B1G Power Rankings: Sweet Peppers, Sour Spartans

Big Ten power rankings for people who are fed up with teams from Cleveland winning everything year after year.

1. Michigan (5-0 Big Ten, 8-0 overall)

: Against Michigan State, Michigan's Jabrill Peppers had five rushes (one for a touchdown) a reception, a punt return, a kickoff return, seven tackles, a quarterback sack, and he scored two points after returning a fumbled MSU 2-point conversion try 87 yards to the opposite end zone. He needs to find a niche and become good at something.

2. Ohio State (4-1, 7-1)

: The Buckeyes beat Northwestern, 24-20, but failed to cover the Las Vegas point spread for the fourth-straight game. Recap: Buckeye fans are concerned, Buckeye bettors are morose.

3. Wisconsin (3-2, 6-2):

The Badgers have played in the Big Ten's two best games of the year, an overtime home loss to Ohio State and an overtime home win against Nebraska. No one complains about the length of games when they're really good.

4. Nebraska (3-1, 7-1):

The Huskers may have earned more respect in defeat Saturday night than they've gotten from any win in a long time. But it's still better to win.

5. Penn State (4-1, 6-2):

The Nittany Lions scored 45 points in the second half of their 62-24 win at Purdue. So you could say they're coming into their game against Iowa Saturday with a little momentum.

6. Northwestern (3-2, 4-4):

Wildcats Coach Pat Fitzgerald decided to kick a field goal when his team had 4th-and-goal at the Ohio State 15, trailing 24-17 with 3:35 left. The Wildcats never got the ball back. 'Obviously if we lose the game, I guess I should have gone for it on fourth-and-15,' Fitzgerald said. 'If I'm writing the article, there you go, there's the quote.'

7. Iowa (3-2, 5-3): North Dakota State beat Northern Iowa Saturday, 24-20. NDSU beat Iowa by only, 23-21. Which means the state-champs of Iowa are … the 9-0, Iowa Conference-champion Coe Kohawks!

8. Minnesota (3-2, 6-2):

The Gophers are bowl-eligible for the fifth-straight year. They need one more victory for their third winning season in the last five years. The bowls aren't exactly Harvard when it comes to entrance requirements.

9. Indiana (2-3, 4-4): Tyler Natee is a 270-pound freshman who rushed 18 times for 111 yards in the Hoosiers' win over Maryland and took snaps out of the Wildcat offense. His nickname is 'Big Bacon.' He was a left-handed quarterback in high school. He calls himself an 'entrepreneur/photographer' on Twitter. Is that not wonderful?

10. Maryland (2-3, 5-3)

: Terrapins Coach DJ Durkin after his team's 42-36 loss at Indiana: 'We certainly didn't play at any sort of standard that would help us win a game.' He forgot his team still has a November matchup with Rutgers.

11. Michigan State (2-6, 0-5): The Spartans didn't beat Michigan, but they didn't let the Wolverines claim the Paul Bunyan Trophy on the field after the game. Little victories.

12. Purdue (1-4, 3-5)

: The announced crowd for Penn State-Purdue was 33,157. Last week, Penn State coaches told their players to 'bring their own juice' to Ross-Ade Stadium. 'We actually even gave them juice boxes like my daughter drinks,' Nittany Lions Coach James Franklin said after Saturday's win. Purdue's players got blankies.

13. Illinois (1-4, 2-6):

Over the last six seasons, the Illini have won four of their last 21 conference games at home. When it comes to football, Champaign is chilled.

14. Rutgers (0-5, 2-6):

The Scarlet Knights didn't play Saturday. It's always good to end this on a positive note.