Big Ten Football Power Rankings Week 11: Michigan State falls

Nov 7, 2015; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers wide receiver Brandon Reilly (87) celebrates with teammates after scoring the game winning touchdown against the Michigan State Spartans at Memorial Stadium. The Cornhuskers won 39-38. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

We know, it wasn’t easy watching Michigan State’s dream season crumble before our very own eyes as Nebraska put together an impressive 12-point comeback in the final four minutes of play. Tommy Armstrong Jr. continues to flirt with danger in his errant passes, but it hasn’t cost the Cornhuskers a bowl just yet.

Nebraska put together quite the offensive showing against the mediocre Spartan defense, racking up 500 total yards and basically doing whatever it wanted all game long. This might be the best 4-6 team in the country.

How did Illinois respond to losing three straight games to top-tier teams and one in blowout fashion last week? Well, by taking out its frustration on Purdue, blowing the Boilermakers’ doors off, 48-14.

Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Josh Ferguson had an unreal game on the ground and Wes Lunt didn’t even need to put up a big number of passing yards. Vaughn and Ferguson combined for 313 rushing yards as the Illini neared 400 on the ground as a team. This week will be a big test, though, as the Fighting Illini have a chance to pull a massive upset against Ohio State at home.

A week after putting together an impressive win over Illinois, Penn State hit the road to take on a surprisingly tough Northwestern team that had exceeded all expectations this season. The Nittany Lions were about to extend their record to 8-2 but a field goal by Northwestern’s Jack Mitchell with nine seconds left in the game changed that.

Christian Hackenberg continues to struggle with his accuracy, but Saquon Barkley is thoroughly impressive in his freshman season with Penn State. A bye week comes at the perfect time for this group.

Next: No. 6 Northwestern - No. 4 Michigan