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Iowa Football: Big Ten Teams that should be talking about the playoffs

By Matt Opad

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 05: Sean Draper #7, Greg Mabin #13 and Maurice Fleming #28 of the Iowa Hawkeyes react after losing to the Michigan State Spartans in the Big Ten Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 5, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 05: Sean Draper #7, Greg Mabin #13 and Maurice Fleming #28 of the Iowa Hawkeyes react after losing to the Michigan State Spartans in the Big Ten Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 5, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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AMES, IA – SEPTEMBER 14: Defensive end Chauncey Golston #57, left, and defensive end A.J. Epenesa #94 of the Iowa Hawkeyes carry the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Trophy off the field after winning 18-17 over the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa Hawkeyes won 18-17 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA – SEPTEMBER 14: Defensive end Chauncey Golston #57, left, and defensive end A.J. Epenesa #94 of the Iowa Hawkeyes carry the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Trophy off the field after winning 18-17 over the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa Hawkeyes won 18-17 over the Iowa State Cyclones. (Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images) /

After rising to #14 in both polls, it’s not out of the question to talk playoffs. Where does the Iowa football team stack up along with the rest of the B1G?

The Iowa football team won a game that I had as a loss in my game-by-game prediction. The Hawkeyes aren’t going 9-3, at least in the way that I predicted.

Is it time to talk about the playoffs?

I’ll answer that question this way. There are four distinct tiers of teams in the Big Ten. I’m defining these tiers and identifying the Big Ten teams in each of them in descending order.

That is, the better chance the team has at making the college football playoff, the sooner they will appear on this list. The tiers range from teams that can afford to lose a game to teams that need chaos for a chance.

You may notice that not all 14 teams are mentioned. Full disclosure, teams that have lost two games (Purdue, Illinois, and Northwestern) or have been defeated by four or more scores (Indiana and Rutgers) are not contenders.

I have nothing against any of these teams, but they are not the teams that will change the norm.

Of course, I will revisit this after another three games. Anticipate a much shorter list at that time.

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