There are only two weeks left in the season, and 4 (!) teams are still very much alive in the race for the Big Ten West title:
Wisconsin 7-3 (5-2): This is the hottest contender on the list, in my opinion. Despite a rocky start to the season, they are hitting their stride at the right time and are in control of their destiny when it comes to another potential trip to Indianapolis. Their remaining schedule is, to my eye, the most difficult of the four on this list as they finish at home against better-than-their-record Nebraska and then go on the road against fellow contender Minnesota. Wisconsin should win both, but it has been a weird enough year that it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see them drop one or both games (and save us from an all-too-familiar CCG matchup).
Iowa 8-2 (5-2): After getting knocked off their #2 perch by Purdue and then losing at Wisconsin, Iowa has rebounded with hard-fought wins against Northwestern and Minnesota to stay in the thick of things in the West. Their remaining games against Illinois and at Nebraska shouldn’t pose much difficulty on paper, but Illinois has caught Nebraska, Penn State, and Minnesota sleeping this year, and as I stated earlier, Nebraska has only been a play or two away from winning every week.
Minnesota 6-4 (4-3): I don’t expect great things from this Minnesota team, but they are technically still alive, and should be able to build some momentum this week against a bad Indiana team before finishing with Wisconsin at home. That game could determine the whole race, and goodness knows the weather could play a major factor in that one.
Purdue 6-4 (4-3): We should all be pretty familiar with these guys after the past week, but they have an extremely favorable remaining schedule with only games at Northwester and home against Indiana left. If our Buckeyes didn’t beat every drop of spirit out of them, they should ride comfortably to an 8-4 finish, which could be good enough, depending on how the other chips fall.
So what do you think? Who will end up in Indy to face the champions of the East? Who do you want to face if Ohio State takes care of business?
