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

As close to a bye week as possible by playing Akron.

Tier movement: none

Penn State

FCS win.

Tier movement: none

Iowa

They played a BAD Colorado State team and had a tough time. Not a great sign, but at least they won.

Tier movement: none

Tier 2

Michigan

You can say Michigan had a bad second half, but I think Rutgers is much improved and a difficult out for any team. Michigan has a questionable pass game that they really need to examine, but running and defense look pretty solid.

Tier movement: none

Michigan State

Going to overtime against Nebraska doesn't look great, but we can blame it on the throwback 'S' on one side helmets. Nebraska is improved even though they lost to Illinois I think Michigan State possibly overlooked them a little bit. Time to get things together for the next one.

Tier movement: none

Wisconsin

At one point in the 4th quarter, Wisconsin was leading Notre Dame 13-10. Then there was a total collapse where ND scored 31 unanswered points. I wonder if they miss Coan yet in Madison..

Tier movement: -1

Rutgers

Say what you want about Schiano, he has Rutgers playing well again. They took Michigan to the wire and are going to be tough for any team to beat. They're solid on defense and improving on offense. And you know what, they move up!

Tier movement: +1

Maryland

They beat a MAC team but I mean, they're 4-0.

Tier movement: +1

Tier 3

Minnesota

Going from a shutout against Colorado to a loss against a MAC team is exactly what I should expect from Minnesota football. Rowing the boat won't help this team, they need a full on sump pump because they're sinking to the bottom of Lake Superior.

Tier movement: -1

Indiana

I guess this wasn't a theoretical "bye" week for them - they struggled HARD with Western Kentucky. Indiana is just not a good team this year.

Tier movement: -1

Northwestern

Nice comeback game for Northwestern but Ohio is terrible. They should've won and they did, but it doesn't tell you much.

Tier movement: -1

Nebraska

Close again, but still not there. At some point they have to win some of these games instead of coming close. Moral victories aren't going to pay that salary.

Tier movement: none

Purdue

Whew boy, that was a close one against Illinois. I don't know if Illinois is improving much, but they're giving teams some trouble. Purdue should be better.

Tier movement: none

Illinois

Illinois and Nebraska are both big on moral victories this year. Start winning some of these games!

Tier movement: none