Iowa football: Path to Big Ten West title is still pretty simple

It was there for the taking, that move to slide right in to the driver’s seat. Iowa was just a few yards away from scoring the game-winning touchdown Saturday night at Penn State, and the win would have put them in great position to win the Big Ten West title.

Instead, a turnover ended it and the Hawkeyes suffered their second Big Ten loss. But here’s the reality. The division title is still there for the taking, and the path to get there hasn’t really changed all that much.

It’s pretty simple, really.

Well, simple starts with the Hawkeyes winning four games in a row for starters. That’s not easy. It’s simple, but it’s not easy.

Winning four in a row would make Iowa 7-2 in the conference. A win over Purdue Saturday would give the Boilermakers a third loss and a win the following Saturday over Northwestern would give them a second loss and hand Iowa the tiebreaker against the Wildcats. Even that, though, isn’t enough.

Sitting at two losses, the Hawkeyes still need Wisconsin to get a third loss because the Badgers still hold the tiebreaker over Iowa. That has to happen.

Here’s what is left in the conference for the four Big Ten West contenders:

Northwestern Wildcats (5-1)

• Nov. 10 — at Iowa;  Nov. 17 — at Minnesota; Nov. 24 — vs. Illinois.

Iowa Hawkeyes (3-2)

• Nov. 3 — at Purdue; Nov. 10 — vs. Northwestern;  Nov. 17 — at Illinois; Nov. 24 — vs. Nebraska.

Wisconsin Badgers (3-2)

• Nov. 3 — vs. Rutgers; Nov. 10 — at Penn State; Nov. 17 — at Purdue; Nov. 24 — vs. Minnesota.

Purdue Boilermakers (3-2)

• Nov. 3 — vs. Iowa; Nov. 10 — at Minnesota;  Nov. 17 — vs. Wisconsin; Nov. 24 — at Indiana.

Again, I’m not making it sound easy that Iowa can win all four, but it’s certainly possible. The Hawkeyes could be undefeated just as easily, having let the Wisconsin game slip away late in the fourth quarter and then coming up just a few yards short against Penn State.

But the next two weeks are huge. Purdue stumbled last week at Michigan State, but the Boilermakers had been hotter than blazes beforehand. It’s Iowa’s fourth road game in five weeks and it’ll be a test. Same with Northwestern the following week. The Wildcats haven’t been world-beaters, but they continue to find a way to win.

And then there’s the Wisconsin issue. One more loss has to come from somewhere, and the Badgers, quite frankly, don’t seem really capable of running the table right now themselves. They’ve been a bit of a mess lately, with ugly losses to Michigan and Northwestern and a long list of injuries at some key spots. Losing at Penn State or Purdue — or both — not only seems likely, but even seems possible. So, because of that, we won’t delve to deeply into three-team tiebreaker scenarios for the moment. Not until Wisconsin shows me more.

So it all makes sense, if you want to be a championship team. Win them all, and get one favor for their Wisconsin issue. It’s all there for the taking.

So go take it.

Tom Brew

Tom Brew has been a recognized reporter in Big Ten sports for decades. Among other projects, he writes about Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.