In the aftermath of Purdue's 29-point win over Ohio State in Week 8, adulation was thrown upon Jeff Brohm and the Boilermakers, but reactions mostly focused on how the loss impacted the Buckeyes' Big Ten Championship and playoff chances. What about Purdue's Big Ten Championship chances?
Purdue is an original Big Ten member; they joined in 1896 alongside Michigan, Wisconsin and four other teams. They've won one outright conference football title, have one 10-win season and have never played in the seven-year-old Big Ten Championship Game. After Saturday's win bumped their conference record to 3-1, they're suddenly in the Big Ten West race with a clear path to the title game in Indianapolis.
Entering Week 9, Purdue is tied with Iowa and Wisconsin at 3-1 and one-half game behind Northwestern (4-1). Thanks to a Week 1 loss to the Wildcats, the Boilermakers don't control their own destiny, but it's pretty darn close.
If Purdue wins out — unlikely but possible given they host both Iowa and Wisconsin — they need one Northwestern loss. And with upcoming conference games vs. Wisconsin and Iowa, a Northwestern loss seems likely. That's one scenario.
A second scenario includes a second loss for Purdue. If they, for example, lose this weekend at Michigan State but win their remaining four games, they can still win the West.
Iowa finishes 6-3 with losses to Wisconsin, Penn State and Purdue.
Wisconsin finishes 6-3 with losses to Michigan, Penn State and Purdue.
Northwestern finishes 6-3 with losses to Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Purdue finishes 7-2 with losses to Northwestern and Michigan State.
That's not a far-fetched scenario (and there are other scenarios in which Purdue wins a messy three- or four-team tiebreaker). Purdue has a very clear path to the Big Ten Championship Game.
