Ah, the Big Ten West, widely regarded as the worst division in Power Five history by many. In fact, since its inception in 2014, it is the only division in all of FBS football to not have its representative win the conference championship game. The only team in the division that has a conference championship game victory is the Wisconsin Badgers, holding two, but both were back when the Big Ten was split into Leaders and Legends divisions(the Badgers beat Michigan State in 2011 and Nebraska in 2012). 

This season will be the final year the Big Ten will be split into East and West. Next year, when the conference adds Washington, Oregon, USC and UCLA, the conference championship will be between the top two teams. This season, however , the Western division seems to be par for the course so far. Three teams are tied in second place 10 weeks into the season and six games into conference play, and six of the seven teams have a shot at making it to the title game in Indianapolis. 

Just like past years, the Western division is substantially worse than the East, as the third ranked team in the East, Penn State, has a better conference record and overall record than every single team in the West. Today, I am going to break down each team in the West, where they stand and what they have to do to make it to the title game and hope to be the first and last team from the West to be the Big Ten champions.

The first team I am going to look at is Iowa. They have a relatively easy path to the championship, and after Minnesota’s loss to Illinois last week, have control over their own destiny. However, the margin for error is very small. The remainder of their schedule includes Rutgers, Illinois and then Nebraska on the road. On paper, this seems like a pretty clear-cut path, and they should be the favorite to make it 

There’s one  problem; Iowa always seems to mess it up. In 2021, Iowa was 10-2, but because of a blowout loss to Wisconsin, they had to hope that Wisconsin would lose in the final week, and luckily, the Badgers did to Minnesota. They made it to the title game, but lost by 39. 

Last season, they looked to repeat. They won five straight games heading into the final week of the regular season, and all they had to do was beat a 3-8 Nebraska team at home. 

They did not. The Huskers won 24-17, letting Purdue into the championship. 

There is one other glaring problem with this Iowa team: the offense is gut-wrenchingly horrible. They are 133rd out of 133 teams in yards per game, 131st in passing yards, 110th in passing yards, and 118th in points per game at only 19.5. Their defense is really the only thing keeping them afloat as they are sixth in the country in points per game allowed at 14.5. If they slip up, they will be behind Minnesota and if that slip up comes to Nebraska, pending they all have the same conference record, they would be behind Nebraska as well as the Golden Gophers. For full divisional tiebreakers, click here. While Iowa looks like the favorite to win the Big Ten West, the question is can they close out the year?

Next up is Minnesota. Currently, the Gophers are tied with Wisconsin and Nebraska for second place in the division. Last week, they were tied with Iowa as well and all four were tied for first, but losing to Illinois for the third straight year put a major wrench in their path to the Big Ten title game. On paper, making it to the title is very simple for them. All they have to do is win out and have Iowa drop a game. 

While this seems very simple, they probably have the hardest remaining schedule of any Big Ten West team. This upcoming weekend they go on the road to play Purdue who, while in last place in the division, is a slight favorite. After that they have to go on the road to play Ohio State who is ranked number one in the country and has not lost a home game to a western opponent since the inception of the divisions. This game will most certainly be a loss. After that they host Wisconsin who is having a down year at only 5-4, but is still very much in contention for the divisional title and is most likely looking for revenge from the last two years of losses. The Gophers path is quite easy on paper, but it is much much easier said than done.

Next up is Nebraska. Oh, good old Nebraska, widely considered one of the major blue bloods in the history of college football, has had an incredible fall from grace. The Huskers won three national championships in the span of four years from 1994-1997. Fast forward over 25 years, and the Huskers have the longest bowl game drought in the Power Five having not made the postseason since 2016. 

Now, the Huskers are 5-4, and are one win away from bowl eligibility, but they have a chance at doing even more being tied for second place and with a high chance of making their first Big Ten championship since 2012. After starting 0-2, Nebraska has won five of their last seven games with their only losses being to Michigan and Michigan State and not having a divisional loss since their week one loss to Minnesota. Their loss last weekend to a Michigan State team that had lost six straight put a bump in the road to Indianapolis, but their path is not impossible. 

Firstly, they need Minnesota to lose at least one more game, but as stated before, they still have Ohio State on the schedule, which would be a historic upset if they won. After that, there are many different scenarios in which they could make the title game, but winning out is their best bet. This weekend they have to play Maryland, whom they have never lost to and beat 54-7 the last time they played. Then they travel to Wisconsin, whom they have not beaten since 2012, and then finally, host rival Iowa. Nebraska has a very strong defense only allowing over 20 in one conference game, which was their abysmal 45-7 loss to Michigan. Their biggest problem at the moment is ball security. They lead the nation in fumbles lost at 12 and have the most turnovers at an astounding 22. While they have looked more impressive than most have expected this year, their main problem the last few years is closing out games with a whopping 24 one-score losses in the last six years. They are 1-2 in one-score games this year. While they do have a difficult path to the title game with every team left on the schedule having a winning record, they are still very much alive for their first trip to the title game in 11 years. 

The Wisconsin Badgers have more Big Ten West titles than any other team, but have struggled as of recently, not having made it to the title game since 2019. While they sit with Nebraska and Minnesota at 3-3 in conference play, they face a much harder road than their rivals at winning the West under first year head coach Luke Fickell. 

Firstly, like a lot of other Big Ten teams, they have a strong defense, but struggle on offense. They have only scored more that 24 once in conference play, and it has cost them quite a few games. In their three losses, they only allowed an average of 19.7 points, but they only scored an average of 10. This is especially considering they have one of the best running back and quarterback duos in the country, at least on paper. Running back Braelon Allen was phenomenal the last two seasons, hitting over 1,200 yards the last two seasons, but is on pace to just barely break 1,000 yards this season, even with a bowl game. On top of that, he is being utilized much less as last season he was getting nearly 18 carries per game, while now, he is getting just over 14. 

Quarterback Tanner Mordecai transferred in from SMU after back to back 3,500+ yard seasons and 33+ touchdown passes. He also had a game last season with nine touchdown passes against Houston. This year, he only has 1,127 yards and three passing touchdown passes, a staggering drop in production. 

This lack of offense has put the Badgers behind the 8-ball to make the Big Ten championship. Firstly, they need Iowa to lose at least two of their last three. That is going to be a difficult thing to bank on, as the Hawkeyes have two more home games and have a better record than all of their final opponents. Even if Iowa does lose twice more, the best bet for the Badgers is to win out. While they are as good if not better than all of the other teams on their schedule from here on out, they were also supposed to be better than Indiana and Washington State, both teams they lost to. They play Northwestern this weekend, who has won exactly every other game this season, and if that pattern continues, the Wildcats will get the win, then they play Nebraska, and then after that have to go on the road to play rival Minnesota who has won the last two over them. The Badgers are not completely out of the race, but it will be difficult.

Moving into the final two teams vying for a spot, getting either of the teams from the Land of Lincoln will cause an incredible amount of chaos. After a 1-11 season and a tumultuous off season plagued with controversy that ultimately led to the firing of long time head coach Pat Fitzgerald in mid July, the thought of Northwestern sitting at 4-5 with a path to the Big Ten title game was absolutely absurd, but alas, here they stand. The Wildcats need a lot of chaos and have absolutely no margin for error, but they have the opportunity to reach Indianapolis for the third time. 

First and foremost, they have to win out. Their hardest game left on the schedule is on the road at Wisconsin this Saturday. They opened as an 11-point underdog, but if they win there, the rest of their schedule is relatively easy, as they host last place Purdue and then go on the road to play second to last place Illinois. This would put the Wildcats at 7-5 overall and 5-4 in conference play, but despite all that, they would still need a lot to happen. 

Firstly, they need Minnesota to lose at least one more game to get them to 5-4 or worse. Northwestern would have the tiebreaker over them as they beat them earlier in the year. After that, they would need Iowa to lose out. As stated before, the rest of their schedule is relatively easy, and banking on them losing all three games is a lot to bank on. After that, they would need Nebraska to lose to Maryland, lose to Wisconsin and beat Iowa. This scenario would put Iowa and Nebraska both at 4-5 in conference play below Northwestern. Then, and only then, would Northwestern be able to claim the title of Big Ten West champions.

Finally is the Illinois Fighting Illini. Illinois was the frontrunner in the West for the majority of last season starting the year 7-1, but three straight losses after that derailed them, and they ended up in second place. This year, they sit at a measly 4-5 so far and 2-4 in conference play, but there is still a path for them to make the Big Ten title game, albeit very slim. 

First off, they would have to win out. They have Indiana, Iowa and Northwestern left on the schedule, so winning out is definitely a possibility. After that, they still need some help. Next, they would need Nebraska to lose two of their final three games of the year to give Illinois a better conference record. They would also need Wisconsin to lose two of their last three to give the Illini a better record than them. On top of that, they would need Iowa to lose to either Rutgers or Nebraska on top of the loss they would take to Illinois. After that, they would also need Nebraska to lose two of their final games of the season. While they do not have as hard and fast of a path as Northwestern does, they also need a lot of chaos to make it to their first Big Ten title game. 

While Purdue does not have a path to the championship, they do have a chance to force what I like to call the nuclear scenario: a case where everyone loses. There is still a possibility in which all seven teams would finish the season 4-5 in conference play and be tied for first place. 

Here is how it would have to play out each week of the rest of the year. In week 11, Illinois would have to take down Indiana, avenging their loss from last year. Then, Nebraska would have to take their first ever loss against Maryland. Purdue would have to win at home against Minnesota and then Northwestern would have to go on the road and beat the Wisconsin Badgers for the first time since 2020. Finally, Rutgers would have to win for the first time ever against Iowa. Moving on to week 12, Purdue would need to string together a second win and beat Northwestern in Evanston. Then, Ohio State would need to get what should be an easy win against Minnesota. Then, Wisconsin would need to make it ten straight wins versus the Huskers and Illinois would have to win back to back games against Iowa for the first time since 1999-2000. 

Moving on to rivalry weekend, a few more things would have to happen. Firstly, Nebraska would have to take down Iowa for back to back seasons for the first time since 2011-2012. Then, Purdue would have to string together their third straight win of the season over Indiana. After that, Northwestern would need to go on the road and win back the Land of Lincoln trophy. And finally, Minnesota would need to beat Wisconsin for the third straight year to retain Paul Bunyan’s Axe.

If this were to happen, the tiebreakers would go all the way down to which team has the best record within the division. In this case, Illinois would be 2-4 in the West. Purdue, Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Minnesota would be 3-3, and Nebraska would be 4-2, punching them a ticket to the Big Ten title game. 

This conference may not be the best in America, not even close, but it very well could be the most entertaining.