Think of some dark-horses to make the College Football Playoff at the end of the year.

It would likely come from a Power 5 conference where a team isn’t necessarily the front-runner, but after an upset or two, it would be possible to see that team be in the top 4. Also, UCF would probably count as well — outside of being in a Power 5 conference.

No, Notre Dame doesn’t fit into this dark-horse criteria, either.

But the winner of the Big Ten West would. Currently, Iowa and Wisconsin are the only 2 schools from that division that are in the top 25 — at No. 19 and No. 23, respectively. Those would be dark-horses. Neither is being talked about when it comes to the CFP.

That being said, there is one person thinking about the winner of that division and a possible top 4 spot: BTN analyst Jeremy Leman.

“Iowa still has an outside chance at the Playoff,” said Leman. “If they win out and beat Michigan or Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship, I think Iowa’s in.”

Of course, Iowa needs one more Wisconsin loss to even potentially be on top of the division at the end of the season. But, it just takes one more slip up, and the Badgers have already lost twice.

Iowa as winners of the Big Ten at 12-1 wouldn’t exactly be an easy team to laugh away if you’re the College Football Playoff Committee.