The Big Ten is kind of upside down early in this strange and abbreviated season.
Indiana is No. 10 and Northwestern No. 23 in the latest AP Top 25. Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Penn State are nowhere to be found.
The last time that foursome of former national championship programs was unranked at the same time was Oct. 13, 2013. Though that season Michigan State would finish No. 3 in the country. The other three were out by the end.
Since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011, there has not been a season in which at least one of those four traditional powers has not finished the season in the Top 25.
That is on the way to changing.
Penn State is now 0-3 having had its streak of 63 straight poll appearances that dated back to mid-October 2016 snapped last week. The Nittany Lions were preseason No. 7.
This week Michigan got the boot after falling to 1-2. The Wolverines are unranked for the first time since the end of the 2017 season after starting the season No. 17.
Expectations were modest for both Nebraska and Michigan State and both have so far lived down to expectations at a combined 1-4. The Spartans have the lone victory. Against Michigan, of course.
Meanwhile, Indiana is poised to be the second-best team in the Big Ten East, which has spent several seasons touting itself as the toughest division in the country based on the strength at the top — Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State.
The Hoosiers (3-0) cracked the AP top 10 for the first time since 1969 after snapping a 24-game losing streak to Michigan.
Northwestern is 3-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2000 and back in the rankings for the first time since it finished in the Top 25 to end 2018.
Which could be the next end-of-the-bench Big Ten team to crack the Top 25? Purdue is 2-0 heading into a pivotal Big Ten West game next week against Northwestern. Maryland has won two straight, including a blowout at Penn State, but the Terrapins host No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday.
Some have been skeptical of Indiana, the Big Ten’s biggest upstart, but with Michigan State on deck for the Hoosiers they could set up a top-10 matchup in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 21 against the Buckeyes.
