DETROIT – Conference play finally got into full swing over the weekend as six Big Ten matchups took center stage.
Most games went as expected, but there were a couple of surprises around the league. For the most part, the top four teams have separated themselves from the rest of the pack.
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FLASHBACK: Week 4 Big Ten football power rankings
Here are the power rankings for Week 5:
1. Michigan Wolverines
Last week: 1
Result: Bye week
Jim Harbaugh's team has been No. 1 in these rankings since its win over Florida, because that's the most impressive win in the conference so far. There's no reason to drop the Wolverines because of a bye week.
The national perspective seems to be that Michigan has been unimpressive in its last three weeks, but the performances have been mostly dominant. Yes, the games against Cincinnati and Air Force were way too close, but nobody in the Big Ten has risen up to grab the top spot.
2. Penn State Nittany Lions
Last week: 2
Result: Penn State 45, Indiana 14
Penn State jumped all over Indiana at home, scoring 28 points in the first quarter and cruising to an easy win.
The Nittany Lions have an argument for the top spot, but their best win took a hit over the weekend when Michigan State handed Iowa its second straight loss. Penn State will have a chance to prove itself, but not until back-to-back-to-back matchups against Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State.
3. Wisconsin Badgers
Last week: 3
Result: Wisconsin 33, Northwestern 24
Wisconsin stayed unbeaten this weekend, but it was a particularly impressive performance.
Northwestern was down just seven points in the final minutes with a chance to tie the game before taking an ill-advised safety that sealed it.
Wisconsin managed just 13 first downs to Northwestern's 20, and turned the ball over three times. Alex Hornibrook, who had been extremely sharp early in the season, completed just 11 of 20 passes for 197 yards, a touchdown and two picks.
Wisconsin is No. 3 because of its undefeated record, but the schedule has been awful, and will continue to be for the next six weeks. Incredibly, the Badgers will play 10 games against huge underdogs to begin the season.
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
Last week: 4
Result: Ohio State 56, Rutgers 0
Ohio State made a bid to reclaim the No. 3 spot, but there isn't a winning margin out there that would be a resume builder against Rutgers.
Like Wisconsin, Ohio State doesn't have any good wins. Indiana is 2-2, so beating the Hoosiers on the road is the best mark on the resume.
J.T. Barrett has been excellent over the last three weeks, but he has to do it against more formidable competition.
5. Maryland Terrapins
Last week: 8 (Up 3)
Result: Maryland 31, Minnesota 24
It flew under the radar, but Maryland's win at Minnesota was the most impressive of the weekend inside the Big Ten.
The Terrapins looked like they were in big trouble when Central Florida went into Maryland Stadium, won by four touchdowns and knocked out the second-string quarterback.
Well, with a third-string quarterback at the helm, D.J. Durkin's squad went into Minneapolis and knocked off a solid, undefeated Minnesota team to get back on track. Now that Central Florida is ranked in the AP Top 25, the loss doesn't look as bad, either.
6. Michigan State Spartans
Last week: 10 (Up 5)
Result: Michigan State 17, Iowa 10
Michigan State made a bit of a statement this weekend, bouncing back from a big home loss to Notre Dame. The Spartans might not be contenders for the conference title, but their defense is legitimate.
For the fourth straight game, Michigan State outgained its opponent. That suggests this 3-1 isn't a fluke, even though the wins so far aren't exactly impressive.
7. Minnesota Golden Gophers
Last week: 5 (Down 2)
Result: Maryland 31, Minnesota 24
After cracking the top five last week, Minnesota suffered its first loss of the season at home against Maryland.
Conor Rhoda struggled in the passing game, completing just half of his passes for 229 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. The Gophers couldn't run the ball, either, averaging 2.6 yards per carry.
This was the first speed bump for P.J. Fleck's team, and it will need to bounce back quickly to win at Purdue.
8. Purdue Boilermakers
Last week: 9 (Up 1)
Result: Bye week
Purdue didn't play this weekend, but with so many teams in the middle losing, it moved up one spot to No. 8.
Jeff Brohm's team was competitive in its first four games, even though it lost to top-20 opponents Louisville and Michigan.
9. Indiana Hoosiers
Last week: 7 (Down 2)
Result: Penn State 45, Indiana 14
After a strong performance in nonconference games against Virginia and Georgia Southern, Indiana got stomped in its second Big Ten test.
The Hoosiers are now 0-2 in conference, and they haven't been particularly competitive late in either game. If they hope to become more than a fringe bowl team, they'll need to find a way to knock off some of the Big Ten's top teams.
10. Nebraska Cornhuskers
Last week: 13 (Up 3)
Result: Nebraska 28, Illinois 6
Nebraska has knocked off the two worst teams in the Big Ten to get back above .500.
If the Cornhuskers can pull off a massive upset against Wisconsin, that would really move the needle.
11. Iowa Hawkeyes
Last week: 6 (Down 5)
Result: Michigan State 17, Iowa 10
I gave Iowa the benefit of the doubt when it struggled with Iowa State, stayed close with North Texas and even lost to Penn State, but a second straight loss was the breaking point.
Iowa is really good in Kinnick Stadium at night, but with four straight underwhelming performances, the season isn't going as planned.
12. Northwestern Wildcats
Last week: 11 (Down 1)
Result: Wisconsin 33, Northwestern 24
The Wildcats played well in Madison, fighting back from a huge deficit to pull within a touchdown in the final minutes.
But with two losses and its only two wins coming against teams that are 0-10 combined, Northwestern hasn't had much go its way.
13. Illinois Fighting Illini
Last week: 12 (Down 1)
Result: Nebraska 28, Illinois 6
Another week, another blowout loss for Illinois. This time it came to Nebraska at home, so the Illini fell below the Cornhuskers.
14. Rutgers Scarlett Knights
Last week: 14
Result: Ohio State 56, Rutgers 0
Next week's Rutgers-Illinois matchup will be one to avoid at all costs.