I recently wrote why I thought Wisconsin would win the Big Ten West this season. If you look at Vegas and other odds makers, they would agree the Badgers are the favorites. With a new head coach with experience at the highest level in college football and the talented transfer portal additions, it’s easy to see why Wisconsin is the favorite in the West. Here is how I see the rest of the Big Ten West teams.
6. Northwestern
Its going to be another tough year for Pat Fitzgerald and the Wildcats again this year. Their best two offensive players from a season ago in Evan Hull and Peter Skoronski are now in the NFL. There’s a chance they could win their opening game against Rutgers and their other non-conference games, but we could see another one win Big Ten season in Evanston. The good news? They don’t face Michigan, Ohio State, or Penn State.
5. Purdue
The Boilermakers have to replace two of the most important pieces on a football team. That is the quarterback and head coach. Jeff Brohm is out and in is former Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters. Aidan O’Connell is now with the Las Vegas Raiders. In at quarterback now is Texas transfer Hudson Card. Purdue also has road games at Virginia Tech, Iowa, and Michigan. They also add Wisconsin and Ohio State at home. It could be a tough year one for Walters in West Lafayette.
4. Illinois
Illinois shocked a lot of the college football world by starting the season 7-1. They fell off after that by losing four of their final five games. The Illini lost Ryan Walters to Purdue as well as three of their best players including their best overall offensive and defensive players in Chase Brown and Devon Witherspoon. Quarterback Tommy DeVito was efficient last season as well but he is also out. It could be step backwards for former Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema and the Illini this year.
3. Nebraska
No one knows where Nebraska will end up by the end of the season. There’s usually a lot of pre-season hype surrounding this team (and I’m not sure why). I do like the addition of new coach Matt Rhule as he’s a fantastic college coach. It didn’t work out in the NFL with Carolina but he re-built Temple and Baylor. My big question is will they be better without Casey Thompson. He was a good dual threat quarterback but a few injuries over the course of last season may have held him back a bit. I wouldn’t sleep on the Cornhuskers, by they do play Michigan and end the season with Wisconsin and Iowa in back to back weeks.
2. Minnesota
I think Minnesota could be the sneaky team in the West if Iowa and Wisconsin were to slip. The Gophers have to replace their starting quarterback, running back, and a majority of their offensive line. On paper, it looks like a six or seven win team. However, P.J. Fleck seems to get the best out of his players and always seems to keep his guys hungry and motivated. I don’t see the Gophers winning the West, but I wouldn’t necessarily sleep on them. Minnesota does have a brutal schedule with road games at North Carolina, Iowa, and Ohio State. Also included is home games against Wisconsin and Michigan.
1. Iowa
I think Wisconsin and Iowa are 1A and 1B in the West. Iowa is already better than they were last year because of what they did in the transfer portal on the offensive side. Defensively, they just re-load so there shouldn’t be a step back there. I think a lot is on the shoulders of new quarterback and Michigan transfer Cade McNamara. He will have two good weapons in Erick All and Kaleb Brown. They also avoid Ohio State and Michigan on the schedule but do travel to Penn State.
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