Wisconsin is atop the Big Ten West thanks to the refs in Iowa City

Wisconsin is atop the Big Ten West thanks to the refs in Iowa City:

Wisconsin found a late win at Illinois on Saturday to improve to 5-2 on the season and 3-1 in Big Ten play. The win was not dominant by any means but it did the job of keeping the Badgers alive in the West.

The Iowa loss is still a killer given the Hawkeyes having the tiebreaker over the Badgers. But what Iowa also has is an incompetent offense that gives the team a chance to lose to anybody.

We saw that on Saturday. Iowa lost to Minnesota 12-10 to fall to 3-2 in conference play. Believe it or not, Wisconsin now leads the Big Ten West.

The craziest part here is how Iowa’s loss occurred. The Hawkeyes totaled 127 yards in the contest and only two yards in the second half. They had the single most pathetic second-half drive chart I’ve ever seen:

But the defense, per usual, had the team in the game. Then with Minnesota punting from its own 17 yard-line with 1:41 left in the game, chaos ensued:

The miraculous play by star Cooper Dejean was overturned, however. The refs deemed Dejean gave an illegal fair catch signal before picking up the ball.

This is a situation Wisconsin fans are familiar with, as the same thing happened to the Badgers in a 2015 contest against Northwestern:

Whether it was the correct call or not, the decision handed Iowa its second conference loss and moved Wisconsin into first place in the Big Ten West. The Badgers owe a thank you note to the referees in Iowa City.

Now Wisconsin just needs to pull an improbable upset against Ohio State this Saturday in Madison. If it somehow happens, the division is all-but theirs.