Talk about a rough two weeks for the Big Ten. A new week starts with the Power(less) rankings.

East Division

1. Michigan State–MSU had their bye week and should be well rested for MAC foe Eastern Michigan.

Coming Up: Sept. 20^th vs. Eastern Michigan- Sparty should roll against the instate foe.

2. Ohio State–Sure beating Kent State 66-0 looks great, but is that what a Big Ten power has to do to get back into the playoff race? Urban Meyer was pleased with the game, but let’s not get too carried away.

Coming Up: Sept. 27^th vs. Cincinnati- Gunner Kiel and the Bearcats put up monster numbers against Toledo. Is the Buckeye defense ready for an aerial assault?

3. Penn State–The Nittany Lions came back to shock Rutgers in their Big Ten opener, however Penn State had a lot of weaknesses exposed, especially on the offensive line and in the running game.

Coming Up: Sept 20^th vs. Massachusetts- Penn State should use this game to work on the issues they have. The Lions should be able to run and pass all over the Minutemen.

4. Michigan–Michigan got back on the scoreboard and back in the win column, but how impressive is it to let Miami of Ohio hang around. Hey, a win is a win this year for the Big Ten against the MAC right?

Coming Up: Sept. 20^th vs. Utah- The Utes are 2-0 and should present much more of a challenge than Miami (OH), but if Michigan cannot win this one at home Brady Hoke can start packing his bags.

5. Maryland–The Terps lost a heartbreaker to a very good West Virginia team. The Terps will have to move on from the loss and head on the road to upstate New York.

Coming Up: Sept. 20^th– at Syracuse- A chance for the Big Ten to earn some brownie points back as the Terps head to the Cuse to face a tough Orange team who smacked around Central Michigan last week. This will be a great one at the dome.

6. Rutgers–Rutgers almost had a story book start to their Big Ten life, but it all came crashing down as Penn State rallied for the win.

Coming Up: Sept. 20^th at Navy- Playing Navy is no fun, playing Navy on the road is even less fun. The Knights will have their work cut out as they head to Annapolis to face the Midshipmen

7. Indiana–Indiana fixed the passing game and Tevin Coleman looks like the real deal, but the defense allowed 45 points in a loss at Bowling Green. The season could slip away really fast if they don’t show up at Mizzou.

Coming Up: Sept. 20^th at Missouri- The scheduling genius of Fred Glass is really paying off huh? The Hoosiers hit the road again as they travel to Mizzou to face the 18^th ranked Tigers. This could get ugly early if IU has not made improvements on defense.

West Division

1. Nebraska–Nebraska shook off the concerning performance against McNesse State to beat Fresno State 55-19. They are clearly the class of the West right now as last weekend was no fun for this division.

Coming Up: Sept. 20^th vs. Miami (FL)- Another chance for the conference to earn some points back against a “big” named team. A win would do wonders for the conference and NU.

2. Wisconsin–Wisconsin has a chance to beat up on another MAC program when they face the Bowling Green Falcons. Hopefully the bye week has shored up the passing game.

Coming Up: Sept. 20^th vs. Bowling Green- Bowling Green had issues stopping the run again IU, which is deadly against Wisconsin. Bowling Green can score, but the Badgers should be able to score more.

3. Minnesota–Minnesota was dismantled on the road and is clearly in the second tier of the Big Ten.

Coming Up: Sept. 20^th vs. San Jose State- There is nothing better coming off a loss than coming home to play a cupcake from the west coast.

4. Iowa– Are people in Iowa City squirming yet? An early season schedule that was not difficult has looked like a house of horrors after a loss to rival Iowa State.

Coming Up: Sept. 20^th at Pittsburgh- The Hawkeyes travel to the Steel City to get back on track. The only issue, Pitt is a good football team. Iowa could lose two in a row.

5. Illinois–What is more concerning for the Illini, losing 44-19 or head coach Tim Beckman coming out and saying they “won” the second half? Either way it looked bad for the Illini

Coming Up: Sept 20^th vs. Texas State- Normally a Sun Belt foe should be a cake walk, but the Illini should be very careful with this team. TSU averages over 290 yards a game and could be trouble for the boys from Champaign.

6. Northwestern–Hopefully the bye week has ironed out any issues they have had.

Coming Up: Sept. 20^th vs. Western Illinois- The ‘cats should get their first win of the year. Emphasize should.

7. Purdue–Purdue hung tough for a half against the Fighting Irish, but were shut out in the second half. This team is in need of a spark, but hey they scored against Notre Dame. That counts for something right?

Coming Up: Sept. 20^th vs. Southern Illinois- SIU is a tough FCS foe, but Purdue should get their second win of the year, if they can’t the winds of change will hit Lafayette very early in the Hazell era.