Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett has helped the Buckeye offense regain its groove heading into the Big Ten championship.
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East:
1. Ohio State: The offense is rolling — again — after an inexplicable loss to Iowa two weeks ago. Michigan, beware.
2. Michigan State: From 3-9 to 9-3, that’s what the Spartans accomplish with a win over Rutgers Saturday.
3. Penn State: All Penn State had to do was hang on against Ohio State or Michigan State and it’d be in the driver’s seat for the playoff.
4. Michigan: Forget the three losses and mounting questions about Jim Harbaugh. All will be forgotten and forgiven with a win over the Buckeyes.
5. Indiana: The Hoosiers dispatched Rutgers to set up a winner-goes-to-a-bowl-game contest with archrival Purdue.
6. Rutgers: It feels like this program is in the area Indiana occupied a few years ago. There’s real hope for six wins at Rutgers in future seasons.
7. Maryland: At this point, the Terrapins are just waiting for the season to end.
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West
1. Wisconsin: The Badgers are two wins away from the College Football Playoff.
2. Northwestern: If the Wildcats win Saturday, and they will because they’re playing Illinois, it’s a nine-win season. Northwestern would like a mulligan on Duke debacle.
3. Purdue: The winner of the Old Oaken Bucket goes to a bowl, the loser stays home for the holidays. Since the game is in West Lafayette, there might actually be a decent atmosphere.
4. Iowa: Remember when the Hawkeyes beat Ohio State by 31 points? They’ve since been outscored 62-29 in back-to-back losses to Wisconsin and Purdue.
5. Minnesota: P.J. Fleck can make his first season a success by upsetting undefeated Wisconsin on Saturday.
6. Nebraska: Sorry, Huskers. Minnesota gets the benefit of the doubt for destroying you.
7. Illinois: I’ll give the Illini credit for not allowing Ohio State to cover a 41-point spread. But it’s a bad sign when someone is favored by six touchdowns in a conference game.