Wisconsin remains the Big Ten West favorite in ESPN SP+’s Week 4 rankings

Wisconsin is miles ahead of the rest of the West:

Wisconsin played its best game of the young season Friday night, defeating Purdue 38-17 to improve to 1-0 in Big Ten play.

The win improved Badgers fans’ outlook for the rest of the year and Big Ten West race. It did also, however, see the team fall a few spots in ESPN SP+’s Week 4 ranking.

Wisconsin entered the matchup ranked No. 25 in the Week 3 ranking, with the No. 44-ranked offense and No. 15 defense. After the convincing victory, the team now sits at No. 27 overall, with the nation’s No. 39-ranked offense and No. 18 defense.

Related: Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 4: The Big Ten West is really, really, bad

The Badgers do remain the clear favorites to win the Big Ten West, however. They remain ranked behind the three top Big Ten teams of Michigan (No. 1), Ohio State (No. 3) and Penn State (No. 10), but sit far ahead of the closest West contender Iowa at No. 39.

Wisconsin is off this week before returning home for an interesting crossover matchup with a pesky Rutgers team. Then the schedule heats up, with critical games upcoming against Illinois, Iowa and Ohio State.