5 juiciest storylines in the Big Ten for Week 4

The first-week scenario was that the Big Ten was the best conference in America, but then highly regarded Michigan lost to Notre Dame and ranked teams Penn State and Michigan State escaped with wins despite being 3-touchdown favorites. That “best conference” baton was passed back to the SEC. (Pssst … It probably belonged there all along.)

The second week was even worse, with Michigan State, Northwestern, Purdue and Nebraska all losing as favorites, three of them at home. “The Big Ten stinks” was a phrase heard throughout the country. There was more of the same in Week 3, with Nebraska, Northwestern, Maryland and even mighty Wisconsin all losing at home as heavy favorites. There was no doubting it now, the Big Ten really does stink.

Week 4 is here now, and there are all sorts of teams that still need to make a statement this year. It’s leading to some juicy storylines this week.

Here are the five juiciest storylines as we dive deep into Week 4:

1. Will Wisconsin’s dreams go to die in Iowa City?

Wisconsin’s loss to unranked BYU in Madison last week was a shocker because, despite some flaws, we all really thought that the Badgers were a legitimate threat to win the Big Ten and make the playoffs. Now, we really have to wonder.

Off that loss comes the first conference game, and it’s a doozy. It’s under the lights at Iowa against a  Hawkeyes team that looks to be their biggest threat in the Big Ten West. Iowa has the league’s best defense — the starters have given up a total of three points in three games — and they have a history of crushing playoff dreams at home. Last year they stomped Big Ten champion Ohio State 55-24, which cost the Buckeyes a playoff spot. Want more? A year earlier, the Hawkeyes beat then-No. 3 Michigan 14-13. In the span of two weeks, Wisconsin’s season just might implode completely.

2. Will Scott Frost ever win a game as Nebraska’s head coach?

No one saw this coming when prodigal son Scott Frost came home to coach Nebraska. September has been an unmitigated disaster so far, and it’s been a complete surprise.

It started when the home opener had to be canceled because of lightning. Then, not really ready to play a game, the Huskers lost at home to Colorado despite being a 3-point favorite and lost freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez to a knee injury in the process. With Martinez out in Week 3, Nebraska lost to Troy despite being an 11-point favorite. Now the Big Ten season starts at Michigan and Frost is still winless. He might remain that way for a while.

3. Can Michigan State finally start to show us something?

Some of these slow starts in the Big Ten did nothing more than verify that talent levels on certain rosters just weren’t that high. But that can’t be an excuse at Michigan State, where the Spartans started the season ranked No. 11 in the country and were trendy picks to win the Big Ten East. But a narrow win at home against Utah State and a loss at Arizona State has us all shaking their heads.

After a bye week, the Spartans start Big Ten play with a tough test at Indiana, where the Hoosiers are 3-0 and playing well. Michigan State is favored, but they’ve lost a ton of games in this role as road favorites in the past few years. The bad loss to Arizona State really hurt their playoff scenario, but a loss here at Indiana would be a disaster. It could happen, though, because Michigan State hasn’t shown us anything yet. Is now the time?

4. Will Ohio State fans look like fools fawning over Urban Meyer?

Urban Meyer returns to the sidelines Saturday when Ohio State takes on Tulane in one last dress rehearsal before the big showdown with Penn State next week. His three-game suspension for completely mishandling the Zach Smith domestic violence situation — could I have said that any more nicely? — is over, and surely Ohio State fans will welcome him back with open arms.

The blind loyalty that Ohio State fans have shown to Meyer during this mess is sickening. He’s done wrong, and he’s lied about doing wrong to cover his tracks. Three games, in my opinion, is not nearly enough of a suspension and sends the wrong message that, once again, anything goes at Ohio State. But I’m sure OSU fans will have signs galore supporting Meyer and will continue to go on and on defending him. I’ll just continue shaking my head.

5. Will struggling Purdue finally win a game?

When I looked at Purdue’s schedule in the preseason, I was thinking the new-look Boilers under Jeff Brohm just might start the season 4-0. Any why not? All four games were at home, and none of the four opponents were ranked. Vegas odds even had the Boilers favored in all four.

And then, wham! Purdue has started out 0-3, with losses to Northwestern, Eastern Michigan and Missouri. Now comes Boston College, who’s unbeaten and suddenly ranked No. 23 in the country. Saturday the Boilers are underdogs, which means it might be the perfect time to pull out a win. The three losses have come by a total of only eight points, and they’ve been in every game. It’s time to finish — or start, depending on how you look at it.