I purposely waited to send a roundtable this week until after the game against Nebraska. I knew that it would make a huge difference in the answer to my question. So, after the victory I sent the following
question to the staff.
With Purdue beating Nebraska and Illinois falling to Wisconsin Michigan now stands alone with just 1 loss in conference play. Michigan still has to play at Purdue, at Illinois, and finish the season at home against MSU. Can Purdue do enough to put themselves in a position to actually win the Big Ten now?
Ledman:
I’ve been black and gold pilled again. I believed at the start of the season that this Purdue team could be special and I was convinced they would win the conference. Then the three game skid happened, plus some inconsistent play that resulted in wins, and I think I, like a lot of people, fell off that wagon. Now, with a win on the road over the Cornhuskers I’m back on board. Purdue has a number of tough games left, Michigan, Michigan State, IU just to name three. However, all three of those games are at home. Should Purdue run the table for the rest of the conference season, not impossible by any means, it would take just one loss from Michigan, who again plays at Illinois and at home against Michigan State, to put Purdue even with the Wolverines. A tie between the two teams would put Purdue in first place in my scenario since Purdue would have won the only head to head matchup against the Wolverines. Will it happen? I can’t say for sure, but I feel much better about the odds of it than I did last week.
Casey:
Do enough means running the table still most likely. Michigan has been the most complete team in the Big Ten and a matchup nightmare for most teams. It’s obviously much more likely now with the joint losses and other teams having to be clean the rest of the way too. But I think Purdue drops one more game and misses out by a game. That sad, despite the second half descent, Purdue found a piece of itself again at Nebraska.
Travis:
It gonna be tight. So much is out of Purdue’s control. It almost certainly has to beat Michigan in Mackey to have any chance. Even then, something like 6-1 may not be enough.
The Wolverines have been awfully good this year, and asking them to lose more than 3 games seems like a tall order. Then again, weird stuff happens. Wisconsin has won at Michigan and Illinois and still has to come to Purdue. They may not win it, but they have proven they can be a wrench. UCLA is another team that is good enough to steal a game too, but htey have to be on.
Ultimately, Purdue just needs to handle its own business. It already gave away three games, so it is playing catchup, but all it needs is one Michigan loss outside of the Purdue game to control its own path.
Ryan:
I think Purdue clearly can do enough to fight for a Big Ten Championship but I’m not sure they will. Even if Purdue runs the table (the Nebraska victory was a nice start), Michigan still holds a game on the Boilermakers. Obviously, Michigan’s best chances to lose are the ones listed above but outside of a trip to Champaign or hosting Sparty (whom the Wolverines already beat in East Lansing), are there any realistic opportunities for Michigan to lose another conference game? Outside of Purdue, Illinois, and MSU, Michigan travels to Northwestern and Iowa while hosting UCLA and Minnesota. Michigan likely goes 4-0 in those games so it becomes painfully clear that if Purdue wants a realistic shot at winning the conference, it needs to run the table and that might not even be enough. Playing at Nebraska was game 1 of a 5-game gauntlet for Purdue so we can reevaluate following the MSU home game. If somehow the Boilermakers are without another loss, I would really like their chances. It’s a monumentally tall task, but it can technically be done.
