Big Ten football power rankings, Week 13: The Game looms large

It was not pretty at all but sometimes it has to be gritty. The Badgers will take it as they defeated the Huskers 15-14 and became bowl eligible for the 21st consecutive season.

Graham Mertz was inconsistent as usual but down the stretch he threw a touchdown pass and rushed for another to put the Badgers ahead. Wisconsin also lost their best defensive player Nick Herbig to a targeting foul and star Braelon Allen left near the end of the game with a leg injury.

Either way Wisconsin was happy to walk away with a victory in a game they did not play well for over three quarters. Now they face Minnesota, looking to take back Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

Illinois went into Ann Arbor and took the Wolverines down to the wire, falling on a late field goal. It was not without controversy and Bret Bielema was critical of the officials after the game.

The Illini can really only blame themselves though as they have now dropped three straight. Three weeks ago, the Illini were poised to easily waltz to Indianapolis. Now they will require major help to achieve that goal. A win over Northwestern plus Iowa and Purdue losses will send Illinois to Indianapolis. Most likely they will have to settle for a decent January 1st bowl game.

Minnesota blew a golden opportunity to stay alive in the West division race but lost to Iowa 13-10 at home. They also wasted a fantastic day from Mo Ibrahim, who ran wild for 263 yards and a touchdown.

Now that they have been eliminated from winning the West division, the Gophers will turn to getting to a better bowl game. A win against rival Wisconsin will help that cause. The Gophers have not won the Axe in back-to-back years since 1993 and 1994