SiriusXM Big Ten Radio Football Power Rankings – Week 13
The regular season came to a close after an epic final Saturday. Michigan turned in a huge win against Ohio State and will now face Iowa in the Big Ten Championship this weekend in Indianapolis.
Pete Pistone and the rest of the SiriusXM Big Ten Radio team will unveil college football Power Rankings each week. Check out their final Power Rankings of the regular season below, and start listening to SiriusXM Big Ten Radio (Ch. 372) on the SXM App now.
The regular season came to a close after an epic final Saturday. Michigan turned in a huge win against Ohio State and will now face Iowa in the Big Ten Championship this weekend in Indianapolis. Here’s how the Big Ten Radio team voted for this week’s edition of the Power Rankings:
Hassan Haskins rushed for a 169 yards and tied a school record with five touchdowns as the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan football team used a dominant ground game to defeat No. 2 Ohio State 42-27 Saturday (Nov. 27) at Michigan Stadium. The win gives the Wolverines (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten) a share of the Big Ten Conference East Division title and their first berth in the Big Ten Championship Game. Haskins carried the ball 28 times in a signature performance, including all five times during the final touchdown drive that sealed the victory. Quarterback Cade McNamara was 13 of 19 passing for 159 yards, but only had to throw the ball three times in the second half as the Wolverines ground out touchdowns on all four of their drives after halftime. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson tied a personal best with three sacks, moving his 2021 total to 13, breaking by one Michigan’s single-season sack record shared by David Bowens (1996) and LaMarr Woodley (2006).
The Buckeyes came up short in the epic battle against Michigan losing 42-27 in “The Big House.” It was the first Big Ten Conference loss for head coach Ryan Day and eliminated Ohio State from playing in the Big Ten Championship game.
Michigan State took advantage of a late turnover by Penn State to score a touchdown and recovered an onside kick with less than a minute left as the Spartans beat the NIttany Lions, 30-27, on Senior Day at Spartan Stadium. The win secured MSU’s 10th win of the season, the first time with 10 wins since 2017 and the seventh since 2010. Kenneth Walker III recorded his eighth 100-yard rushing game of the season with 138 yards on 30 carries, scoring one touchdown. Payton Thorne was 19-of-30 passing for 268 yards and two touchdowns, including a 15-yard scoring pass to Jayden Reed with 5:10 to play that gave the Spartans a 30-20 lead.
No. 16 Iowa scored the final 22 points of the game to rally and upend Nebraska, 28-21, at Memorial Stadium on Friday. The Hawkeyes retain possession of the Heroes Trophy by virtue of their seventh straight victory over the Cornhuskers. The win, Iowa’s fourth straight to finish the regular season, moved the Hawkeyes to 10-2 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten. Iowa clinched at least a share of the Big Ten West Division title. The Hawkeyes would win the West Division outright and represent the West Division in the Big Ten Football Championship Game next Saturday in Indianapolis, if Minnesota beats Wisconsin on Saturday in Minneapolis. The Hawkeyes last claimed a division title in 2015 when they finished the regular season with an unblemished 8-0 record in Big Ten play. RB Tyler Goodson rushed for a career-best 156 yards on 23 attempts, while the combination of quarterbacks Alex Padilla and Spencer Petras completed 13-of-27 passes for 178 yards.
Tanner Morgan led Minnesota on three scoring drives after halftime to surge past No. 18 Wisconsin 23-13, to take back Paul Bunyan’s Axe and give Iowa the Big Ten West Division title Saturday. Morgan, who went 11 for 16 for 199 yards and a third-quarter touchdown pass to Chris Autman-Bell, led the Gophers on the sprint into the end zone to hoist the 73-year-old trophy on their home field for the first time since 2003.
The Badgers lost out on their chance to advance to the Big Ten title game with their loss to Minnesota 23-12.
The Old Oaken Bucket returned to West Lafayette, as the Purdue football team cruised to a 44-7 victory over Indiana in front of a sellout crowd at Ross-Ade Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Boilermakers (8-4, 6-3 B1G) beat the Hoosiers (2-10, 0-9 B1G) for the third time in the past four matchups, while winning by the largest margin in the series since 2008. By improving to 8-4 on the season, Purdue won eight games for the first time in 15 seasons. Finishing 6-3 in Big Ten play, the Boilermakers racked up their most conference victories since the 2003 campaign. For the fifth consecutive game, Aidan O’Connell was accurate without committing a turnover. The Purdue quarterback threw for 278 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, completing 26 of his 31 passes for the best completion percentage (.839) by a Boilermaker in an Old Oaken Bucket game. Despite not practicing all week due to an injury, Biletnikoff Award finalist David Bell caught six passes for a team-high 79 yards and one touchdown.
The Nittany Lions ended their regular season on a sour note losing 30-27 to Michigan State.
Maryland will be heading back to a bowl game for the first time since the 2016 season as the Terps beat Rutgers, 40-16, on Saturday at SHI Stadium. The Terps finished the regular season at 6-6 and will learn their bowl destination on Sunday, Dec. 5. Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa broke the Maryland single-season passing yardage record in the game, throwing for 312 yards on 21-of-30 with three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. Two of those touchdowns went to Corey Dyches for 25 and 11 yards — his first-career multi-score game. The other receiving touchdown went to senior Brian Cobbs for 38 yards. Senior Tayon Fleet-Davis ran for a career-high 152 yards on 18 carries, including 13-yard and 2-yard rushing scores in the fourth quarter to ice the game for the Terps. It was his third-career 100-yard rushing game. Wide Receiver Rakim Jarrett finished with a team-high seven catches for 111 yards – his third 100-yard game this season.
The Huskers ended their season with yet again another close game and a loss to Iowa 28-21.
The Fighting Illini football team put up a dominant performance against Northwestern on Saturday evening, securing a 47-14 Senior Day victory. Illinois’ win brings the Land of Lincoln Trophy back to Champaign after a six-year drought. Illinois had its best outing of 2021, totaling 466 yards of offense and four touchdowns. The Illini finish Bret Bielema’s first regular season at 5-7 with four Big Ten Conference wins.
A 40-16 loss to Maryland ended Rutgers’ regular season but there were still many positives to take away from Greg Schiano’s return.
13. NORTHWESTERN
A tough year for Northwestern ended with a loss to in-state rival Illinois.
A disaster for Indiana mercifully came to an end as Tom Allen’s team dropped its rivalry game against Purdue.
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