Big Ten football power rankings: A New No. 1

College football's regular season has come to an end. Five Big Ten teams saw their seasons end, but nine qualified for a bowl game.

It's been over 1,000 days since Ohio State beat Michigan. The Wolverines won 45-23 in Columbus. Michigan is the defending Big Ten Champion. They will likely make the College Football Playoff even if they lose to Purdue in Saturday's Big League Championship Game. J.J. McCarthy threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns. Donovan Edwards scored two 80-yard touchdowns for the Wolverine. He also had a rushing touchdown.

Ohio State lost to Michigan. The team is 11-1 and No. 2 in the nation. It's the second time in a row that the team lost against their archrival. They need to beat Utah to keep their playoff hopes alive. They also need USC to lose to Utah. Michigan scored five 45+ yard touchdowns. Ohio State's defense gave up.

Penn State beat Michigan State 35-16 in the regular season finale. The Nittany Lions are 10-2 and should finish in top 10 for the first time since 2019. They have won four straight three-score games and their eighth of the season. Penn State is positioned for a New Year's Six Bowl appearance despite finishing third in their division. Big Ten East will likely have three teams in its top ten.

Purdue beat Indiana 27-11 in the second half to win the Big Ten West title. They will play Michigan in Big League Championship this week. Nebraska beat Iowa in season finale. The Cornhuskers are ranked No. 4 in this year's Big 10 football power rankings. Purdue is ranked at No 5. It's the first time in program history that Purdue has been ranked higher than No 2.

Illinois finished 8-4 and one game short of a Big Ten Championship. They beat Northwestern 41-3 to put an exclamation point on their best season since 2007. Illinois forced 29 turnovers this season, the second-most in the nation.

Minnesota won 23-16 against Wisconsin. It was the second straight season that the Golden Gophers finished last in the Big Ten West. Freshman quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis had the best performance of his young career. He threw 319 yards and two touchdowns and completed 66% of passes. The team only rushed for 97 yards.

Iowa lost 24-17 to Nebraska. The game was played on their home turf. Iowa had beaten Nebraska seven times in a row. Kaleb Johnson rushed for 100 yards for the third time in his career. The vaunted Iowa defense allowed at least 20 points for just the 3rd time this season. They did force a single turnover deep in Nebraska territory.

Maryland beat Rutgers 37-0 on Saturday to improve their record to 7-5. The team's quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa missed one start and didn't play for nearly a month after a mid-season injury.

Nebraska finished off a disappointing season with a victory over Iowa. The Huskers lost their starting quarterback for three critical games late in the season. When he was healthy, quarterback Thompson looked fantastic. He finished fourth in Big Ten in passing yards per game. Wide receiver Trey Palmer caught 71 passes for 1,043 yards and nine touchdowns.

Luke Fickell will replace Jim Leonhard as head coach of Wisconsin. Wisconsin finished the season with a 6-6 record. They lost to Michigan State, Iowa and Minnesota. They reached a bowl game. The Badgers lost against Northwestern, Maryland, and Nebraska by one point.

Indiana finished with the Big Ten's worst defense and an average of nearly 34 points and 450 yards per game. It was the fourth losing season in six years for head coach Tom Allen.

Michigan State lost to Penn State and are out of the bowl contention. Head coach Mel Tucker will need to win a bowl game next season to prove his $95 million contract extension.

Rutgers finished the season on a five-game losing streak. Their only Big Ten win came against Indiana. Rutgers has not produced a winning season since 2014.

Northwestern finished the season 1-11 after starting 1 the year 1. Northwestern only lost six games by more than one score.