B1G Power Rankings: Week 13

Holy shit it's Thanksgiving week already which means this is the last week of the regular season in the Big Ten. And that sucks. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to enjoy basketball season just as much as the rest of you, but I'm one of those weirdos that actually enjoys college football more, no matter how bad Illinois is.

So the fact that we've got one weekend of Big Ten action left is a bit depressing to this Illini fan.

TEAM RECORD (LAST WEEK) -- POINTS

1. Ohio State (1) 11-0 - 162

So Ohio State had a much easier time with Indiana than it did Illinois, which doesn't mean a damn thing, but I'm find with pretending it does anyway. Anyway, as for Ohio State, the Buckeyes find themselves one win away from two straight perfect regular seasons, but the question is whether or not it will mean anything. Of course, the Buckeyes have already seen one of the unbeatens ahead of them fall. I honestly wouldn't be shocked if another one did at some point in the next few weeks. This Week: at Michigan

2. Wisconsin 9-2 (2) - 154

So, honestly, if you're a Wisconsin fan right now you have to be loving the way things have turned out, right? No, you can't win the Big Ten and you won't be going to another Rose Bowl this season, but this whole Gary Andersen thing seems to be working out pretty well. And then there's Bret Bielema who is now 3-8 on the year and 0-7 in SEC play. He's essentially gone from being one of the top coaches in the Big Ten to being the SEC's version of Tim Beckman last year. This Week: vs. Penn State

3. Michigan State 10-1 (3) - 143

Although it seemed like a foregone conclusion after beating Nebraska, the Spartans made things official by beating Northwestern to wrap up their trip to Indianapolis to take on Ohio State. And man am I looking forward to that game. I'm hoping both Ohio State and Michigan State win their games this week because I want the Big Ten Championship to have as much national appeal as possible. The Big Ten's public perception could really use that kind of boost. This Week: vs. Minnesota

4. Nebraska 8-3 (5) - 110

Nebraska moves up to fourth this week after beating Penn State, but man look at that gulf in points between them and the Spartans. There's as big a gap between Michigan State and Nebraska as there is between Nebraska and Penn State down there in eighth place. SPOILER ALERT! Speaking of spoiler alerts, I'm still a bit down from seeing Richard Harrow die in Boardwalk Empire. I get that it was simply his time because I'm not sure how you could use him going forward, but you probably could have just let him get out of the Onyx Club alive and go to Wisconsin to be with his family and write him out that way. But that possibly couldn't happen, because there's an important life lesson that we all must learn as fans of sports and television. Your favorite player will always get traded, and your favorite character will always die. This Week: vs. Iowa (Friday)

5. Minnesota 8-3 (4) -- 109

I have to give more props to Minnesota. I really didn't think the Gophers would be able to hang with Wisconsin this week, and while they were never really threatening to win, they stood up pretty well to the Badgers. I'm sure that's of little consolation to Minnesota fans, but I think that's a very good sign for the future. This Week: at Michigan State

6. Iowa 7-4 (7) -- 104

Following Iowa's win against Michigan on Twitter was hilarious on Saturday afternoon. During the first half all the Iowa fans in my feed wanted to burn the place down and fire every coach and had given up on Iowa football. Then the second half happened and all was well again. Ah, sports. Making us all look so stupid every chance you get. This Week: at Nebraska (Friday)

7. Michigan 7-4 (6) -- 100

Michigan is going to have a winning record, and it's going to go to a decent enough bowl game, but by Michigan standards this season has been a disaster. But a disastrous season can quickly turn around with a win against Ohio State this week, because if there's any remedy for a shitty season it's ending your arch-rival's national title hopes. This Week: vs. Ohio State

8. Penn State 6-5 (8) -- 80

Penn State doesn't drop in the rankings after losing to Nebraska in overtime, but much like the divide between Nebraska and Michigan State, there's a large gap between the Nittany Lions and Wolverines in these rankings as well. Especially when you consider there's only 16 points separating Penn State from Northwestern in 11th place. SPOILER ALERT. Speaking of spoiler alerts, Brody is going to die in Iran. I know that's not actually a spoiler since it hasn't happened yet, but he has to die, right? I mean, are they going to have him come back from Iran and just go back to his life? There's no way they could actually do that without basically telling viewers to go fuck themselves, right? This Week: at Wisconsin

9. Indiana 4-7 (9) - 77

I don't have anything to say about Indiana so instead I'm just going to talk about Derrick Rose because damn it Derrick Rose why? Listen, I'm a Bulls fan, but it's incredibly tough to watch the Bulls play basketball even when Derrick Rose is playing. Because the Bulls play some ugly basketball. But Derrick was that ray of light. The only one capable of making the Bulls look beautiful. The proverbial rose managing to find a way to grow out of a crack in the concrete. And now he's gone and oh man the Bulls are so hard to watch now. In fact, I'll be honest, I'm probably not going to watch the Bulls for the rest of the season. If they get to the playoffs, okay, I'll tune in then. But it's just too hard to do it right now. It hurts too damn much. This Week: vs. Purdue

10. Illinois 4-7 (11) - 66

AW HELL YEAH WE'RE IN THE TOP TEN. Seriously, I know I've already gone over the fact I'm not happy the season is coming to an end, but wouldn't it be great to end this season with consecutive wins, especially with a win against Northwestern? I'd much rather spend the offseason believing there's a chance this team can go to a bowl game in 2014 rather than figuring out the over/under on how many games into the 2014 until Tim Beckman got fired. This Week: vs. Northwestern

11. Northwestern 4-7 (10) - 64

The good news for Northwestern Fan is that Northwestern Fan no longer has to pretend it exists. This Week: at Illinois

12. Purdue 1-10 (12) - 28

Seriously, Purdue, thanks. I really appreciate it. This Week: at Indiana

Last week's rankings can be found here.

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