B10 West Power Ranking: It’s a Mess After Wisconsin

No. 3 – Northwestern Wildcats 4-3 (3-1)

Last Week: 4

Don’t sleep on Northwestern, they’re back and have a legitimate shot at winning the Big Ten West. After a dreadful start to the season, the Wildcats bounced back nicely and are 4-1 in their past five games, with their lone loss coming to Nebraska. However, if Northwestern and Nebraska played today, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Northwestern won.

After two disappointing showings, Northwestern’s defense held Indiana to 14 points. If their defense catches fire, this is a very scary team with the way their offense has played as of late.

The key to their turnaround came from their offense. They don’t solely rely on Justin Jackson anymore with Clayton Thorson playing the best football of his career.

He threw three touchdowns in his third straight game against Indiana, and now has nine touchdowns and one interception over the past three games, including him completing at least 55 percent of passes in four straight games.

A big reason for his miraculous improvement has been Austin Carr, who had seven catches for 125 yards and a touchdown against Indiana. Northwestern still only ranks 84th in the nation in points per game, but they have scored at least 24 points in five straight games and their offense has led the team.

Northwestern has a huge test against Ohio State this week on the road before hosting Wisconsin. Two straight losses would seemingly end the Wildcats’ hopes of winning the West, but a win sets them up nicely. With Purdue, Minnesota and Illinois being their final three games, Northwestern would have a good chance to finish conference play with only two losses, which could be good enough to win the division.

It’s still a big if, and a lot will have to go right, but Northwestern isn’t dead yet.