The Big Ten saw two teams drop out of the national polls this week; only to be replaced by two different teams. The Michigan Wolverines, who were on the cusp of the rankings last week, entered for the first time this college football season at #22.
Fresh off their 31-3 pasting of their little sister Eastern Michigan from slightly down the road, the Wolverines will take on their mentor’s former employer in the San Diego State Aztecs. Let the Brady Hoke Bowl begin.
And the Illinois Fighting Illini, who came in with zero total votes in both polls the previous week checked in at #24. Their HUGE win over #18 Arizona State.
The last Illini win over a ranked team had been 2007 at #1 Ohio State.
And the Buckeyes had been ranked in the top 20, before embarrassing themselves at Miami. Their offense looked putrid; especially the quarterback play. So don’t expect them back anytime soon.
The Spartans fell out too, from the #15 spot after falling at Notre Dame on Saturday. This defeat was a setback, but did they out-gain the Fighting Irish, and didn’t look like a team that needed to fall out of the rankings.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site that generates millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
He does regular weekly radio spots in Chicago and Cleveland and has appeared on live shows all across the world from Houston to New Zealand. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.