Big Ten football power rankings, Week 12: Who will win the West?

The Spartans have now won three out of their last four games and seem to have stabilized after an ugly finish to the Michigan game. It seemed like the Spartans may miss a bowl game but now they are on the verge of becoming bowl eligible with Indiana on tap this upcoming Saturday.

The offense moved the ball well against Rutgers with over 450 total yards. But the Spartan defense gave up 460 yards and that has been a real problem all season.

Ilinois was in the West division driver’s seat just two weeks ago. Now after dropping two straight, they no longer control their own destiny. Against Purdue, costly penalties hurt the Illini’s chances of pulling out a victory. They may have also lost Chase Brown as he was injured late. Hopefully not as he has been outstanding this season.

Out of all the West teams alive for the division crown, Illinois has the toughest matchup this upcoming weekend. A trip to Ann Arbor could not come at a worse time for the Illini.

After two decisive losses to Wisconsin and Iowa, most thought Purdue was done for the year. As the great Lee Corso would say, not so fast, my friend. Purdue pulled the upset of Illinois and put themselves right back in the race for the West division.

Purdue appears to have the easiest path to Indianapolis, with Northwestern and Indiana left. But they will still need other teams to lose even if they win out.