Rivals' midseason Big Ten power poll
The Big Ten conference has reached the mid-point of its shortened, conference-only 2020 football season, and our collection of experts who cover each of the 14 member institutions have issued their mid-season Power Poll. This unique season has produced unique results, and several teams find themselves in territories they do not usually occupy on the Big Ten landscape.
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MORE BIG TEN: A thank-you note | Top 10 players | Grading QB situations
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
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| RANK | TEAM | RECORD |
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
3-0 |
|
|
2. |
2-0 |
|
|
3. |
4-0 |
|
|
4. |
4-0 |
|
|
5. |
2-1 |
|
|
6. |
2-2 |
|
|
7. |
2-1 |
|
|
8. |
1-2 |
|
|
9. |
1-3 |
|
|
10. |
1-3 |
|
|
11. |
1-3 |
|
|
12. |
0-4 |
|
|
13. |
1-3 |
|
|
14. |
1-3 |
Who would have predicted this order a month ago before this truncated Big Ten season began? Yes, Indiana did come into 2020 with high expectations, and Northwestern or Purdue bouncing back after down years in 2019 is not shocking. That those three teams would combine for just one loss halfway through the regular season, though … no one saw that coming. Then, couple it with Michigan and Penn State combining for just one win at the same stage and you have a completely topsy-turvy Big Ten just four weeks into the season.
There was a consensus of Ohio State as the top team in the conference, but five different programs received last-place votes. There does not appear to be much faith in Illinois, which was voted last more than any other school despite its win over Rutgers last weekend. Wisconsin, meanwhile, showed enough in just two games to edge fellow undefeateds Indiana and Northwestern for the No. 2 spot in this poll.
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Team that has been the biggest positive surprise: Indiana
Northwestern also generated several votes for this question, turning a 1-8 conference record a year ago into a 4-0 start this season. Indiana’s 4-0 start, though, includes wins over then-ranked Penn State and Michigan, and the Hoosiers are in the top 10 of the Associated Press rankings for the first time in more 50 years. A former defensive coordinator, head coach Tom Allen saw his team pitch a shutout last weekend against Michigan State, but it has been the offense - averaging better than 33 points a game - that has generated the most headlines this season.
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Team that has been the biggest negative surprise: Penn State
There were just two selections here, with Penn State garnering about three times as many votes as Michigan. The Nittany Lions are coming off an 11-2 campaign in 2019 which saw them win their first eight games of the season. Starting quarterback Sean Clifford returned to lead the offense in 2020, but after dropping the opener to Indiana in overtime the train quickly went off the rails in State College. Four games into the season, Penn State is still looking for its first win.
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Breakout player: Michael Penix Jr.
This was a close contest between a pair of former four-star quarterbacks. In the end, Indiana’s Michael Penix Jr. edged Wisconsin’s Graham Mertz as the Big Ten’s breakout player thus far in the season. The third-year sophomore made what was arguably the most memorable play of this Big Ten season when his scramble and dive for the pylon sunk Penn State in overtime. Through four games Penix has thrown for 1,070 yards and nine touchdowns, and he’s added two more scores on the ground en route to the Hoosiers' 4-0 start.