Michigan Rises In Week Five Rankings

The Week Five AP and USA Today Coaches’ polls were released earlier this week and six Big Ten teams were fortunate enough to make the cut at least in one of the polls. Purdue and Michigan led the way in both polls, with the two teams going first and second in the Coaches’ Poll. Michigan State was also firmly in the top 10.

Here is where the Big Ten landed:

Week Five AP Poll:

• No. 1 – Purdue (40)

• No. 3 – Michigan (15)

• No. 7 – Michigan State

• No. 14 – Illinois

• No. 22 – Indiana

• No. 24 – USC

• Receiving Votes: Iowa, UCLA, Nebraska, Wisconsin

Week Five USA Today Coaches’ Poll:

• No. 1 – Purdue (21)

• No. 2 – Michigan (6)

• No. 8 – Michigan State

• No. 15 – Illinois

• No. 19 – Indiana

• No. 25 – Iowa

• Receiving Votes: USC, UCLA, Nebraska, Wisconsin

Overall, the league continues to trend upward. Purdue remained atop the polls and Michigan shot up the rankings after its performance in Vegas. Michigan State also moved just outside of the top five in both polls and it won’t be shocking to see the Spartans jump into that range with another successful week or two. Of course, getting three teams in the top five would be a pretty impressive achievement for the conference.

The league’s representation near the bottom of the top 25 was also encouraging. Indiana continues to trend up and USC and Iowa moved into at least one of the polls as well. The Trojans also have a lot of upside. According to KenPom, the team looks poised to five more before facing its first uphill battle in early January on the road against Michigan. That kind of streak could certainly put USC in position to crack the top 15.

The only real rough spots were Illinois, UCLA, and Wisconsin. Illinois dropped after a tough loss to UConn and the Bruins fell out of the top 25 after a tough loss to Cal. The Badgers also fell near the bottom of the receiving votes category after a few disappointing performances. We’ll have to wait and see if these three can turn it around. If the league is going to hit its full potential, it feels like one needs to be a bit higher.

All told, if the Big Ten is going to make a mark in March, it will need to keep things rolling. The good news is the conference gets a ton of quality opponents this week, so there are opportunities galore.