SiriusXM Big Ten Radio Football Power Rankings – Week 10

Pete Pistone and the rest of the SiriusXM Big Ten Radio team will unveil Power Rankings each week of the college football season. Check out their 2021 Power Rankings below, and start listening to SiriusXM Big Ten Radio (Ch. 372) on the SXM App now.

The calendar turned to November, and the opening weekend of the month included plenty of surprises — not in the least of which was another big upset win for Purdue. Here’s how the Big Ten Radio team voted for this week’s edition of the Power Rankings:

1. OHIO STATE

The No. 5 Buckeyes held on to a 26-17 win at Nebraska Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Neb. With the win, the Scarlet and Gray improve to 8-1, while the Huskers fall to 3-7 in 2021. Sophomore wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a school-record performance in the road win, with 15 catches for 240 receiving yards. The mark passed David Boston’s record of 14 receptions (at Penn State, 1997). His 240 receiving yards was just 13 yards shy of the OSU record by Terry Glenn (253, at Pitt, 1995)

NEXT: Purdue (November 13)

2. MICHIGAN

The Wolverines had no trouble holding serve at home against Indiana and put another W on the board at “The Big House.”

NEXT: @Penn State (November 13)

3. MICHIGAN STATE

The undefeated season went down at the hands of Purdue as the Spartans got behind early against the Boilermakers and were not able to climb out of the hole to suffer their first loss of the campaign.

NEXT: Maryland (November 13)

4. WISCONSIN

Graham Mertz threw a season-high three touchdown passes and Wisconsin won its fifth straight game to become bowl eligible for the 20th straight year with a 52-3 victory over Rutgers on Saturday.

NEXT: Northwestern (November 13)

5. PURDUE

For the second time this season, Purdue knocked off a Top-3 team, as the Boilermakers upended No. 3/5 Michigan State 40-29 on Saturday afternoon at Ross-Ade Stadium. Purdue beat two AP Top-5 teams for the first time since 1960, when it beat No. 3 Ohio State and No. 1 Minnesota. Aidan O’Connell threw for 536 yards — the third-highest total in Purdue history, and David Bell became the school-record holder for 100-yard receiving games with 15 as he totaled 11 catches for 217 yards. The Boilermakers totaled 594 yards of offense.

NEXT: @Ohio State (November 13)

6. PENN STATE

Led by a career day for wide receiver Jahan Dotson, the Penn State football team defeated Big Ten foe Maryland 31-14 on Saturday. Dotson set the Penn State single-game receiving record with 242 yards, breaking Deon Butler’s record of 216 set in 2006 vs. Northwestern. Dotson also tied career-highs with 11 receptions and three touchdowns. Quarterback Sean Clifford tallied his third 300-yard game of the season, completing 27-of-47 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns.

NEXT: Michigan (November 13)

7. IOWA

The Hawkeyes got things back on track with a road win against Northwestern to remain in the battle for the West Division title.

NEXT: Minnesota (November 13)

8. MINNESOTA

The Golden Gophers could not mount any offense and took a tough loss at home against Illinois.

NEXT: @Iowa (November 13)

9. ILLINOIS

The Fighting Illini football team pulled off another Big Ten upset on the road as a late-game interception by Kerby Joseph sealed a 14-6 win over Minnesota on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium. The Gophers entered the game ranked No. 20 in the season’s initial College Football Playoff (CFP) ranking, marking Illinois’ first win over a CFP-ranked opponent. The Illini defense held the Gophers to their lowest point total of the season, while Chase Brown’s 150 rushing yards led the offense.

NEXT: OFF

10. MARYLAND

The win over Indiana the week prior didn’t bring with it the momentum Maryland was hoping for in the Terrapins home loss against Penn State.

NEXT: @Michigan State (November 13)

11. NEBRASKA

The same story for Nebraska against Ohio State as the Huskers fought hard but things didn’t go well late and the Buckeyes came out of Lincoln with a victory.

NEXT: OFF

12. RUTGERS

It was over early for Rutgers against Wisconsin as the Badgers romped 52-3.

NEXT: @Indiana (November 13)

13. NORTHWESTERN

Lack of consistency again for Northwestern as the Wildcats lost at home to Iowa.

NEXT: @Wisconsin (November 13)

14. INDIANA

Michigan kept the Hoosiers in their downward spiral with a convincing win in Ann Arbor.

NEXT: Rutgers (November 13)