BCS Rankings Projections, Week 11: Big Ten Running Out Of Relevant Teams?

The Big Ten appears poised to drop further down the college football pecking order when the updated BCS rankings are released on Sunday evening.

According to the latest SB Nation BCS projections, only the Penn State Nittany Lions and Michigan State Spartans should expect to represent the Big Ten among the Top 15 teams in the BCS rankings. The Nebraska Cornhuskers are expected to fall out of the discussion after dropping a home game to a resolute Northwestern Wildcats squad last night. Meanwhile, the Michigan Wolverines' late rally at Iowa came up short which should knock them out of the BCS rankings conversations.

Penn State actually benefited from not playing yesterday as several top tier Big Ten teams struggled on the field. However, the Nittany Lions had a horrific day off the field yesterday as sex abuse charges against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky have thrown the program into turmoil. But for now the current Penn State team projects to be ranked 12th when the BCS update is released tonight.

Michigan State struggled as well on Saturday but was able to come together and hold off an upset bid at home against a rejuvenated Minnesota Golden Gophers team. The comeback win against the underdog Gophers surely won't give the Spartans much of a bump from pollsters.

Like Michigan State, Ohio State struggled at home against an inferior Indiana team but held on for a win and a chance to crack the Top 25 rankings.