Big Ten: Five biggest takeaways from Week 4

Sep 12, 2015; Evanston, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald during the game against the Eastern Illinois Panthers at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

Northwestern’s non-onference wins were impressive

Northwestern’s 24-19 win over Ball State in Week 4 wasn’t impressive but we learned something about the Wildcats based on the results of other games. Stanford followed up an upset win at USC with a 42-24 victory at Oregon State on a short week. Duke took down Georgia Tech 34-20 at home on Saturday.

Stanford and Duke were two teams that were beat by Northwestern in nonconference play. Northwestern held Stanford to only 240 yards in a 16-6 victory on the opening weekend of the season. Since the loss Stanford has put up 41 and 42 points each within six days of each other. Maybe Stanford made some adjustments but it still says a lot of the Northwestern defense. Duke defeated Georgia Tech the week after falling to Northwestern 19-10.

The Wildcats are now ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll. They will now need to embrace the role as a favorite, which is unfamiliar territory for them. Teams in the Big Ten West will take Northwestern seriously and won’t overlook Pat Fitzgerald’s team.

Next: Michigan