Big Ten Football Power Rankings, Week 8: Iowa loss means new No. 1 team

This week in the Big Ten football power rankings, Iowa loses to Purdue, Michigan State wins a close game against Indiana, and the Badgers hold off Army at Camp Randall.

Honesty is such a lonely word
Everyone is so untrue
Honesty is hardly ever heard
And mostly what I need from you

~Honesty by Billy Joel

It was the iconic Maya Angelou who coined the maxim, “If someone shows you who they really are, believe them.” This week we began to see teams for who they are in the Big Ten.

Iowa was defeated handily by the Purdue Boilermakers Saturday afternoon, 24-7. There had been suspicions about the Hawkeyes defense all season. They came to light against Purdue. The Boilermakers have played good defense all season, and Iowa could not score in a game where the offense needed to pick up the defense.

The college football world was ready to bury Scott Frost after losing to Illinois. Nebraska began to play better. The Cornhuskers’ 30-23 loss to Minnesota was the same thing, a different day for Nebraska. Mistakes and missed opportunities cost the Cornhuskers again.

When are these issues not bad luck but bad coaching?

Rutgers was competing with smoke, mirrors, and effort. The Scarlet Knights’ 21-7 loss was more confirmation than revelation; they are not very good, and Coach Schiano has a lot of work in front of him in Piscataway.

To Rosedale’s named Floyd, long gone Blackshirt defenses and accommodations for rather large bass drums, here are this week’s Big Ten Power Rankings.