We have now seen consecutive weeks of porous play from the Big Ten Conference. Michigan, Illinois and Iowa all lost last week, and Iowa was a 31.5-point favorite to Eastern Illinois. Meanwhile, the Fighting Illini gave up 51 first-half points to Missouri in a convincing beatdown to an unranked opponent.
Before we even get to Big Ten play, it feels like there is one, maybe two elite programs in the conference. With expectations really high for teams like Illinois and Indiana, the play from them and many others have the conference looking subpar, despite several programs that have cracked the top 25 this season.