Big Ten Football Power Rankings Week 11: Michigan State falls

Nov 7, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers wide receiver KJ Maye (1) hauls in the pass in front of Ohio State Buckeyes safety Vonn Bell (11) during the second quarter at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State leads 14-0 at halftime. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Purdue usually spends its time in the cellar of the conference power rankings, but thanks to a win over Nebraska last week, it’s not closer to the top-10 than it has been all year long. The Boilermakers followed up that win over the Cornhuskers with a huge blowout loss against Illinois.

Right when you think you have a sense of which teams belong where in the power rankings, a team like Purdue follows up its best win of the year with quite possibly its worst loss. David Blough was inaccurate all day, completing just 29-of-37 passes with a touchdown and two picks in the loss.

Remember when Indiana was just seconds away from upsetting the Ohio State Buckeyes? Well, that or at least taking them into overtime. However, the Hoosiers have looked absolutely lifeless ever since, losing five straight when it looked like the 2015 season would result in a bowl appearance.

When Jordan Howard and Nate Sudfeld are on their game, the Hoosiers’ offense is unstoppable, but unfortunately, the latter was not on his game in the close loss against Iowa. The game was played relatively tight, but the Hawkeyes came out on top in the end despite Howard’s 174 rushing yards.

Playing Ohio State is never easy, but with J.T. Barrett out for a game due to suspension, the Minnesota Golden Gophers had a realistic shot on the road. Cardale Jones is the No. 2 option under center and he showed that, but it was still enough of an effort to take down Minnesota, 28-14 in a snoozer.

The Gophers played a ranked team tough for the second straight week since Jerry Kill’s retirement, but the postseason is not looking likely for this crew unless they can string together two wins out of their next three games.

Next: No. 9 Nebraska - No. 7 Penn State