The Wisconsin Badgers are looking in good shape entering the bye week, starting off their season 3-1, including 1-0 in conference play after a win over the Purdue Boilermakers in Week 4.
With the bye week upon us, it’s a good time to evaluate the early returns from the Big Ten in 2023, and what could possibly entail heading into the second portion of the season.
Big Ten East
The Big Ten East, as usual, is the strong side, with the Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Penn State Nittany Lions all ranked within the Top 10 of the AP Top 25.
However, it’s not just them three seeing success; Maryland has started off the year 4-0, with their lone conference win coming over Michigan State, while Rutgers has enjoyed a 3-1 start, with their loss coming to Michigan this past weekend.
The Big Ten East is setting themselves up, however, for a three-headed race to win the division title, with the battle seeming more open than in previous years between each team.
DraftKings Sportsbook has Michigan with the highest odds to win the conference at +160, with Ohio State viewed as a slight underdog at +190 and Penn State in the mix at +320 odds.
Big Ten West
Coming into the season, many viewed the Big Ten West as a two-man race between the Wisconsin Badgers and Iowa Hawkeyes, which was reflected in the annual Big Ten poll at the beginning of the season.
Four weeks in, that’s been the case, although there have been a few surprises in the division.
Wisconsin leads the division as the lone undefeated team in conference play at 1-0, while they’re tied with Iowa at a 3-1 record.
Every other team is at .500 or lower, with Northwestern, Minnesota, Illinois, and Nebraska all sitting at 2-2, while Purdue ranks last at 1-3.
The Wildcats shocked the world with an upset over Minnesota last weekend, despite trailing 31-10 in the fourth quarter at one point.
That’s been the main shock thus far, but it appears the division is shaking out to be a two-headed race between Wisconsin and Iowa, as expected, with both sides hashing it out in an October 14th matchup at Camp Randall Stadium.
DraftKings Sportsbook favors Wisconsin heavily, having their odds of winning the Big Ten at +900, while Iowa ranks fifth at +2000.
How will the Big Ten play out through the second half of the season?
Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.
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