Big Ten football power rankings after Week 12: The final kick begins.
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Twelve weeks of the college football season are now complete, and that means we continue to see separation among the pretenders (Clemson, LSU, and Penn State) and contenders (Ohio State, Indiana, and Texas A&M). What we thought we knew at the beginning of the season was true in some cases, but clearly not in others. Now we are dealing with reality, not only across the country, but also in the Big Ten. Each week lets us know a little more about where things stand and perhaps no more than what occurred this past weekend.
Now that we're in the home stretch of the season, we've had a bushel of weeks to assess what's going on in the conference. Because of that, we feel like we have a pretty good handle on what teams are playing well — maybe as we expected — and which ones are in the midst of a long, long season, and not in a good way.
So, we share with you our weekly Big Ten football power rankings. After another scintillating week, it still looks like Ohio State and Indiana are the class of the league, but Oregon, Michigan, and USC may still have something to say about which teams make it to Indianapolis and who stays in the running for a College Football Playoff appearance.
Here's a look at our Big Ten power rankings after Week 12. As always, we start from No. 18 and make our way down to No. 1.
No. 18 – Purdue Boilermakers (2-9, 0-8 Big Ten)
LastWeek's Result: Lost 49-13 at Washington
Last Week Ranking: 18 ⇔ (no change)
Next Game: Off
What goes into the ranking
Purdue looked like it was improving through the course of the season and just couldn't get over the hump in some close losses, but this past week sure seemed like a regression in a blowout loss at Washington. A game against Indiana looms in a couple of weeks after an open date this week, so it doesn't look like the Boilermakers are going to get a Big Ten win this year.
No. 17 – Michigan State Spartans (3-7, 0-7 Big Ten)
LastWeek's Result: Lost 28-10 vs. Penn State
Last Week Ranking: 15 ⇩ (down two spots)
Next Game: at Iowa
What goes into the ranking
It's more of the same for Michigan State, and you have to wonder if this team has mailed it in. It doesn't get any easier at Iowa next week. There will be some soul-searching at the end of a very disappointing 2025, as this team is getting less and less competitive, and why it has moved down despite Wisconsin also losing.
No. 16 – Wisconsin Badgers (3-7, 1-6 Big Ten)
Last Week's Result: Lost 31-7 at Indiana
Last Week Ranking: 17 ⇧ (up one spot)
Next Game: vs. Illinois
What goes into the ranking
Wisconsin is playing better, but just couldn't hang with a talented Indiana team on the road. It would be a momentum-building win if the Badgers can find a way to knock off Illinois next weekend. The Badgers move up only because of the Spartans' ineptitude.
No. 15 – Penn State Nittany Lions (4-6, 1-6 Big Ten)
LastGame Result: Won at Michigan State, 28-10
Last Week Ranking: 16 ⇧ (up one spot)
Next Game: vs. Nebraska
What goes into the ranking
Now we are starting to see the Penn State team that we thought we would see all year. Unfortunately, the only thing to play for now is to get bowl-eligible. To do that, the Nittany Lions will have to win their last two games. The defense is starting to understand the Jim Knowles scheme, and that means it is very much within the realm of possibility that Penn State can win its last two games.
No. 14 – Northwestern Wildcats (5-5, 3-4 Big Ten)
LastGame Result: Lost 24-22 vs. Michigan
Last Week Ranking: 14 ⇔ (no change)
Next Game: vs. Minnesota
What goes into the ranking
There is absolutely no way Northwestern should have lost a game against Michigan in which the Wolverines handed it five turnovers. The Wildcats play hard, but the offense is a big-time struggle, and it showed again on Saturday.
No. 13 – Maryland Terrapins (4-6, 1-6 Big Ten)
LastWeek's Result: Lost 24-6 at Illinois
Last Week Ranking: 13 ⇔ (no change)
Next Game: vs. Michigan
What goes into the ranking
Maryland continues to be on-brand with its annual late-season swoon. Something culturally is wrong with this program that this happens every single year. At this point, I don't see any way that the Terrapins put up a fight from here on out. The offense has regressed big-time as the Big Ten season has gotten longer in the tooth, and we saw that again against Illinois.
No. 12 – Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten)
Last Week's Result: off
Last Week Ranking: 12 ⇔ (no change)
Next Game: at Ohio State
What goes into the ranking
Rutgers enjoyed a week off and will now travel to Columbus to see if it can put up a fight against the No. 1 team in the country. It's going to be hard because the Scarlet Knights can't just chop wood against a team that has so much more talent than it does. Greg Schiano's team really struggles against very athletic teams, and that's what it'll find waiting on the banks of the Olentangy.
No. 11 – UCLA Bruins (3-7, 3-4 Big Ten)
Last Week's Result: Lost 48-10 at Ohio State
Last Week Ranking: 11 ⇔ (no change)
Next Game: vs. Washington
What goes into the ranking
It has been a very weird season for UCLA, and it's hard to know what to do with the Bruins after they got blown out by Ohio State without star quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Because of that, we're going to keep UCLA here for now, but if things look ugly again vs. Washington, well — down we go.
No. 10 – Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten)
LastWeek's Result: Off
Last Week Ranking: 10 ⇔ (no change)
Next Game: at Penn State
What goes into the ranking
Nebraska had a week off and probably wishes it had the game against Penn State scheduled a few weeks ago. Now that the Nittany Lions seem to be getting themselves right, it'll be a very tough game for the 'Huskers, especially without quarterback Dylan Raiola, who is shelved for the rest of the year because of injury.
No. 9 – Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten)
LastWeek's Result: Lost 42-13 at Oregon
Last Week Ranking: 9 ⇔ (no change)
Next Game: at Northwestern
What goes into the ranking
Minnesota has the market cornered on winning close games against average teams, all while getting blown out by the better teams in the league. If that remains, the Golden Gophers should win a white-knuckler at Northwestern next week.
No. 8 – Iowa Hawkeyes (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten)
LastWeek's Result: Lost 26-21 at USC
Last Week Ranking: 7 ⇩ (down one spot)
Next Game: vs. Michigan State
What goes into the ranking
Iowa continues to play hard, only to come up just short. All of the Hawkeyes' losses have come by one score, and that was the deal at USC as well. The good news is that Iowa should be able to get that bad taste out of its mouth against Michigan State on Saturday.
No. 7 – Illinois Fighting Illini (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten)
Last Week's Result: Won 24-6 vs. Maryland
Last Week Ranking: 8 ⇧ (up one spot)
Next Game: at Wisconsin
What goes into the ranking
If only Illinois had the benefit of a better schedule, it might still be in the running for a College Football Playoff appearance. As it stands, Bret Bielema's crew has losses to Ohio State, at Indiana, and at Washington. That's tough sledding and just the way the cookie crumbled this season. However, this team is really good and has a chance to go to a very good bowl game, just not the CFP.
No. 6 – Washington Huskies (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten)
LastGame Result: Won 49-13 vs. Purdue
Last Week Ranking: 6 ⇔ (no change)
Next Game: at UCLA
What goes into the ranking
Is there a team in the league that has such a disparity in how it plays at home vs. on the road? Maybe Iowa is close, but man, the Huskies are one of the best teams in the country when they play in Seattle, but very average and maybe even below average away from the Emerald City. Unfortunately, a road contest looms next weekend.
No. 5 – Michigan Wolverines (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten)
LastWeek's Result: Won 24-22 at Northwestern
Last Week Ranking: 5 ⇔ (no change)
Next Game: at Maryland
What goes into the ranking
Michigan tried to give the game away vs. Northwestern with five turnovers, but the Wildcats wouldn't take the charitable contributions. There are far too many mistakes coming from the quarterback spot right now, and if that continues, this team has no chance of beating a team like Ohio State, mental block or not.
No. 4 – USC Trojans (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten)
LastGame Result: Won 26-21 vs. Iowa
Last Week Ranking: 4 ⇔ (no change)
Next Game: at Oregon
What goes into the ranking
Well, what do we have here? USC pulled off a very important win over Iowa on Saturday and is still in position to get to Indy if Ohio State or Indiana falters. And … if the Trojans can find a way to beat Oregon in Eugene Saturday, then the conversations about the College Football Playoff will go from a whisper to a loud roar.
No. 3 – Oregon Ducks (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten)
LastWeek's Result: Won 42-13 vs. Minnesota
Last Week Ranking: 3 ⇔ (no change)
Next Game: vs. USC
What goes into the ranking
Oregon is still looking good and has all the talent and coaching to make a late postseason run if it can get into the College Football Playoff, but first things first, it has to be a talented USC team next week to keep things on track. It's a hard finishing kick, though, because the Ducks have to also win at Washington in two weeks.
No. 2 – Indiana Hoosiers (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten)
LastWeek's Result: Won 31-7 vs. Wisconsin
Last Week Ranking: 2 ⇔ (no change)
Next Game: Off
What goes into the ranking
Indiana rolled again on Saturday and now has an open date before playing Purdue. The Hoosiers probably punched their ticket to the CFP, regardless of what happens the rest of the season, but that's not the goal of this team. This is still a national title contender, and we're all hoping Ohio State and Indiana meet in Indy.
No. 1 – Ohio State Buckeyes (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten)
LastGame Result: Won 48-10 vs. UCLA
Last Week Ranking: 1 ⇔ (no change)
Next Game: vs. Rutgers
What went into the ranking
Ho hum, it was another blowout for Ohio State, but it came against a very shorthanded UCLA squad. The Buckeyes have not been tested since the first game of the year and seem to be getting better each week. Win next week, and Ohio State is in the College Football Playoff no matter what else happens. You know this team is chomping a the bit to play those Michigan Wolverines.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Big Ten football power rankings after Week 12 | Buckeyes Wire
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