Week three of Big Ten football was shocking to say the least, and not necessarily in a good way. Where does the Iowa football program sit in the mix?
One common misconception as an Iowa football fan, it’s in the best interest that Big Ten teams lose. I don’t fault anyone for thinking that way, I used to as well. Losing within conference is fine and expected, but we should all be cheering for the Big Ten to dominate any non-conference games.
There are two really simple reasons. The better the Big Ten does in non-conference play, the more respect the conference will have as a whole and the strength of schedule for each team within the Big Ten will be increased. Secondly, the better the teams in the Big Ten, the better the wins look for Iowa in the long run.
That’s why this weekend was disappointing. There were seven non-conference Big Ten losses this weekend. To put that in perspective, look at this tweet.
Big Ten teams lost 7 nonconference games against unranked opponents Saturday, the conference's most such losses in a single day since the AP Poll debuted in 1936.
— Jason Starrett (@starrettjason) September 16, 2018
Most notably, Big Ten West frontrunner Wisconsin was upset by BYU. This loss dropped them from #6 to #18 in the rankings. It also possibly cost Iowa City a chance at hosting College Gameday Saturday.
Here is how the Big Ten West looks after three weeks.