Rivalry week has come and gone and the conference has been turned topsy-turvy. After the dust settled from the two key Saturday games, it wasn’t the conference championship matchup that most expected just three or four weeks ago. A supposedly rolling Wisconsin squad was dispatched by our beloved Gophers. And thanks to another collapse by the Nebraska Cornhuskers the day before on Black Friday, there were celebrations galore across Iowa City as the final seconds ticked away at Huntington Bank Stadium. Minnesota’s victory had clinched the West for the Hawkeyes.
Meanwhile, many miles east in Ann Arbor, Coach Jim Harbaugh felt the Atlas-esque weight of the world melt off his shoulders as he finally, finally, FINALLY beat Michigan’s hated rival, won the East Division, and eliminated the Buckeyes from any CFP talk with one convincing victory over Ohio State.