Iowa’s hopes of winning the Big Ten West are next to gone, but that doesn’t mean the Hawkeyes don’t have anything to play for in their final three games.

Instead of a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship that would still be much more in the picture if Iowa found a way to complete its comeback against Wisconsin on Saturday, the Hawkeyes will now focus on the task in front of them, which includes two trophy games against Minnesota and Nebraska.

“We sit here [Saturday], we’re 6-3,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We’ve had three really tough, hard-fought, close losses to what appear to be good football teams. That’s disappointing, but we’re going to have to move on. We’re going to have to move on to figure out what we can do to play better and get back in the winner’s circle.”

There’s a big difference between a 9-3 team and an 8-4 team. There’s an even bigger difference between an 8-4 team and a 7-5 team.

Iowa is now 1-1 on trophy games this season after downing Iowa State 18-17 in an instant classic to claim the Cy-Hawk Trophy on Sept. 14 before dropping the Heartland Trophy — a brass bull — against Wisconsin on Saturday.

Despite the loss to the Badgers, Iowa showed signs of life toward the end of the game, scoring 16 points in the final quarter to pull within two.

Although the Hawkeyes failed the ensuing two-point conversion that would have tied the game, the determination they showed in the comeback effort could translate to the rest of the season.

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“We wanted to bring the bull back to Iowa City,” offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs said. “But 24-22, tough way to lose. We had that big surge of energy at the end of the game. That got everybody going. That was exciting. I hate to sound like a broken record, but [we have to] move past it.”

Each team Iowa faces for the rest of the season poses its challenges. After setting itself up for a run to Lucas Oil Stadium, the Hawkeyes are now trying to avoid an embarrassing crumble as the season winds to an end.

The Golden Gophers, who Iowa will play for the Floyd of Rosedale, haven’t lost the brass pig since 2014, and Minnesota hasn’t toppled Iowa in Kinnick since 1999. Coming off a big home win over then-No. 5 Penn State, the Gophers will look to stretch their record to 10-0.

Illinois has been one of the hottest teams in the Big Ten as of late, reaching bowl eligibility with a win over Michigan State on Saturday for the first time since 2014, which was two Illini head coaches ago.

Finally, Nebraska will be looking to avenge its four-straight Heroes Game losses to the Hawkeyes. With a 4-5 record that includes a 2-4 mark in conference play, the Huskers will attempt to get back to national relevancy in their regular-season finale.

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With the two trophy games coming against three teams looking to knock Iowa off, the Hawkeyes still have plenty to play for.

“We know we still have a great opportunity,” Iowa kicker Keith Duncan said. “We have three games left for sure to end the season, and we can be 9-3. That’s our goal right now. That’s what we strive to be… The best we can be next week is 7-3, and that’s our goal.”