Iowa football: How the Big Ten West fared in week three

Bottom-dwellers

These teams are what I consider to be out of the running already for competing for a Big Ten West title. It’s important to note that things could change. For example, Nebraska and Northwestern were not on this list, but here they are. Likewise, the Gophers were considered a bottom-dweller before jumping out to a surprising 3-0 record.

This will continue to shake out as we enter Big Ten play and we begin to compare these teams against each other as opposed to against the generally bad teams these teams are playing.

Fighting Illini

This one might just be general bias towards a Fighting Illini football team, but I’ll believe it when I see it. They wont their two easy games against Kent State and Western Illinois. This weekend’s loss against South Florida actually isn’t that bad considering South Florida is 3-0 and coming off a season in which they were ranked #21 with a 10-2 record at the end of the season.

Let’s not be fooled by Illinois though. This is relatively the same team that went 2-10 last year. They face off against #10 Penn State this week before heading to a toilet bowl showdown against Rutgers. I truly think if they don’t beat Rutgers, there is a chance they don’t win a game the rest of the season.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

This is a team I was not anticipating having to place on this list this year. There was so much hype surrounding the Scott Frost era, and through two games, Cornhusker nation has fallen silent.

With their first warmup game being canceled against Akron, the Cornhuskers couldn’t pull off a big win over a good Colorado team. Cornhusker fans everywhere thought that the game against Troy would be a good opportunity for Nebraska to get on track.

Instead, without their budding star freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez, the Huskers couldn’t do much against Troy. Next week is a huge opportunity for Scott Frost as the Big Red head to the Big House to play #21 Michigan. If they can win this game, their season will be back on track.

Currently, Martinez is listed as questionable.

Northwestern Wildcats

I did not anticipate placing the Wildcats on this list but after losing to Duke 21-7 at home, they proceeded to lay another egg in a loss against the Akron Zips. The Zips are a middle of the road MAC team. Northwestern was supposed to be one of the better teams in the Big Ten.

This is not a game they should lose, but heading into Big Ten play, the Wildcats are 1-2.

The Pat Fitzgerald-led Wildcats have a bye week before taking on the Michigan Wolverines at home. Similar to Nebraska, this is an opportunity to turn around their season before it becomes too late.

Purdue Boilermakers

The Purdue Boilermakers have had quite the unfortunate string of luck. They sit 0-3 after losing a shootout to the Mizzou. It’s important to keep in mind that this team isn’t as bad as their record says.

The Boilermakers can’t seem to figure out how to close games. They have lost three games by a combined eight points. The loss to Northwestern isn’t looking as good as it did after week one considering Northwestern is coming off a 10-3 season.

If Purdue wants any hope of turning around their season, they need to get a big win over #23 Boston College at home next weekend.