Gophers are having a better season than most of their old Big Ten West foes

When the Big Ten expanded to 18 teams this season, the conference got rid of its divisional system, which from 2014 through 2023 had an East-West alignment. The setup resulted in the East champion winning those 10 Big Ten Championship Games by an average score of 35-15.

The lopsidedness of the East-West format was a constant target of criticism by coaches and administrators from East programs. After all, the East’s second- and third-place team regularly could argue that they were better than the West champ.

By dropping the division format, the Big Ten now will have the top two teams by conference record advance to the title game.

But what if the Big Ten had kept the East-West format? What would the race for Indianapolis look like now? Those are questions with complicated answers because of the additions of Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington to the conference. It creates some apples-to-oranges comparisons because the schedules aren’t balanced. Ohio State, for example, plays three of the West Coast newcomers this season while Indiana plays two and Illinois plays only one.

There can, however, be some general observations regarding teams, and this will focus on the Gophers and how they’re faring in regard to their formal West rivals.

With 4-2 Big Ten records, Iowa and the Gophers sit atop the Defunct West standings, with the Hawkeyes owning the tiebreaker based on their 31-14 win over Minnesota. Tied for third at 3-3 in conference play are Illinois and Wisconsin. Nebraska and Northwestern are tied for fifth, at 2-4, and Purdue sits last at 0-5.

For the Gophers, at 6-3 overall, this season in many ways resembles their 2021 and 2022 campaigns, when they finished in a second-place tie, one game behind the division winner. In 2021, had the Gophers (9-4, 6-3) flipped a 27-22 loss at Iowa into a win and all other results held, they would have won the West and played in the Big Ten Championship Game. In 2022, Minnesota (9-4, 5-4) would have won the West and played in Indianapolis had it flipped the result of a 20-10 loss to Purdue.

The Gophers play only three of their former West rivals this season, and they are 1-1 so far, with the loss to Iowa, last week’s win at Illinois and the Nov. 29 season finale at Wisconsin remaining. Iowa is 3-0 vs. the Defunct West and finishes at home against Nebraska on Nov. 29. Wisconsin has five former West foes on its schedule, while Illinois, Northwestern and Purdue have four each.

Iowa, the Gophers and Illinois have reached six wins and bowl eligibility, and Nebraska and Wisconsin need one more win. The Huskers and Badgers meet Nov. 23 in Lincoln, so one is guaranteed a sixth win.

Nebraska travels to USC on Nov. 16 and finishes at home against Iowa. Wisconsin is host to No. 1 Oregon on Nov. 16 and finishes at home against the Gophers on Nov. 29. Northwestern needs two wins and plays Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois.

By the way, the Defunct East division of the Big Ten still is producing title contenders. Upstart Indiana is 9-0, while Ohio State and Penn State are 7-1. Those three, plus top-ranked Oregon, are in line to play in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Big Ten bowl projections

Through the end of the season, I’ll have a weekly look at the Big Ten’s bowl picture. Here’s how things might shake out:

College Football Playoff: Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, Penn State

Citrus Bowl (Dec. 31, Orlando): Illinois vs. Alabama

ReliaQuest Bowl (Dec. 31, Tampa): Iowa vs. South Carolina

Music City Bowl (Dec. 30, Nashville): Gophers vs. LSU

Duke’s Mayo (Jan. 3, Charlotte): Michigan vs. Louisville

Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 28, New York): Wisconsin vs. Syracuse

Rate Bowl (Dec. 26, Phoenix): Nebraska vs. Baylor

GameAbove Sports Bowl (Dec. 26, Detroit): Michigan State vs. Western Michigan

Sun Bowl (Dec. 31, El Paso): USC vs. Virginia Tech

LA Bowl (Dec. 18, Inglewood, Calif.): Washington vs. UNLV