ESPN's FPI predicts B1G West winner following Week 7
ESPN’s FPI is predicting the race in the B1G West. Coming out of Week 7, two teams have separated themselves from the pack a little bit.
Those two teams are Purdue and Illinois, two teams that won over the weekend. Both teams also have identical 3-1 conference records and have yet to face one another.
For Jeff Brohm’s Boilermakers, it was a hard-fought and wide-open offensive affair against Nebraska. Purdue held on for the 43-37 win when it was all said and done and likely found a lead running back in Devin Mockobee along the way.
For the Illini and Bret Bielema, it was a win over Minnesota with the defense once again doing the heavy lifting. Illinois won 26-14, and Bielema’s Year 2 turnaround with the program is particularly impressive.
RELATED: 2022 B1G Championship Odds
Heading into Week 8, the Football Power Index is giving Illinois and Purdue better than 40% odds to win the B1G West. No other team in the division is given more than 6% odds to head to Indianapolis.
- Purdue – 48%
- Illinois – 43.7%
- Minnesota – 5.4%
- Wisconsin – 1.4%
- Iowa – 1.2%
We’ll see if these results hold up, but, for right now, the West is likely to come down to the head-to-head battle between the Boilermakers and Illini. That game is set Nov. 12 in Champaign.