Rutgers-centric Big Ten Football Power Rankings Week 8, 2019

13. Northwestern Wildcats (1-5, 0-4)

Last Week: It went pretty much as expected when one of the top five teams in the country plays against a conference doormat. The Wildcats were steamrolled at home by Ohio State, 52-3. Northwestern actually did a good job of controlling the clock hanging on to the ball for 32:22. They rushed for 157 yards against a good defense.

This Week vs No. 19 Iowa: It doesn’t get any better for Northwestern as 19th ranked Iowa comes to town. The Hawkeyes are third in the conference allowing only 275 and 11.6 points per game. Northwestern’s offense only completes only 47 percent of their passes and averages 3.6 yards per carry. Add to it they face an experienced, proficient quarterback in Nate Stanley and it will be a steep uphill climb

12. Maryland Terrapins (3-4, 1-3)

Last Week: The Terps put up a heck of a fight, going blow for blow with Indiana. Maryland had a chance to win late. They trailed by six points when they got the ball back with 2:49 at their own 25-yard line after an IU field goal. Maryland drove down to the Indiana 42 in 1:07. Unfortunately, quarterback Tyrell Pigrome threw an interception which sealed the Terps fate.

This Week at No. 16 Minnesota: Maryland goes on the road and into a hornet’s nest. Number 16 Minnesota awaits them. The Gophers are undefeated and lead the Big Ten West. It’s a huge test and one that will likely be too much for Maryland to handle.

11. Purdue (2-5, 1-3), 10. Illinois (3-4, 1-3)

Last Week: The Boilermakers went into hostile territory at Iowa last Saturday and almost pulled off a huge upset. For a team at the bottom of the conference in total offense, Purdue gained 360 yards against a top defense. In the end, they lost 26-20. Boilermakers quarterback Jack Plummer was 30 of 50 for 327 yards and a pair of touchdown passes.

Whereas Purdue almost pulled off an upset, Illinois had the conference upset of the year as they beat then number six Wisconsin. Instead of rolling over and playing dead, the Illini put up a fight. Three forced turnovers kept Illinois in the game despite only having the ball for less than 20 minutes. The final one, a Tony Adams interception, led to Illinois’ game-winning field goal as time expired.

This Week Purdue vs. Illinois: Purdue will look to put the genie back in the bottle as the upstart Fighting Illini visit West Lafayette. If Plummer can repeat his performance from last week, Purdue will win. Illinois, on the other hand, will come in fired up after their huge upset. Head Coach Lovie Smith had one of his biggest wins since arriving at Illinois. He will do all he can to continue the momentum.