Big Ten standings, bowl projections get major shake-up

Another weekend of play in the Big Ten has the conference on it’s head. With Michigan State losing to Nebraska and Ohio State’s upset of Wisconsin, along with Michigan and Penn State winning again, the Big Ten now boasts 5 teams in the BCS Top 25 wit all 5 ranked from 10-20. A look at the Big Ten football standings shows an undefeated Penn State sitting atop the Leaders Division at 5-0 ahead of Wisconsin, Ohio State and Purdue who each have a 2-2 conference record. Meanwhile in the Legends Division, Michigan, Michigan State and Nebraska each have 3-1 records in the conference with Iowa a game behind at 2-2. The intra-conference parity has the bowl projections showing just one Big Ten team in a BCS bowl game this season, something rarely seen in the past given the conference’s (sometimes unfounded) reputation as a top-tier football conference.