Examining the four-way tie atop the Big Ten West
Four teams, including Iowa, are tied at the top of the division with three weeks remaining in the regular season.
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz talks with Iowa fullback Turner Pallissard before a football game between No. 19 Iowa and Northwestern at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois, on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021. The Hawkeyes defeated the Wildcats 17-12.
November 10, 2021
The Big Ten West is, well, complicated.
Iowa is one of four teams at the top of the Big Ten West with three weeks remaining in the regular season. Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue, and Wisconsin are all 4-2 in the conference and in a four-way tie atop the division entering Week 11.
Iowa started the season 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten and was the heavy favorite to represent the West in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game. But since then, the Hawkeyes have dropped two of three games against conference opponents, creating a chance for other teams in the division to end the season at the top of the standings.
If a team finishes the season in first place in the division outright, it will represent the West at Lucas Oil Stadium. If only two teams are tied at the top, head-to-head record will serve as the tiebreaker. If more than two teams are tied? Chaos ensues. At that point, head-to-head records among all the tied teams will determine the division winner. Overall winning percentage and record against the division will also come into play.
Here’s a look at the situations all four teams are facing over the final stretch of the season.
Iowa
The Hawkeyes’ chances of winning the West could be all but over if they were to lose against the Gophers this week at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa has already lost to Purdue and Wisconsin, giving those two division rivals the head-to-head tiebreakers.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz’s team’s clearest path to a division title is to win out and for Purdue and Wisconsin to lose one of their remaining games. At that point, the Hawkeyes would win the division outright. Iowa still has to play Minnesota, Illinois, and at Nebraska this season.
Iowa is 7-2 overall this season. The other three teams are 6-3 overall.
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Minnesota
As far as tiebreaker purposes, Minnesota has already defeated Purdue and has yet to play Iowa or Wisconsin. The Gophers still have to play at Iowa, at Indiana, and against Wisconsin over the last three weeks of the season.
Purdue
Purdue is 1-2 against West teams tied at the top. The Boilermakers lost to Minnesota and then upset then-No. 2 Iowa at Kinnick Stadium before getting blown out against Wisconsin in West Lafayette.
A win over then-No. 3 Michigan State over the weekend has Purdue back in the hunt for the division. The Boilermakers play at Ohio State, at Northwestern, and against Indiana to complete their regular season schedule. For its best chance to win the West outright, Purdue needs to pull off another upset, this time over the Buckeyes, and then beat two inferior opponents. Because of the tiebreaker, Purdue also needs Wisconsin and Minnesota losses at some point to stand alone at the top of the division.
Wisconsin
Heading into Week 11, ESPN’s Football Power Index currently gives Wisconsin the best chance at winning the division with a 62.2 percent chance. Minnesota (17.3 percent), Iowa (15.7 percent), and Purdue (4.9 percent) come in behind the Badgers.
Wisconsin is favored by ESPN to win its last three games against Northwestern, Nebraska, and at Minnesota. If the Badgers win their final three games, they will win the division.
