Breaking Down 2016 FBS Conference Races After Week 11
By Zach Bigalke
Big Ten Conference
No conference is likely to have more teams in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 and the College Football Playoff rankings than the Big Ten, even though its lone undefeated team is undefeated no more. With a slew of teams in the national picture, let’s look at each of the two division races.
Big Ten East
- Michigan (6-1 conference, 9-1 overall)
- Penn State (6-1 conference, 8-2 overall)
- Ohio State (6-1 conference, 9-1 overall)
Though Michigan fell at Iowa on Saturday night, the Wolverines still control their own fate in the Big Ten East. If they win against Indiana and Ohio State, Jim Harbaugh’s crew is going to play in Indianapolis for the conference title. If they lose one of those games, that’s where it gets more interesting. Penn State holds the tiebreaker over the Buckeyes, which means that Urban Meyer’s team would need to beat Michigan and have either Rutgers or Michigan State upset the Nittany Lions to play for the Big Ten crown.
Big Ten West
- Wisconsin (5-2 conference, 8-2 overall)
- Nebraska (5-2 conference, 8-2 overall)
- Minnesota (4-3 conference, 7-3 overall)
- Iowa (4-3 conference, 6-4 overall)
The simplest scenario in the Big Ten West is with Wisconsin. If the Badgers win out against Purdue and Minnesota, they will claim the spot opposite the East in the title game in Indianapolis. A loss to Purdue is highly unlikely, but if Wisconsin loses to the Golden Gophers it paves a path for Nebraska to play for the conference crown.
A four-way tie is still technically possible, if Iowa beats Nebraska and Minnesota wins in Madison over Thanksgiving weekend. In that instance, the Badgers would go through after division records were assessed and then the head-to-head win over Iowa was applied after Nebraska and Minnesota were eliminated by their two division losses.