ESPN: The West Division chase could be special

[BleedGopher]

per ESPN's "What We Learned" blog post:

1. The West Division chase could be special: Four teams in the West -- Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota -- are in a virtual first-place tie with just one loss. What makes that really fun is they will all play each other in the season's final four weeks, beginning with Iowa-Minnesota in Week 11. We weren't sure the Hawkeyes were a serious contender until Saturday, when Kirk Ferentz's team turned in by far its best performance of the season in a 48-7 blowout of Northwestern. Iowa controlled both lines of scrimmage, Jake Rudock made all the right plays at quarterback and Mark Weisman bowled his way to three touchdowns. With Nebraska and Wisconsin still having to go to Iowa City, the Hawkeyes remain a major threat to win the division if they can repeat their level of play in Week 10. But it's still a wide-open race that should be a lot of fun to watch.

5. Battle for bowls heating up: Three Big Ten teams -- Iowa, Maryland and Wisconsin -- clinched postseason eligibility Saturday. That makes seven overall for the league. But where it gets interesting is beyond that group. Technically, the other seven teams are all still alive for a bowl bid, though it's hard to envision Indiana getting off the mat to win three more games or Purdue winning out. Rutgers has been stuck on five wins for a few weeks and finally gets a schedule break in hosting Indiana next time out. Illinois and Penn State both have four wins. Can Michigan, which finally showed a little life Saturday (albeit against those same struggling Hoosiers) find two more wins? Can 3-5 Northwestern rebound after a horrific showing at Iowa? There could be a lot of teams fighting for their bowl lives in the final couple weeks.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/110238/what-we-learned-in-the-big-ten-week-10-7

Go Gophers!!

 

[BleedGopher]

per BTN:

Iowa is a sleeper in the West. Yes, Nebraska and Wisconsin are getting the hype and headlines, but the Hawkeyes are tied in the loss column with the Cornhuskers and Badgers for first in the division (along with Minnesota). If Iowa continues to play like it did in a 48-7 win vs. Northwestern, it will be difficult to beat. The offense showed great life and the play along both lines was outstanding. The Hawkeyes also control their destiny with games left at Minnesota and vs. Wisconsin and Nebraska. This is gonna be fun.

http://btn.com/2014/11/02/what-did-tom-dienhart-learn-about-big-ten-in-week-10-heres-what/

Go Gophers!!

 

[bemidjigopher]

Iowa vs Minnesota is an elimination game. Winner goes to 4-1 sconnie beats purdont they're 4-1 and I believe 4-1 Nebraska has a bye

 

[station19]

Nebraska has to be the favorite.

 

[50PoundHead]

I thought the Badgers' defense would be down this year after losing so many guys to graduation, but their defense is playing pretty solid football. Almost cho.king as I write this (and I may break out in hives) because it's complimentary to the Badgers.

Nebraska's good, but if Abdullah misses any time, I can't see them as being the best team in the West.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Iowa vs Minnesota is an elimination game. Winner goes to 4-1 sconnie beats purdont they're 4-1 and I believe 4-1 Nebraska has a bye

The loser of the MN vs. IA game won't technically be eliminated from the division race but agree that is essentially an elimination game with how tight all the contenders are heading into the final 4 games. It is really cool how it worked out with none of the top 4 in the west having played each other yet.

 

[TrueGopherFballfan#1]

Iowa vs Minnesota is an elimination game. Winner goes to 4-1 sconnie beats purdont they're 4-1 and I believe 4-1 Nebraska has a bye

I would not necessarily consider the badgers for sure winners over the Boilermakers as Purdue has that edge that could get them 1 or 2 more conference wins especially an upset hopefully over the badgers. They did not play too bad against nebraska considering they were playing in Lincoln. The sconnie Purdue game will be played at Purdue so that will help. I just say this because it would be huge for us if the badgers can fall down earlier than expected so if we win it would make our chances much better.