There was a point in time Saturday that Northwestern was alone atop the Big Ten West with a 1-0 conference record. That soon changed when the Wildcats were beaten by Penn State — and it set the stage for the day to end with six teams in the division tied at 1-1 in the league with no clear idea who the favorite is.
Should it be Purdue, which Saturday knocked off Minnesota, the prohibitive favorite when Week 5 began? What about Illinois, a winner at Wisconsin? The Badgers were the preseason pick to finish on top of the league but are now the only 0-2 team in the division.