.
Looking ahead, the Gophers may be able to eek out bowl eligibility but it will be an uphill climb where they will need to pull an upset. They are at Iowa next Saturday night.
It should have been an easy victory for Purdue visiting Rutgers. Instead the Boilermakers left Piscataway wondering what happened.
Purdue racked up over 470 yards of total offense, but could only produce 12 points. In fact, they only posted two field goals until a late drive finally produced a touchdown with 25 seconds left in the game. A failed two-point conversion attempt sealed the Boilermakers fate. Not helping matters was Purdue turning over the ball twice and not forcing turnovers themselves.
This was a bad loss for the Boilermakers. They were looking ahead to bowl eligibility and stumbled. I’ve been pretty high on Purdue this season despite their losses, but a loss like this puts everything into question. The Boilermakers will try to bounce back next Saturday when they return home to face Nebraska.