While the Big Ten East continues to dazzle, as the Michigan-Michigan State matchup may go down as the best game in the entire FBS this year and Ohio State has finally found a way to maximize the Braxton Miller-Cardale Jones- J.T. Barrett triangle, Iowa has quietly established itself as the team to beat in the West.
Strangely, the Hawkeyes are possibly the worst undefeated team in the nation, as its two legitimate wins came against two increasingly illegitimate teams in Wisconsin and Northwestern, and the team is chock-full of holes from top to bottom. But, with its last real test of the regular season behind them, there’s little reason to believe the Hawkeyes can’t roll through its next five Big Ten contests and earn a trip to Indianapolis in December.
Iowa’s win at Wisconsin provided a turning point, as it thrust the Big Ten West wide open, and its recent 40-10 drubbing of Northwestern pushed it that much closer to the golden opportunity it provided for itself. If nothing else, the Hawkeyes deserve credit for seizing the chance to shine in an otherwise lackluster Big Ten West and doing just enough to pull ahead from the pack.
At this point in the season, there’s very little Wisconsin can do to crawl back and trip up Iowa by its shoelaces. Had the Wildcats topped the Hawkeyes Saturday it would have been a very different story, but the Badgers are now a full game behind Iowa, and the tiebreaker falls in favor of the Hawkeyes.
Wisconsin welcomes Northwestern to Camp Randall Nov. 21, but even if it squeaks out a win against the Wildcats, it’ll take a considerable collapse on the part of both Northwestern and Iowa for the Badgers to even think of making it to the Big Ten Championship game.
It’s a disappointing reality for the Badgers, who by most accounts were selected as the obvious favorites to take the Big Ten West. Their loss to Alabama, while disheartening, at least proved that Wisconsin could compete, albeit for short periods of time, against nationally elite programs. That optimism took a 180-degree swing in UW’s 10-6 loss to Iowa, and unconvincing wins against Nebraska and Purdue have done little to alleviate that sting.
It’s also difficult to give up all hope with Wisconsin just a game back of the Hawkeyes, but given its mangled path to the Big Ten Championship, now may be the time to work fresh faces into games and prepare for a schedule that next year features LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and, if the trend continues, a rejuvenated Iowa squad.
The new player management approach that the Badgers should partake in begins with their handling of Corey Clement, who dressed last week but didn’t see any game action. There’s absolutely no reason to rush his recovery, and with an eye toward a potential future in the NFL, Clement could benefit from sitting the rest of the year and preserving an extra year of, hopefully, completely healthy eligibility.
Joel Stave continues to be as polarizing as ever, especially given his increased role in this year’s offense, as he’s averaging 33.7 attempts per game, up from 20.6 last season. Redshirt freshman D.J. Gillins is the heir apparent at quarterback, and with his redshirt season already behind him, there’s little reason to hold him out of games that are meaningless in the standings but incredibly important for younger players who need playing experience. Even a drive or two a game would be invaluable for Gillins, and it will give offensive coordinator Joe Rudolph a better picture of what his next few years will look like.
Defensively, the Badgers are already very young in the front seven, but defensive backs D’Cota Dixon, Derrick Tindal and Leo Musso, all of which factor into the rotation already in one way or another, deserve looks with the linebackers and linemen who will be the strong point of the unit moving forward.
In college football, the equivalent of blowing everything up and starting from point zero requires younger players to get as much experience as they can before they’re relied on to actually win games. With Iowa starting to differentiate itself and Northwestern looming in the distance, as usual, it may be time for Wisconsin to start looking beyond how the next five weeks will factor into its record.
