If you were trying write the perfect Wisconsin script for week one in the 2020 Big Ten, you could just follow what actually happened. The Badgers not only opened their season in dominant fashion with a 45-7 win over Illinois, but nearly every Big Ten West result they could hope for went their way.
Minnesota looked like a shell of their 2019 edition, with special teams issues leading the way in a 49-24 loss at home to Michigan. Iowa played, well, non-Iowa like football. A Kirk Ferentz-led team beat themselves in a 24-20 loss at Purdue, which is not something you say every week. If such a thing is possible given the final score, Nebraska actually looked improved in a 52-17 loss at the NFL team that plays in Columbus, Ohio. Oh, and the “second-best team in the Big Ten” heading into the year according to many? Enter the length of Michael Penix Jr’s right arm and an Indiana football program that is building something special in Bloomington:
UNREAL ENDING IN BLOOMINGTON! 😲
The OT 2-point conversion came down to the closest of margins, and @IndianaFootball gets its first Top 10 win since 1987! pic.twitter.com/Zo6Mty0RpK
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 24, 2020
The recipe for a happy Badger fan? A blowout Wisconsin win, a lopsided Minnesota loss, an expectedly lopsided Nebraska loss, and Iowa fumbling away a win in West Lafayette. Wisconsin sits in their rightful drivers seat in the Big Ten West heading into week two at Nebraska.