Big Ten Rambler, Week 8: Eyeing Ohio State

An Iowa student with a Michigan bias breaks down the Big Ten conference with attempted objectivity, week by week

Let's not kid ourselves, I had a good week last week. I gave you Iowa over Illinois, the less impressive Michigan over Purdue, and the "are you seriously bragging?" Ohio State over Kent State. Speaking of those Buckeyes...

It happened again.

• What happens if and when the three remaining teams lose? The bandwagon starts all over, plucking teams from the Top 25. We're hoping to get back on USC's before it's all said and done, but until then, we stick by our guys. 

I joined the Hart 4 Heisman Facebook Group: It's going to take a lot for me to jump off the Mike Hart bandwagon at this point. If he misses major time due to injury or Michigan loses a couple more, I might reconsider, but did you SEE his run against Purdue last week?

Who else is even close? Boring Matt Ryan, but his team will probably lose. Cool Andre Woodson, which I wouldn't mind. But from there, it's not really clear cut. All the McFadden sympathizers really need to pipe down. He's been hot and cold all season and hasn't exactly showed up when it's mattered the most. That's a Heisman winner? Please.

RIP, South Florida: The dream is over for the Bulls as the clock struck midnight and SF flamed out. Fans of the Bulls might blame Rutgers' trick plays, but I chose to pin this one on sophomore QB Matt Grothe. He's got a lot of talent, but he needs to polish his passing skills if South Florida wants to contend for a national title next season. His mobility is wonderful, but when Rutgers wised up and put the spy on him, the offense became handcuffed. That can't happen. It was a hell of a game, though.

Two great SEC games on tap: #15 Florida at #7 Kentucky - Kentucky tries to claw its way back into the national title picture while a Florida loss would give the Gators a losing record in the SEC. I expect big things from Urban Meyer, but my heart is with Kentucky.

#17 Auburn at #4 LSU - Some tiger on tiger action as Les Miles tries to right the ship at home. Auburn gives off a fiesty vibe, but LSU has to be playing with a sense of urgency at this point.

Purdue bound: I'm going to West Lafayette for the first time this weekend for the Iowa-Purdue game. With no expectations, it'll be hard to be disappointed.

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Matchup of the Week: Michigan State at #1 Ohio State - The Buckeyes take the No. 1 ranking for a spin against a semi-threatening MSU squad that can play with nothing to lose, if it wants to.

Other of Interest: #25 Michigan at Illinois - Vegas doesn't have the same faith it had in the Illini when it took on Wisconsin a few weeks ago. Zook's boys are three point home underdogs.

Iowa at Purdue - Overrated Purdue went undefeated against crappy teams then got dismantled by two pretty good squads named Ohio State and Michigan. We'll see how they respond to a mediocre one.

Watch only with hands over your eyes: Northwestern at Eastern Michigan. It's on ESPNU, and it's tonight, so hopefully it slips past your radar, anyway.

Honorable Mention: North Dakota State at Minnesota - The undefeated Bison aim to avenge a one point loss from last season.

Big Ten Power Rankings

At this point in the year, I think Big Ten power rankings become less necessary. The reason I created them in the first place was to show people that an undefeated Purdue still wasn't better than an 0-2 Michigan. But now, with the teams playing each other week in and week out, the Big Ten standings do a pretty good job of letting you know who's best. Plus, it's reached that awkward point where if I put one team over another, it's possible they've lost to a different team that they're ranked higher than. Because of this mass confusion, I'm going with tiers for the rest of the season.

The Trail of Tiers...

First
#1 Ohio State (7-0, 3-0) - Everything has come full circle.
#25 Michigan (5-2, 3-0) - Can't flinch under the Champagne lights. Also, Michigan is the only other ranked team in the Big Ten. This could get embarrassing if the season plays out badly.
Illinois (5-2, 3-1) - Losing to Iowa isn't so bad. But it's pretty bad. Still, one conference loss makes these guys legit until noted.

Second
Wisconsin (5-2, 2-2) - .500 Wisconsin is a lot more fun than undefeated Wisconsin. It's hard to be overrated when you lose your way back into an appropriate rating.
Indiana (5-2, 2-2) - The conference's biggest enigma
Penn State (5-2, 2-2) - Capitol One Bowl or bust...

Third
Purdue (5-2, 2-2) - Five games left all against -- currently -- unranked teams.
Northwestern (4-3, 2-2) - Were supposed to be buddy-buddy with the Gophers, but .500 in the conference says otherwise, for now.
Michigan State (5-2, 1-2) - Seize the chance for a signature win, Dantonio.
Iowa (3-4, 1-3) - The Hawkeyes are a pretty shoddy road team, but Purdue was the only team it beat convincingly in 2006, so I wouldn't write them off just yet.

The Basement
Minnesota (1-6, 0-4) - Still no wins against BCS teams, and this week won't even give them the opportunity.