4. The Really Big Thing Was …
The Big Ten race is going to be super-funky – at least outside of the big dog up top.
Michigan looked and played like a real, live top contender against Minnesota to start the season, and Michigan State got trucked by fricking Rutgers.
You’re almost certainly full of hoo-ha if you saw Michigan State going from being a 20ish point underdog to actually winning in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
After the first weekend it looked like Maryland would give Kansas a big push for Worst Power Five Team In The World honors, and then the offense was unstoppable late with an epic comeback to beat Minnesota.
So now what?
No, 2-0 Indiana isn’t going to win the East, and 2-0 Purdue isn’t going to win the West, and 2-0 Northwestern is … maybe.
Northwestern might just have the team and the path to get back to the Big Ten Championship for the second time in three years after its win over Iowa.
No, Michigan isn’t totally out of it. It can still run the table, but that loss to MSU and the problems with the running game and secondary weren’t a plus.
No, Penn State isn’t going to rebound from its bad start to win the Big Ten, but it’s better than it gets credit for considering it’s a millimeter against Indiana from being 1-1 and still alive for a whole slew of big things.
Iowa and Minnesota went from being sneaky-interesting contenders for the Big Ten West to all but done, and then there’s the Wisconsin problem. It’s almost certainly the best team in the division by a mile, but can it even field a healthy team going forward?
If the Badgers don’t get fine fast, then in the span of just nine days the Big Ten race is over.
The Big Ten championship matchup is set. It’s between Ohio State vs. not suffering an outbreak of the coronavirus.
– Winners & Loses From Week 9
– Most Overrated Thing
– Most Underrated Thing
– What It All Means, Week 9