Flip on the TV, and you’ll hear that the Big Ten isn’t what it used to be. As in previous years, member teams have disappointed in nonconference matchups, and the conference is in a “down year” that just won’t end.

Whether the Big Ten is up to the caliber with the SEC or the Big 12 is up for debate, but one thing is clear: the conference isn’t what it used to be, or even what it was a month ago. The balance of power has shifted. Perennial contenders have become cellar-dwellers, while cupcake teams have risen back to national prominence.

Traditional powers Penn State and Ohio State have lived up to their lofty expectations, and the two teams will battle for first place in the conference Saturday. Beyond them, however, few teams have performed as expected this season – particularly Wisconsin.

After a 3-0 start, the Badgers were ranked as high as No. 8 in the polls, but since then they have suffered a downfall that would make the Dow Jones industrials jealous. After blowing a 19-point lead to Michigan one month ago, the Badgers are winless in conference play while being outscored 106-40 in their last three games.

“People within our conference, people within our game of college football have faced these situations, even within a year, how things can change in such a quick amount of time,” head coach Bret Bielema said.

Wisconsin was picked to finish third by the media in July, but now the once-promising Badgers are dead last, along with Indiana and Purdue.

“We’ve had a lot of success based on a lot of good principles, but those things aren’t carrying forward to right now,” Bielema said.

Wisconsin isn’t the only team on the wrong end of the power shuffle.

Michigan’s transition from a pro-style to a spread offense with first-year head coach Rich Rodriguez and a bunch of first-year starters has been rocky at best.

During the preseason, the media weren’t sure what to make of all the new variables and conservatively picked the Wolverines to finish fifth, ahead of Michigan State, Iowa, Northwestern and Minnesota, among others.

But despite upsetting Wisconsin, the Wolverines have largely been considered a disappointment. It suffered a loss to Illinois by a margin that had not been seen since the days of Red Grange. The Wolverines hit bottom by losing at home to Toledo – the school’s first-ever defeat to a team from the Mid-American Conference.

In one year, the program has gone from a perennial national title contender to rebuilding mode.

“Most coaches will tell you in the first year, they expect some bumps in the road, some larger than others,” Rodriguez said. “Honestly, I didn’t expect this many bumps.”

On the flip side, no team in the Big Ten has been more surprising than Minnesota this season.

Coming off a 1-11 debacle in 2007, the Gophers were tabbed to finish last in the conference by the media, but instead earned bowl eligibility in just seven games and stunned Illinois on Homecoming two weeks ago. At 6-1, a team that lost to North Dakota State last year is now in the top 25.

“There is a tremendous amount of positivity about the Gophers out there and the wave we’re riding right now is exciting for our program. It’s exciting for all Minnesotans and is something we’re extremely proud of up until this point,” Brewster said.

For the Illini, though, this year has been a letdown, but not to the extent of Wisconsin’s or Michigan’s seasons. After being named the third-best team in the conference, they have yet to defeat a ranked team, and losses to Penn State and the Gophers likely ended their title hopes.

Their biggest move in the conference came last year, when the Illini finished tied for second, ending a four-year streak at the bottom of the standings.

With all the unpredictability in the Big Ten, Ron Zook has been very careful not to write off the Badgers on Saturday.

Zook called last year’s upset of then-No. 5 Wisconsin “the most physical game (he’s) been involved in for a number of years” and, while the Badgers have looked nothing like the team they were expected to be this year, he stressed that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

“There is no reason to think it won’t be the same kind of game,” Zook said. “When you go to a Big Ten stadium and play against a team that is backed into the corner a little bit, you better have everything going as well as you can have it going.”