Athlon: Iowa, Northwestern or Purdue: Which Team is Wisconsin's Biggest Threat?

BleedGopher

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per Athlon:

Iowa, Northwestern or Purdue: Which Team is Wisconsin's Biggest Threat?

Considering none of those three teams ranked inside of Athlon's top 25 for 2018, it's hard to call any a threat to win the division. But if a team could surprise and win the West, it's likely to be Iowa. The Hawkeyes catch the Badgers in Iowa City and won't have to play Ohio State, Michigan or Michigan State in crossover play. Quarterback Nate Stanley returns after throwing 26 touchdowns last fall, and Iowa's defensive line is among the best in the conference. Purdue gets the nod over Northwestern for third in Athlon's projected standings. That's largely due to the uncertainty surrounding quarterback Clayton Thorson for the Wildcats. Thorson suffered a significant knee injury against Kentucky in the Music City Bowl, putting his status in question for the opener. The first game of the year is critical for Northwestern. Purdue hosts the Wildcats on Aug. 30, in a matchup that could decide who finishes behind Iowa in the West. The Boilermakers have to rebuild a defense that limited opponents to just 20.5 points a game last fall. However, coach Jeff Brohm's offense should take a step forward behind quarterbacks David Blough and Elijah Sindelar, along with a solid stable of running backs.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/big-ten-football-2018-predictions

Go Gophers!!
 


Why is Purdue getting so much love? They are coming off of year 0, so it is way too early to expect any results in the win loss column for them.
 

Why is Purdue getting so much love? They are coming off of year 0, so it is way too early to expect any results in the win loss column for them.

I'm sorry, did you watch them play last year?
They had one of the most creative offenses in the B1G.
Brohm did an awesome job with far less talent than the Gophers have.
 



I'm sorry, did you watch them play last year?
They had one of the most creative offenses in the B1G.
Brohm did an awesome job with far less talent than the Gophers have.

Seriously? It was year 0, so you can’t take anything away from what they did on the field. Brohm gets no credit for year 0.
 


I'm sorry, did you watch them play last year?
They had one of the most creative offenses in the B1G.
Brohm did an awesome job with far less talent than the Gophers have.

Either my sarcasm meter is broken, or yours is.
 

Either my sarcasm meter is broken, or yours is.

Oh don't get me wrong, their defense was atrocious, but their offense took huge strides right out of the gate.
Check out their game against Louisville, they were successfully running plays that the Gophers didn't feel confident to install all year.
Not to mention, their offensive line was dramatically underrated.
 



Their defense was actually pretty good (for Purdue). Ranked 35th in defense, 20.5 per game is very good looks like 24th nationally. Their offense was just average. Blough has been a turnover machine, although we were unable to take advantage. Looking at what they bring back in 2018 their defense will probably be worse and their offense probably better.
 

Their defense was actually pretty good (for Purdue). Ranked 35th in defense, 20.5 per game is very good looks like 24th nationally. Their offense was just average. Blough has been a turnover machine, although we were unable to take advantage. Looking at what they bring back in 2018 their defense will probably be worse and their offense probably better.

I mean, going by the eye test, their defense was pretty bad if you go back and take a look.
Not like, Nebraska bad, but they had some prettty awful coverage busts.
 

I mean, going by the eye test, their defense was pretty bad if you go back and take a look.
Not like, Nebraska bad, but they had some prettty awful coverage busts.

Is that like a hudl highlight reel, except lowlights? Nobody is saying they were like an Alabama squad but the reason they did so well (for Purdue) is more the D than the O. We were just worse in all phases. I’m strictly going by the statistics. I think the recency bias of Purdue sucking is is strong it’s hard to imagine Purdue was actually above average.
 

If I remember correctly, Purdue was going to get younger before they get older.
 



Is that like a hudl highlight reel, except lowlights? Nobody is saying they were like an Alabama squad but the reason they did so well (for Purdue) is more the D than the O. We were just worse in all phases. I’m strictly going by the statistics. I think the recency bias of Purdue sucking is is strong it’s hard to imagine Purdue was actually above average.

I mean, you're going to say that the plural of anecdote is not data, and you're right, but just watch this real quick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYAEIxTnjus

I only watched a handful of their games last year, but there were just a lot of bad moments for that defense.
 

Does anyone really feel that the gophers offensive line was even average last year? I see in Purdue, they will be starting -supposedly- 3 seniors, 2 redshirt juniors. Nice experience. Not sure we can say the same.
 

Iowa is going to throw it all into their opener against Wisconsin and get beat.

They come to Minneapolis the next week and will be 0-2.

I'll be laughing my ass off.

They were 4-5 last year and lost the cb, middle linebacker, and first round starting center(could have been early 2nd round) and yet they are going to be a challenge.

Friggin how?
 




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