Big Ten Power Poll Ballot Week 8

1. Iowa

2. Penn State

3. Ohio State

4. Michigan State

5. Michigan

6. Wisconsin

7. Minnesota

8. Purdue

9. Northwestern

10. Indiana

11. Illinois

• Iowa is tops, even if they don't always look like it, and seem to have a rather unobstructed path to Columbus with upcoming dates against Indiana and Northwestern. I'm a little surprised at the reaction to Iowa "find ways to win", as if squeaking it out every game is a bad thing. I'm of the opinion that when you're Iowa, of all teams, a win is a win. By no stretch of the imagination is Iowa so talent-laden that they "should" blow out a team like Michigan State, with roughly the same amount of overall speed and athleticism. Good win for the Hawks (at a place they rarely have a success at), and they're just as formidable an opponent as Penn State at this point.
• Speaking of which, Penn State is looking like a more complete team with each passing week; the offensive line issues that plagued the Lions at the season's outset appear to have diminished, and while the defense isn't the killer it has been, it won't be letting them down anytime soon. Before any of you start proclaiming "DOOOOM" in Happy Valley, remember that a far more veteran Nittany team with a more potent offense was held to 13 points by a swarming Ohio State defense last year. Given that Ohio State has a noticeable improved front four, and given that Penn State is either slightly worse or treading water on the offensive line in comparison to '08, there are no guarantees that PSU wins in a walk. Still, they're improving on the whole as a team, which is more than can be said for just about everyone else in the league.
  
• Which, of course, does not bode particularly well for Ohio State, who themselves finally resembled something like a complete team, albeit against Minnesota. The defense got back on track after a lackluster showing against Purdue, and Pryor did what he absolutely had to do in cutting down on his turnovers. An effort like what we saw against Minnesota would keep Ohio State competitive in its final stretch, while one similar to what we saw against Purdue would get them crushed. You try to decipher how good we are. Ya can't.
  
• Michigan State fell to Iowa, sure, but they looked more impressive in doing so than did Michigan, who, after an impressive opening drive, bent over and took it from an angry-looking PSU squad. Brian is re-evaluating his position on the team, and the MGoBloggernets in general are doing their best Ohio State impersonation: pointing fingers, decrying "sunshine pumpers" and so forth. Schadenfreude central.
•  Minnesota does not drop because they're more or less who I thought they were. They're over Purdue because a) I'm not such a blind homer that I believe Purdue is actually any good for beating us and b) they have a winning record, and they have a semi-realistic shot at finishing .500, while Purdue will need miracles to do so.
• If Northwestern comes back from 25-point deficit, and that happens during a win over Indiana, does anybody notice?