When the rubber FieldTurf pellets settled across the Big Ten's football landscape on the first Saturday night of November, the picture in the West Division remained a puzzle. Four teams are knotted atop the division with 4-2 conference records, making the final three weeks of the regular season a free-for-all for the coveted trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.
Gophers loss leaves a four-team logjam atop Big Ten West
Minnesota is tied with Iowa, Purdue and Wisconsin, and those four teams will battle it out for a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.
November 8, 2021 at 12:39AM
"Everything's in front of us, but there's four teams in the West that everything's in front of them,'' Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said.
The Gophers, who entered Saturday with a 4-1 Big Ten record, contributed to the chaos by losing 14-6 at home to Illinois, a 14½-point underdog. After Wisconsin routed Rutgers, Iowa edged Northwestern and Purdue stunned Michigan State, the quartet of Gophers, Badgers, Hawkeyes and Boilermakers share the lead at 4-2. Each has a path to Indianapolis, but only Minnesota and Wisconsin control their own destiny to make it. Iowa and Purdue would need some help.
Here's a look at the four teams tied for the lead:
Purdue
Record: 6-3, 4-2 Big Ten
Remaining games: Saturday at Ohio State, Nov. 20 at Northwestern, Nov. 27 vs. Indiana
Breakdown: The Boilermakers pulled off their second top-five upset of the season, beating No. 3 Michigan State 40-29. That followed their 24-7 pounding of then-No. 2 Iowa three weeks ago. As impressive as those wins were, Purdue needs help in the division because it has losses to both Wisconsin and the Gophers and would lose head-to-head tiebreakers to both teams. The Boilermakers would need to finish a game ahead of those two to win the division title.
Iowa
Record: 7-2, 4-2
Remaining games: Saturday vs. Gophers, Nov. 20 vs. Illinois, Nov. 26 at Nebraska
Breakdown: The Hawkeyes appeared to be College Football Playoff contenders after winning their first seven games, a run built on the strength of a plus-14 turnover margin. Reality, however, struck in losses to Purdue and Wisconsin by a combined 51-14. That puts Iowa in tiebreaker trouble with both those teams. Their path to Indy most likely would need a 3-0 finish, plus losses by the Badgers and Boilermakers.
Wisconsin
Record: 6-3, 4-2
Remaining schedule: Saturday vs. Northwestern, Nov. 20 vs. Nebraska, Nov. 27 at Gophers
Breakdown: After a 1-3 start that included two Big Ten defeats to Penn State and Michigan and a nonconference loss to Notre Dame, the Badgers have won four consecutive conference games by a combined 131-23. They're looking like the West's most dangerous team right now, with a shut-down defense and an offense that's running over opponents and hiding its passing limitations. A 3-0 finish lands Wisconsin in Indy, and the Badgers still can get there with a 2-1 mark in a tiebreaker situation as long as they beat the Gophers.
Gophers
Record: 6-3, 4-2
Remaining schedule: Saturday at Iowa, Nov. 20 at Indiana, Nov. 27 vs. Wisconsin
Breakdown: The loss to Illinois took away any cushion the Gophers had over their three pursuers, and now their division hopes rest largely on their ability to win at Iowa for the first time since 1999 and to beat Wisconsin for only the second time in the past 18 meetings. A 3-0 finish puts them in Indy. If the Gophers beat Iowa and Wisconsin but lose to Indiana, they would win any tiebreaker at 6-3 in the Big Ten because they'd have wins over the Hawkeyes, Badgers and Boilermakers.
The Gophers scored three goals in the first period and went on to win their ninth game in a row.
