Nobody still talking about nw? They are quietly good
Hard to say, but right now, without three top QBs for Wisconsin, here's the West:
- Wisconsin by a little over
- Purdue, Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Minnesota in no particular order
- Illinois
That means the team with the most difficult crossover schedule probably has to sweep the division to win it.
Hint: That team's nickname is "Cornhuskers."
That also means the team with the least difficult crossover schedule can probably stumble once in the division, especially if they lose to Nebraska, which is likely to go 0-2 against the East.
- Purdue has Rutgers and Indiana, the fifth- and third-best teams from the East.
- Iowa has MSU and PSU, the sixth- and fourth-best teams from the East (a strong fourth-best, of course)
- Nebraska has OSU and PSU, the best and fourth-best teams.
- Northwestern has Maryland and MSU, the two worst East teams.
- Minnesota has Michigan and Maryland, the second-best and worst East teams.
- Wisconsin has Michigan and Indiana, the second- and third-best teams.
Conclusion
For now, Northwestern has to be considered a legitimate threat to win the division because it may have to go only 4-2 in the division to win it. I would say that Nebraska's games against Wisconsin and Northwestern the next two weeks are both must-wins, first based on Wisconsin's status as the 2019 champion, and second based on Northwestern's inter-divisional schedule and the fact they won the division in 2018. Losses to Iowa, Minnesota or Purdue may not end our title hopes, but a loss to either Wisconsin or Northwestern probably will.