big ten rankings

From Rivals.com, with national rank in parentheses:

1. Ohio State (9)

The national champion surprisingly did not land a five-star, but its 14 four-stars (including Cretin-Derham Hall's Jashon Cornell) make up a huge haul.

2. Penn State (15)

James Franklin can recruit, we know that much. Eleven four-star gets for the coach approaching his second year in Happy Valley.

3. Michigan State (22)

The Spartans' haul includes LJ Scott, considered one of the nation's top running back prospects. "When we came here back in 2007, the reality of the situation was that we were selling hopes," coach Mark Dantonio said. "It's to a point now where we're selling results."

4. Nebraska (31)

New coach Mike Riley retained most of the players who verbally committed to Bo Pelini's staff. Two of the biggest names were top-25 cornerbacks Eric Lee and Avery Anderson, both from Colorado.

5. Wisconsin (37)

Bucky might want to be higher than fifth, but there's this small victory: Four four-stars for Wisconsin, zero for its neighbor to the west.

6. Illinois (45)

The Illini added the highest-rated signing class since Tim Beckman became coach before the 2012 season.

7. Indiana (48)

The biggest impact for coach Kevin Wilson could come from two players already on campus: running back Jordan Howard and receiver Marqui Hawkins, both transfers from Alabama-Birmingham, which dropped its program.

8. Michigan (49)

Wolverines were in last place in the Big Ten going into Wednesday, when a big final day from Jim Harbaugh's bunch launched the school to No. 8. The six four-star recruits is the third-highest total in the conference.

9. Minnesota (51)

Dropped two conference places on Wednesday when the Gophers missed on Jamal Milan (Illinois) and the Illini and Michigan scored some surprises.

10. Rutgers (52)

Coach Kyle Flood took the advice of fellow Big Ten coaches and added a lot of beef, signing nine linemen.

11. Maryland (54)

Eager to build a physical team that can be a consistent winner in the Big Ten, coach Randy Edsall signed nine linemen — six on offense, three on defense.

12. Northwestern (55)

The Wildcats added a 20-player signing class that is heavy on defense as they try to bounce back from consecutive losing seasons.

13. Iowa (58)

The fall continues for the program that ranked fourth and landed four four-star players in 2011.

14. Purdue (68)

Last by a relative mile, the Boilermakers pulled only 12 three-star recruits.

Staff, Associated Press, Rivals.com