Each conference has their power tier teams, a middle tier, and then.. the rest. The Big Ten is no different. We'll go tier by tier and see if any teams have shifted each week. Coming into this week, that tiered system went as follows:

Tier 1: Ohia State, Penn State, Iowa, Wisconsin

Tier 2: Michigan, Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern

Tier 3: Minnesota, Rutgers, Maryland, Illinois, Nebraska, Purdue

Tier 1

Ohia State

Don't be fooled by the score, this game was VERY close until the very end. Tulsa is winless and this game was at the shoe. What is going on with the Buckeyes? I'll give them the fact that they're breaking in a new QB, but that defense is god awful.

Tier movement: none

Penn State

Huge win over Auburn. Granted, we don't know who Auburn really is, but PSU looked great on both sides of the ball. They even overcame a drive where the SEC refs made them play by CFL rules and punt on third down. The officiating was worse than Ohia State's defense. If there's one criticism, Penn State couldn't run the ball effectively. But rumor has it their tight ends are still wide open.

Tier movement: none

Iowa

Blasted a MAC team in Kent State. They did what they had to do.

Tier movement: none

Wisconsin

Bye week.

Tier movement: none

Tier 2

Michigan

373 yards rushing. 233 yards passing. Is this the first "real" Michigan team for Harbaugh? The B1G East looks really tough this year, but OSU looks like they're on a down year. Next week is Rutgers before heading to Wisconsin and Nebraska. I'll feel better moving them up to T1 if they beat Wisconsin.

Tier movement: none

Michigan State

DA U! Michigan State went to Miami and beat those hurricanes into candy canes. You make candy canes by beating them right? I don't know, but they made Miami look stupid. I think this MSU team has something real going for them this year. If I had to put money on a dark horse, this is the team I'm picking to win the B1G. The back half of their schedule is loaded: Penn State, Michigan, @Ohio State. Until then, get on the big green hype machine!

Tier movement: none

Indiana

They were up 14-0 at one point before being outscored 38-10 in the final 2.5 quarters. Pretty pathetic showing, but this is what you expect from Indiana football. Penix is looking flaccid and there aren't many playmakers around him to take the pressure off. On the plus side, they have a theoretical "bye" week against Western Kentucky next week before going to Happy Valley. Maybe they can tune their game a bit and knock off the knitting cougars again.

Tier movement: none

Minnesota

A shutout for Minnesota says two things: their defense is not QUITE as bad as that Ohia State game made it seem, and Colorado is terrible. It's not an either/or situation, this is a BOTH situation. Minny only really has two tough games remaining, but it's likely they'll lose both of them. Still a 9-3 season is nothing to sneeze at!

Tier movement: +1

Tier 3

Northwestern

Losing to Duke.. Ouch. Northwestern has no identity and is seriously struggling in every game they play. Call it a rebuilding season, I guess.

Tier movement: -1

Rutgers

They took care of an FCS team. Doing what needs to be done.

Tier movement: none

Maryland

Maryland was losing to Illinois until late in the game. They out-gained Illinois in yardage 481 to 335, but giving up 300+ yards to Illinois is a bit insane. This is one of the worst 3-0 teams in the country, about to be 4-0 after playing Kent State. But then they run into two tough games in a row vs Iowa and @Ohia State. How does Ohia State have seemingly every game at home this year?

Tier movement: none

Nebraska

They lost but they actually looked ok. Their defense held the Sooners in check and made some big stops. Their special teams lost the game. Maybe Frost isn't quite on the hottest of hot seats yet, but they need to learn how to finish.

Tier movement: none

Purdue

I'll give Purdue some credit, they played Notre Dame tough. But so did FSU and they have since lost to an FCS team and gotten blown out by Wake. Maybe Drew Brees sprinkled some magic onto them by doing the color on the game, but it was close for a while. They out-gained the Irish by 5 yards total. Next up is Illinois, so they better not blow that one.

Tier movement: none

Illinois

Bert Bielema has to be so sad that his team is playing like .. well, Illinois. They had this game before blowing it. Maryland did out-gain them overall, but the scoreboard was in the Illini's favor until close to the end. You can't let that game go, not when you're scraping together any wins at this point.

Tier movement: none