Someone is going to have to win the B1G West… right?

Coming into the season, everyone looked to Wisconsin as the favorite to represent the West division in Indianapolis. After a Week 1 thrashing of Illinois, that did not change.

What did change later in the week is a COVID-19 outbreak among the Badgers that is still ongoing as of Saturday morning. Even once the Badgers are cleared to return to action, they will be without starting quarterback Graham Mertz for at least 21 days from the date he tested positive.

That opens the door for the rest of the West. Well, except for maybe Minnesota who dropped to 0-2 and an early deficit in the division after losing to Maryland in heart-breaking fashion.

So who comes out of the West? During Saturday’s Big Noon Kickoff on FOX, Matt Leinart tabbed his selection for the West:

“Someone has to come out of the B1G West, and you just touched on Wisconsin dealing with COVID issues there,” said Leinart. “Minnesota won 11 games last year, they’re 0-2, they are out of the race.

“How about Northwestern and Fitzy? Their Achilles heel last year was offense, they were one of the worst offenses in college football. That’s not the case this year. They scored over 40 points, they have a transfer QB in Peyton Ramsey who is more than qualified to win football games, their RB went over 100 yards last week. They are one of the more experienced teams back in college football this year.

“I’m telling you, they may be the team that comes out on top this season.”