Big Ten Power Rankings: Wisconsin Badgers are for real

Iowa didn’t win any style points for how they beat Rutgers, but for them, a win’s a win. The last thing they needed after losing to North Dakota State was to open conference play with a loss, and hanging on against Rutgers is exactly the momentum boost they need to get their season back on track.

Iowa needed a lot of things to go their way, including Janarion Grant and Quanzell Lambert’s injuries, and Andre Patton’s costly fumble. But their defense did a great job of shutting down a Rutgers offense that was explosive in the last two weeks. Desmond King, in particular, did a good job of limiting the production of their pass-catchers, and showing why he’s among the best cornerbacks in college football.

Iowa can now carry this momentum into next week against Northwestern. While they were once thought of as the Hawkeyes’ biggest threat to winning the Big Ten West, they look like a shell of themselves this year, and Iowa should handle them. They get two more stat-padding games after that in Minnesota and Purdue before a big showdown against Wisconsin in Week 8.

Given how good Nebraska and Wisconsin have looked so far, Iowa’s best bet to get back to the Championship Game may be to run the table. But with a tougher schedule than last year, that will be a lot harder to do.