Week 9 has wrapped in the B1G and it the favorites found their way back to in the winner's circle. It wasn't always pretty but the favorites finished the week 8-0. With teams having four or five games remaining, it's time to take a look at the bowl picture. The B1G should have three, maybe four, teams in the playoff. The B1G then has tie-ins with the Citrus, ReliaQuest, Mayo, Music City, Pinstripe, Guaranteed Rate, and Quick Lane bowls. That's seven bowl tie-ins, plus the former Pac-12 teams are eligible for the Alamo, Independence, Las Vegas, Holiday, LA, and Sun Bowls. So theoretically, there's room for 15 B1G teams to be in the playoff or a bowl game. So how many are going to be bowl eligible at 6-6 or better?
6+ wins: Oregon, Indiana, Penn State, Ohio State, Illinois
5 wins: Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota
4 wins: Michigan State, Maryland, USC, Washington, Rutgers
3 or less wins: Northwestern (3), UCLA (2), Purdue (1)
We'll take a look below at each teams chance to get to six wins. There are 15 teams at 4-4 or better, but can they all get to six wins? A few or the four win teams, and even a couple five wins teams could definitely struggle to get there.
The week 10 slate features eight conference matchups. Rutgers and Maryland are off this week. There are no Friday games. The big game of the week is in Happy Valley as the national #3 Penn State Nittany Lions host the #4 Ohio State Buckeyes at noon on Saturday. ESPN College Gameday, Fox Big Noon Kickoff, and
The week 9 B1G Power Rankings are below. These are based strictly on on-field performance relative to the competition and is not a projection of things to come.
1. Oregon (8-0) - The Ducks did what great teams are supposed to do. They dominated a good team at home, leaving no doubt as they drubbed Illinois 38-9. They've strengthened their hold at the top of the rankings. They travel to Michigan this week.
2. Penn State (7-0) - The Lions handled business in Madison on Saturday night, overcoming another slow start and pulling away in the 2nd half. QB Drew Allar went down and did not return. His status for the matchup vs Ohio State this weekend is up in the air.
3. Indiana (8-0) - The Hoosiers did what great teams are supposed to do. They controlled Washington the entire game, winning 31-17 with backup quarterback Tavon Jackson starting. The undefeated Hoosiers travel to Michigan State this weekend looking to improve to 9-0 for the first time in school history. In 137 seasons of Indiana football, they have never won 10 games!!!! This looks to be the year.
4. Ohio State (6-1) - The Buckeyes were off again this week. Oh they weren't off? Nebraska came to the Columbus funeral home and refused to win the game as the Buckeyes scored with six minutes remaining and held off the Huskers. It was a downright pitiful performance against a team coming off a 49 point drubbing to Indiana. It was uninspired football coming coming off a loss to Oregon and an extra week to prepare. If they play anything like that in State College this week they'll be heading home with their first two loss regular season since 2018. They should be ranked lower, but fortunately for the Bucks, the other 14 teams in the B1G are all just as putrid.
5. Illinois (6-2) - The Illini went to Eugene and were introduced to the best team in the country. Oregon was up early and the Illini couldn't muster a comeback. They host Minnesota this week in a classic B1G West battle. The winner will have an inside track on the Mayo Bowl.
6. Wisconsin (5-3) - The Badgers had a halftime lead on Penn State in Madison, but couldn't hold on in the 2nd half. They are missing a quarterback, as Brayden Locke threw a bad pick six in the 3rd quarter as Penn State pulled away. Bowl eligibility is in the balance as they have Iowa, Oregon, Nebraska, and Minnesota to finish the season.
7. Nebraska (5-3) - The Huskers refused to win in Columbus, falling 21-17. They took the lead 17-14, before allowing a bad Ohio State offense to drive for the winning score with six minutes left. Ohio State had 13 tackles for loss. Nebraska failed to establish a downfield passing game against the weak Ohio State corners. They host UCLA this weekend, looking for the elusive sixth win. If they don't get it this week, it may not come easy as they finish at USC, and then Wisconsin, and Iowa.
8. Michigan (5-3) - The Wolverines were once again horrible, this time defeating little brother. The Spartans had more pass yards, more rush yards, more first downs, more 3rd down conversions, fewer punts, and dominated time of possession, but the Wolverines still came out on top. They scored late in the 2nd quarter and then a field goal after a fumble to close the half resulted in a halftime lead. Running back Alex Orji scored on the first possession of the 3rd quarter and the game was over. They have a tough finishing slate with Oregon, Indiana, Northwestern, and Ohio State. Anything better than 6-6 should be considered a success.
9. Iowa (5-3) - The Hawkeyes did what they should to a bad Northwestern team, winning 40-14. They were up 12-7 at the half and scored 28 in the 3rd quarter. Brendan Sullivan looks like a competent quarterback, which is a step in the right direction. With a manageable November, 9-3 is on the table.
10. Minnesota (5-3) - The Gophers are a wagon, scoring 34 first half points en route to a 48-23 victory over Maryland. They have won three in a row and travel to Illinois this weekend with a lot of momentum. They finish at Rugters and then Penn State and Wisconsin.
11. Michigan State (4-4) - The Spartans dominated everything except the final score, as they fell to Michigan on Saturday night. An Aiden Chiles fumble at the end of the 2nd quarter allowed Michigan to take the lead at the half. They host Indiana this weekend, looking to ruin the Hoosiers perfect season. With Purdue and Rutgers at the end of the season, they look to get to six wins.
12. Washington (4-4) - The Huskies traveled to Indiana for an early game and fell 31-17. The up and down season continues for Washington. The path to six wins may come down to this week as they welcome USC to Seattle. They finish with Penn State, UCLA, and Oregon needing two wins for bowl eligibility.
13. Maryland (4-4) - The Terrapins are a bad football team that somehow beat USC two weeks ago. Minnesota hammered them on Saturday, leaving a dicey path to bowl eligibility. Needing two wins, they travel to Oregon after an off week and then have Rutgers, Iowa, and Penn State.
14. USC (4-4) - The Trojans manhandled Rutgers on Friday night in LA in a game that started at 11 EST. Anyone that watched only did so because they fell asleep at the end of World Series game 1 (and missed an awesome game), only to awake on the couch to a USC-Rutgers snoozer. They travel to Washington this weekend with a path to six wins.
15. Rutgers (4-4) - They lost a 4rd game in a row, this time at USC. A trip to Maryland in two weeks may be the only thing standing in the way of an eight game slide to end the season. They are off this week before hosting Minnesota win week 11.
16. Northwestern (3-5) - The Wildcats lost at Iowa after an ok 1st half. They travel to Purdue this week in a battle of B1G bottom feeders.
17. UCLA (2-5) - The Bruins were off and travel to Nebraska this week.
18. Purdue (1-6) - The Boilermakers were off and host Northwestern this week. It appears to be their best chance at a B1G conference win as they have Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, and Indiana to end the season.
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