Iowa Football: Big Ten Teams that should be talking about the playoffs
By Matt Opad
Legitimate Contenders
The Big Ten, right now at least, is the tale of the Big Two and the Little 12. There are two teams in our conference that look far superior to the rest of the conference.
These two teams are those that I could see competing with teams like Alabama and Clemson. If either of these two teams loses a game, they are not necessarily out of the playoff hunt.
The first team, to absolutely no one’s surprise, is Ohio State. After Ohio State’s opening game, I was not sure that they were the best team in the league.
Unfortunately for the rest of the conference, the Buckeyes’ encore was much better. The Ohio State Buckeyes shut out a solid Cincinnati team, then blew out what looked like a decent Indiana squad.
Those that didn’t pick Ohio State to win the conference were fools.
With that in mind, my pick to win the conference is the second team in the legitimate contenders’ tier – the Wisconsin Badgers.
Yes, that’s right. I was one of the few people to believe that the Wisconsin Badgers – not Ohio State, Michigan or Nebraska – would win not only the division but also the conference. I suppose that makes me a fool.
Wisconsin finally has the type of passing game that can keep opposing defenses honest. They have a Heisman candidate as a running back, along with a young defense that doesn’t know how to give up points (except when they feel bad for teams like Michigan).
I truly don’t know why Wisconsin is a ‘dark horse’ pick, as they have been one of the most dominant teams in the country over the last 5 years.
If 11- or 12-win Ohio State meets 11- or 12-win Wisconsin in the conference championship, it will almost certainly serve as a play-in game to the playoff. I wouldn’t be surprised if the loser of that game were given playoff consideration.
Tier 1: #6 Ohio State Buckeyes, #14 Wisconsin Badgers