Where is Penn State football in the final Big Ten power rankings?

The regular season has concluded and it was a wild ride throughout. Now we turn our attention to conference championship weekend, bowl season, and the College Football Playoff. We saw the Penn State football team complete Big Ten play against Michigan State last Friday. The Nittany Lions will once again finish the regular season with a 10-2 record. But what does that mean for their final power ranking?

Iowa will face off with Michigan in the Big Ten Championship game Saturday night in Indianapolis. This will be a rematch from two seasons ago, a 42-3 blowout victory for Michigan.

There are eight teams bowl-eligible from the conference. A ninth team will potentially get a bid due to not having enough bowl-eligible teams overall. Selection Sunday will determine all the matchups and then the fun will begin. Plus with the transfer portal opening and early signing day later in December, there is a lot to follow over the next month.

Before we get to the playoff and bowl matchups, let’s take one last look at the final Big Ten power ranking.

No. 14 Indiana 3-9 (Last week 14)

The Hoosiers had a 10-point lead heading into the final quarter of their rivalry game with Purdue but blew it. Quarterback Brendan Sorsby threw three touchdowns but also three costly interceptions in the loss.

It was not surprising as I had been calling it for weeks, but Tom Allen was officially relieved of his job a day after the loss. This was the third consecutive losing season for Allen as he failed to capitalize off the momentum of back-to-back winning seasons in 2019 and 2020. Indiana is in the Big Ten basement and needs a total reboot once again. This earned the Hooisers the last-place spot in the Big Ten power ranking.

No. 13 Michigan State 4-8 (Last week 12)

Michigan State was pretty much powerless to stop a Penn State football offense that finally found its grove, especially in the second half. The Spartan offense was also tormented all night, only mustering 53 total yards and five first downs.

The Spartan’s tumultuous season is thankfully over. Interim coach Harlon Barnett, after going 2-8, is out and Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith is in. Smith will need to bring a culture change to East Lansing for the results to improve.

No. 12 Purdue 4-8 (Last week 13)

A year after winning the Big Ten West, it was a rough encore for Purdue. However, a small bright spot to conclude their season was beating their long-time nemesis Indiana for the Old Oaken Bucket. Hudson Card delivered his best performance of the season with 275 yards, three touchdowns, and no turnovers.

Ryan Walters will need to utilize this offseason to correct the wrongs of this season and set Purdue back on the right path. It will only get more challenging in the new Big Ten next season.

No. 11 Nebraska 5-7 (Last week 11)

After beating Purdue on October 28th, Nebraska stood at 5-3 and only one win away from breaking the longest bowl drought in the FBS. That streak will now continue as the Huskers completely choked away November, losing four games by a total of 16 points.

Against Iowa, the game was tied late and Nebraska had the ball at midfield with a chance to get into field goal range to win. Chubba Purdy would throw an interception, the Hawkeyes would get into field goal range and kick the game-winner as time expired.

Different coaching staff, same old Husker losses in inexplicable fashion. Matt Rhule has a lot to correct this offseason.

No. 10 Minnesota 5-7 (Last week 10)

After two years of possessing Paul Bunyan’s Axe, the Gophers ceded it back to the Badgers in a 28-14 loss at home. Minnesota got off to an early 7-0 lead but had difficulty sustaining much of anything the rest of the way.

The Gophers are technically not bowl eligible but they got lucky with there being not enough bowl eligible teams. They will be the one 5-7 team in a bowl if they accept due to having the highest APR score of the ineligible teams.

No. 9 Illinois 5-7 (Last week 8)

Illinois ended an up-and-down year with a loss to rival Northwestern in a wild game in Champaign. The teams scored a combined 37 points in the final 15 minutes with the Wildcats edging the Illini by two points.

The expectations were higher this season for Illinois, coming off an eight-win season a year ago. But the season ends now with a defeat to a bitter rival and no bowl game. Bret Bielema will have his work cut out for him this offseason.

No. 8 Rutgers 6-6 (Last week 6)

It is a good thing Rutgers secured bowl eligibility in mid-October as the Scarlet Knights dropped their last four games of the season to finish with a .500 record. Against Maryland, they got behind early and could not dig themselves out of the big hole.

This will be Rutgers’s first eligible bowl appearance since the 2014 season as they were a Covid replacement team in 2021 when they were 5-7. This season was Greg Schiano’s best team since returning to Piscataway with room to grow in the future.

No. 7 Maryland 7-5 (Last week 9)

Maryland led Rutgers 28-3 by the early second quarter and never looked back, winning 42-24 to finish the season with seven wins. Taulia Tagovailoa is now the Big Ten’s all-time career passing leader. He finished the game with 361 yards and three touchdowns.

The Terps will have a chance to tie last year’s record of 8-5 with a victory in the bowl game. But the expectations of trying to compete with the upper echelon of the conference have to be tempered, especially with the new additions next season.

No. 6 Wisconsin 7-5 (Last week 7)

It was a trying season in Madison, breaking in a new coaching staff and several injuries being sustained. But the Badgers ended the regular season on a high note, defeating their rival Minnesota. Braelon Allen was magnificent in what could be his final game as a Badger, rushing for 165 yards and two scores. Allen announced his intention to enter the NFL Draft but has not said if he will play in the Badgers bowl game or not.

The Badgers will continue their active bowl streak of 22 straight bowl appearances, which is behind only Georgia and Oklahoma. They appear to be a likely participant in the Music City Bowl. The Badgers’ last appearance in the Nashville bowl game was 20 years ago, a loss to Auburn.

No. 5 Northwestern 7-5 (Last week 5)

What a season for the Wildcats. David Braun guided this team through the hazing and abuse scandal during the off-season and notched seven wins, five of them conference victories. This team won just one game a year ago. It makes you think about how close this team played the Penn State football team earlier this season.

Braun had the interim tag removed and now he is Big Ten coach of the year. Look for this team to make some noise in a bowl game as the Wildcats cannot be counted out of any game. They’ve covered serious ground in the power ranking.

No. 4 Iowa 10-2 (Last week 4)

Not sure how this Hawkeyes team is 10-2 but here we are. In fact, we are only one crazy play from going Iowa’s way and having the Hawkeyes at 11-1 with a shot to crash the CFP party.

Nobody is realistically giving the Hawkeyes a chance to beat Michigan this week in the Big Ten title game. Perhaps they could make it a closer margin than the 2021 matchup with Michigan. But chances are this game will be ugly early and the Hawkeyes will finish their season in a warm weather locale like Orlando or Tampa. With a win, they could really shake up the power ranking. But with a 31-0 loss to the Penn State football team, it will be difficult to jump the Nittany Lions.

No. 3 Penn State 10-2 (Last week 3)

It took 12 games to get there but the Penn State football offense finally looked like a well-oiled machine against Michigan State. It was not just the quality of the opponent. The Nittany Lions controlled everything and the stars shined. Unfortunately with losses to Ohio State and Michigan, this means the Penn State football team will finish 3rd in the Big Ten power ranking this season.

Both running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen hit the century mark on the ground. Drew Allar passed for nearly 300 yards while tossing a pair of touchdowns. The explosive plays that were missing most of the season finally arrived with Allen hitting a 50-yard run and both Singleton and wide receiver Omari Evans recording receptions for over 50 yards.

Now Penn State will wait until Sunday to know their bowl destination. It is likely a New Year’s Six bowl unless some chaos happens. Also, James Franklin has finally found his next offensive coordinator.

No. 2 Ohio State 11-1 (Last week 2)

For the third straight year, the Buckeyes lost to the Wolverines. It was a fantastic game to watch and is the most-watched game of the regular season. None of that matters to Ohio State as they failed once again to beat their bitter rival. This will land the Buckeyes in second place in the Big Ten power ranking once again behind Michigan.

Ryan Day falls to 1-3 against Michigan, a losing streak in the series for Ohio State that has not been seen since John Cooper was roaming the sidelines in Columbus. Cooper had an overall great career but went 2-10-1 against Michigan.

Last season Ohio State lost to Michigan yet still snuck into the playoffs. This year will be much more difficult to achieve the same feat. It seems the Buckeyes are destined for a non-playoff NY6 bowl game, most likely the Orange Bowl.

No. 1 Michigan 12-0 (Last week 1)

Michigan finishes the regular season undefeated once again and will head to the Big Ten championship game. Beating Ohio State for a third straight year makes it all the sweeter for the Wolverines. This has earned them the top power ranking in the Big Ten.

After a couple of shaky weeks, J.J. McCarthy returned to form while completing 80 percent of his passes and tossing a touchdown pass. Blake Corum also pitched in 88 yards on the ground and two scores. The stingy Wolverine defense turned an interception into a touchdown in the first quarter and got another interception to seal the victory late in the game.

Winning the Big Ten title seems all but a formality at this point as Iowa should not put up much of a challenge to this Wolverines team. Michigan will be in the playoff for the third consecutive year, looking to make it to the national title game after losing in the semi-final the last two seasons.

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