I read the Iowa board the same way. They were looking at what it takes because they lost to WIsconsin. In reality, if they beat PSU, they need us, PSU, or Purdue to beat WIsconsin and they would have to win out. If they lose, they need Wisconsin to also lose to PSU and then us or Purdue to beat Wisconsin and for them to win out. Of the four teams, we have the weakest schedule going forward, but we have not been consistent, so I doubt if anyone outside of NU see us as a clear cut choice to win the west. Given our performance against Akron, Nebraska, and Rutgers, it is easy for someone to say we are behind the other teams because we have done poorly against the "weak" teams. With that said, we lost by 3 to Michigan, beat Michigan State and beat Purdue, so based on our games against "strong" teams, we would be the biggest threat in the west.
Basically, we don’t want to get in any tie-breakers as we would lose most of them. For us, the best outcome this weekend is to see Penn State beat Iowa, Michigan State beat Purdue, and have us victorious. That would give us breathing room. But things are so close between the four teams that it no fanbase can believe they have it easy.
