The crux of the Big Ten is season upon us.

After a Week 4 that included several conference matchups, coaches and players are gearing up for another weekend.

Teams still have every opportunity to establish themselves this early in the season, but the fates of some programs are becoming more apparent.

Wisconsin might be a College Football Playoff contender. Michigan isn’t as good as once believed. It’s a lot to keep track of, but The Daily Iowan is keeping tabs on the biggest news in the Big Ten.

Dust settles in Madison

The premier game of Week 4 in the Big Ten wasn’t too exciting.

Wisconsin toyed around with the Michigan defense in the first half, putting up 28 points and blanking the Wolverine offense before winning 35-14.

Jonathan Taylor shows Heisman Trophy-level talent again this season. Taylor put up 203 yards on 23 carries with 2 touchdowns, including a 72-yard score against the Wolverines.

“We are fortunate to have a guy like [him], everyone knows that,” Badger head coach Paul Chryst said after the game. “But if we’re going to be the best offense we can be, it’s going to take a lot more than that. I thought guys stepped in and stepped up. And I’m not just talking about the running backs, all across the board, it was good.”

On the flip side, the Michigan offense has a lot of work to do. It cycled through three different quarterbacks in the loss after benching Shea Patterson at halftime and second-stringer Dylan McCaffrey sustained an injury in the third quarter.

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Michigan quarterbacks Joe Milton and Patterson each threw an interception in the action. The Wolverines also fumbled the ball twice, while the Badgers managed to escape the game without a turnover. Despite the trouble, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh announced Patterson will start for the Wolverines this weekend in the team’s matchup against Rutgers.

Fitzgerald responds to criticism, ready for Badgers

Northwestern lost to No. 25 Michigan State in Week 4, and Wildcat fans are questioning the team’s game plans ahead of its meeting with No. 8 Wisconsin this weekend.

When asked about his critics on social media, Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald responded in typical Fitzgerald fashion.

“Yeah, I go into every game plan expecting it to work,” Fitzgerald said. “To be quite honest with you, I understand there are 40,000 experts on Twitter that can call plays for me. My email address is hashtag I don’t care. So, shoot that out.”

The Big Ten slate is a gauntlet, so Northwestern does not have room to stew. With a date with the No. 8 Badgers in Madison this weekend, the Wildcats are being realistic about Taylor and the Badger offense.

“I don’t think you’re going to stop him,” Fitzgerald said. “If I had a Heisman vote right now, he’s getting my vote.”

Northwestern has had questionable running defense at certain points this early season. The defense gave up 210 yards and 2 touchdowns to UNLV in Week 2. Figuring out a way to stop Taylor will be a definite exclamation point for the Wildcats in practice this week.