Big Ten Power Rankings: Week 12

There are a lot of great rivalries happening this weekend. There's Maryland-Rutgers (it's at 11 a.m. on Saturday on BTN, just letting you know so you know exactly when you have to avoid accidentally flipping over to that channel). Purdue and Indiana. Nebraska and Iowa. Minnesota and Wisconsin. Michigan and Ohio State. And, most importantly, HAT.

YES. THAT'S RIGHT. HAT IS FINALLY BACK.

Sure, our power rankings are below, but we all know none of this truly matters this week:

1 Michigan State Spartans RECORD: 10-1 (6-1)  ||  LAST WEEK: 3 Without Connor Cook, Michigan State upset Ohio State in Columbus, giving the Spartans a shot at the Big Ten Championship and College Football Playoff. Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 2 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1.3

2 Iowa Hawkeyes RECORD: 11-0 (7-0) ||  LAST WEEK: 2 Iowa opened as just a one-point favorite against rival Nebraska. Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 1 3 2 3 1 2 1 3 3 3 2.2

3 Ohio State Buckeyes RECORD: 10-1 (6-1) ||  LAST WEEK: 1 Ezekiel Elliott wasn't happy with the coaching against MSU, and he probably wasn't wrong in thinking that. Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 4 2 3 2 3 4 3 2 2 2 2.7

4 Michigan Wolverines RECORD: 9-2 (6-1) ||  LAST WEEK: 4 Michigan can still make the Big Ten Championship with a win vs. Ohio State and a Penn State win over Michigan State. Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3.8

5 Northwestern Wildcats RECORD: 9-2 (5-2)  ||  LAST WEEK: 6 HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT HAT Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

6 Wisconsin Badgers RECORD: 8-3 (5-2)  ||  LAST WEEK: 5 The heart-stopping loss to Northwestern at home will be hard to swallow. Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

7 Penn State Nittany Lions RECORD: 7-4 (4-3)  ||  LAST WEEK: 7 The Nittany Lions have now lost two in a row. Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 7 7 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 7.2

8 Nebraska Cornhuskers RECORD: 5-6 (3-4)  ||  LAST WEEK: 8 Does Nebraska really have a shot to knock off Iowa and reach bowl eligibility? Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 8 8 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 7.8

9 Minnesota Golden Gophers RECORD: 5-6 (2-5) ||  LAST WEEK: 9 The Gophers could close out the season strong with an upset of Wisconsin. Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 9 9.1

10 Illinois Fighting Illini RECORD: 5-6 (2-5)  ||  LAST WEEK: 10 ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ ʇɐɥ Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 11 10 10 10 11 10 11 11 9 11 10.4

11 Indiana Hoosiers RECORD: 5-6 (1-6)  ||  LAST WEEK: 11 Indiana finally won a Big Ten game! Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 10 11 11 11 10 11 10 10 11 10 10.5

12 Purdue Boilermakers RECORD: 2-9 (1-6)  ||  LAST WEEK: 12 Too bad David Blough got hurt early against Iowa. He can actually do some things for Purdue that aren't bad. Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 12 12 13 12 12 13 13 12 12 13 12.4

13 Rutgers Scarlet Knights RECORD: 4-7 (1-6) ||  LAST WEEK: 13 Rutgers beat Army. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 13 13 12 14 13 12 12 13 13 12 12.7

14 Maryland Terrapins  RECORD: 2-9 (0-6)  ||  LAST WEEK: 14 IT'S ALMOST HERE!!!! AHHHH. MARYLAND VS. RUTGERS IS HAPPENING THIS SATURDAY! Henry Bushnell Josh Rosenblat Zach Pereles Josh Burton Martin Oppegaard Lyndsey Armacost Ian McCafferty Sam Brief Zach Wingrove Tristan Jung AVERAGE 14 14 14 13 14 14 14 14 14 14 13.9