1) OSU - Barrett looked sick in the 2nd half vs. Penn State. Rutgers will need to get nasty on defense to pull off an upset.
2) Iowa - Do you see a loss on rest of their schedule this year? I don't.
3) MSU - Pulled out a miracle at the big house, but stayed with UM long enough to make it possible.
4) Michigan - They may be favored vs. OSU going into their game if they win out.
5) Wisconsin - It's going to be tough for them to win the west at this point.
6) Illinois - Not a bad year for a team that has already surpassed their 3.5 win over/under total and fired their coach before the first game!
7) Nebraska - Could play spoiler to Iowa, but looks to be a disappointing season for the Huskers.
8) Northwestern - Looks like they are cooling off.
9) PSU - Them too.
10) Minnesota - It's going to be a rough 2nd half for the gophers. Will they win another game?
11) Rutgers - Dreaming of an upset of all upsets on ABC Saturday night! A bowl game remains a huge challenge with the loss to the Cougars.
12) Indiana - Like Rutgers, they have a brutal mid season. Their bowl chances probably hinge on the Maryland game.
13) Maryland - I feel like Maryland could certainly win three more games this year, but if they are mailing it in at this point, get ready for 2-10.
14) Purdue - Does Hazell make it to the end of the year?

I agree with you for the most part. I originally doubted Iowa at 2 but with their record and where they finish that may be about right. If MSU could get healthy they could be scary. UM…the MSU loss and the other loss to Utah. Man are the ahead of schedule. As for the Terps, I want some of what you're drinking. If they could get 3 more wins…I would be ecstatic. I just don't see it. Not because they are mailing it in but I don't think they will be favored in any of the games they play the rest of the season. If they win, it will be an upset. Maryland and Purdue race to the bottom.

Tier 1 (The Cream of the Crop)
Ohio State
Michigan
Michigan State
Iowa

Tier 2 (Doing Very Well)
Wisconsin
Northwestern

Tier 3 (Going Bowling)
Illinois
Nebraska
PSU

Tier 4 (Might go Bowling)
Minnesota
Rutgers
Indiana

Tier 5 (All is not lost yet)
Maryland

Tier 6 (Coach's Seat is Red Hot)
Purdue

Again within the tiers, there's no particular order. After this week I'll probably feel comfortable starting to rank within the tiers.

My rule of thumb on tiers is this. If I think a team will usually beat another team even on the road, then I try to put them in different tiers.

Tier 1: The top 3 are interchangeable.
1. Ohio State: Great many flaws, but seem to be coming around. They still need a big step up if they want to live close to their potential.
2. Michigan State: I don't know if I'd take them in a rematch vs. Michigan, but I'd take them over any other team in the conference outside of the Buckeyes.
3. Iowa: With their victories, cannot rank them lower. I probably wouldn't take them in a rematch vs. Wisconsin, but they've already won that and their wins over Pitt and Iowa State are good non-conference results.
4. Michigan: They were so, so close to fully re-entering the national discussion in terms of a national title. Their losses were to good teams, but they were still 2 losses.

Tier 2:
5. Wisconsin: The Badgers won't be going back to Indianapolis in all likelihood now, but still probably one of the top western teams.
6. Northwestern: The Wildcats are very close to dropping down a lot, but they still have very good non-conference wins over Stanford and Duke. It could still be a case of the last 2 teams they played are just very good.
7. Illinois: Not a horrible year considering they started by loosing the head coach before the first snap. The Nebraska win is the biggest reason they hold onto this spot, but my guess would still be that they drop.
8. Penn State: Rebounded alright after the Temple loss (which doesn't look quite as bad now).
9. Nebraska: A lot better than their record shows. Definitely a disappointing year though. The pressure will really be on for year 2 success given the age of the head coach. I still think Nebraska has the best chance of beating Iowa of the remaining games on their schedule.

Tier 3:
10. Minnesota: This looked to be the year for something very special (although last year was very close to it too). It might still turn out decent, but it's been a disappointment so far.
11. Rutgers: Rutgers seems good for one great comeback a year so far in Big Ten play. That was a much needed win over Indiana and the Scarlet Knights seems to be putting behind all the off the field issues that plagued them to start the year.
12. Indiana: Every win is precious at getting to that 6 win mark and that late home loss hurts. I hope Indiana goes bowling this year, but a disappointing fall since having a chance to tie at the end vs. Ohio State.
13. Maryland: New coaching regime and hard to say what that will mean. This was never going to be The year, but still disappointing until the Ohio State game.
14. Purdue: Not quite as bad as the 1-6 record indicates (if that's possible). Non-conference schedule wasn't horrible. That said, the Boilermakers are way down from their highs and it's sad to see.

Tier one: Cream of the crop
Ohio State
Michigan State
Iowa
Michigan

Tier two: Worthy of mention
Wisconsin
Northwestern
Illinois

Tier three: better than record appears
Nebraska
Minnesota

Tier four: Rebuild for next year group
Rutgers
Indiana
Maryland
Purdue

(10-23-2015 09:18 PM)DexterDevil Wrote:  Tier one: Cream of the crop
Ohio State
Michigan State
Iowa
Michigan

Tier two: Worthy of mention
Wisconsin
Northwestern
Illinois

Tier three: better than record appears
Nebraska
Minnesota

Tier four: Rebuild for next year group
Rutgers
Indiana
Maryland
Purdue

So you're one of those people who wants Penn State out of the conference!

(10-24-2015 07:26 AM)GE and MTS Wrote:  

(10-23-2015 09:18 PM)DexterDevil Wrote:  Tier one: Cream of the crop
Ohio State
Michigan State
Iowa
Michigan

Tier two: Worthy of mention
Wisconsin
Northwestern
Illinois

Tier three: better than record appears
Nebraska
Minnesota
Penn State*

Tier four: Rebuild for next year group
Rutgers
Indiana
Maryland
Purdue

So you're one of those people who wants Penn State out of the conference!

Knew I forgot a team.

It's nice to know that losing to a now top 25 team doesn't look 'quite as bad'.

(10-24-2015 04:09 PM)JHG722 Wrote:  It's nice to know that losing to a now top 25 team doesn't look 'quite as bad'.

Bad choice of words.