B1G-E:
I'll do this one first because it appears to be pretty simple and pretty boring. Based on our power rankings this appears to be at most a three-team race so the decisive games are most likely limited to:
- Penn State at Michigan on October 15
- Ohio State at Penn State on October 29
- Michigan at Ohio State on November 26
They each have one home game and one road game but the Buckeyes have what appears to be a fairly large advantage in hosting THE GAME.
B1G-W:
Minnesota appears to be the obvious favorite but I think we should be careful not to read too much into one game. Maybe MSU just sucks, or maybe MN just had a really good game in East Lansing. Nobody is out of the running. Here are the B1G-W teams in our Power Rankings:
#4 Minnesota 1-0/4-0:
The Gophers host Iowa but they travel to both Madison and Champaign and they still have a cross-over game in Happy Valley. I like their chances but I wouldn't book travel and accommodations for Indianapolis just yet.
#6 Iowa 1-0/3-1:
The Hawkeyes host Wisconsin but they travel to both Minneapolis and Champaign and they have two tough cross-over games remaining (vs M this weekend, attOSU on 10/22). Their defense and special teams are so good that I wouldn't count them out of even the games against tOSU and M but their offense is so bad that I wouldn't consider anything on their schedule to be a lock.
#7 Wisconsin 0-1/2-2:
The Badgers travel to Iowa City but they host both the Gophers and the Illini and their remaining cross over games are manageable games against UMD and MSU.
#8 Illinois 0-1/3-1:
If the Illini can catch Wisconsin just right and win in Madison this weekend they could be a serious contender in the West. Their other two divisional road games are against the worst two teams in the league and while they still have to go to Ann Arbor their other remaining cross over is at home against MSU. The next three weeks will tell us everything we need to know about Illinois as they have the Gophers, Hawkeyes, and Badgers in those three games.
#9 Purdue 0-1/2-2:
That close home loss to PSU hurts a lot. Their remaining cross over games are at Maryland and the season-ending rivalry in Bloomington so they could still end up 2-1 against the B1G-E but they'll have to. They host the Hawkeyes but travel to Minneapolis, Madison, and Champaign so they don't have much margin for error.
#13/14 tie NU 1-0/2-2:
The Wildcats look so bad that it seems silly to discuss them here but until they take a couple of league losses I'm not ready to count "even year Northwestern" out of things.
#13/14 tie UNL 0-1/2-2:
The Cornhuskers aren't out yet but they'll need to improve a lot. They travel to Iowa City but host the Gophers, Badgers, and Illini so maybe? They have a tough cross over in Ann Arbor but their other two are potentially winnable games in Piscataway next week and at home against the Hoosiers this weekend.
