Big Ten Power Rankings Week 9: Two big games this weekend

The Hoosiers’ 54-7 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes was the icing on what has been an awful tasting cake this season in Bloomington. The offense has been terrible. Quarterback Michael Penix is injured again.

Indiana’s loss to Ohio State was their third loss in a row. The Hoosiers have scored just 28 points in conference play this season. Indiana plays Maryland this weekend. The only hope to salvage this season is winning the Old Oaken Bucket against Purdue.

Though Rutgers has lost four games in a row, head coach Greg Schiano has to be satisfied with how the Scarlet Knights have played with grit and effort. The roster is not very good, and it shows virtually every week.

The positive for Rutgers is their schedule was front-loaded. They’ve already played Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. There are some winnable games for the Knights down the stretch. It starts with a trip to Champaign this weekend.

The Wildcats were bludgeoned by the Michigan Wolverines in their 33-7 loss at the Big House last Saturday. The Wolverines leaned and leaned on Northwestern until the Wildcats finally broke. The issue with Northwestern has been on both sides of the ball.

Two of their last three games are a microcosm of their season. The Wildcats have allowed 89 points against Nebraska and Michigan while scoring just 14. Northwestern plays Minnesota this weekend.