We’re almost halfway through college football season, and that means the Big Ten conference is starting to take shape. It’s looking like Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State are going to battle it out in the East for the division and conference crown to potentially stake a claim to one of the four College Football Playoff spots, but the West division is a different story.
We can’t really call the West wide open, but it’s clearly the weaker of the two divisions. Right now, it appears to be a race between Wisconsin and Iowa, but we could still see a surprise team rise up and make the finishing kick an interesting one.
So what will it all look like when the dust settles? There are models for that that like to predict how things will finish, and one of the ones we like to follow is ESPN’s FPI Matchup Predictor. We keep track of what it says about Ohio State’s chances of winning each of its remaining games, but we can expand it further and see what it says about every Big Ten team and the forecast for the end of the regular season standings.
We went through and ticked and tied all of the matchups based on the Football Percentage Index and are sharing what the “worldwide leader” predicts for Big Ten after Week 6. It’ll change week-by-week, but here’s how it sees each team’s remaining games going, and what the final standings will be in the Big Ten.
We’ll start with the West Division teams, move on to the East, then summarize the final standings.
NEXT … The West Division teams
First Place - Wisconsin Badgers
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
10-2 Overall, 8-1 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 4-1, (2-0)
Completed Wins (4) | vs. Buffalo, vs. Georgia Southern, at Purdue, vs. Rutgers
Completed Losses (1) | at Washington State
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (6) | vs. Iowa, at Illinois, at Indiana, vs. Northwestern, vs. Nebraska, at Minnesota
Losses (1) | vs. Ohio State
Second Place - Iowa Hawkeyes
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
10-2 Overall, 7-2 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 5-1, (2-1)
Completed Wins (5) | vs. Utah State, at Iowa State, vs. Western Michigan, vs. Michigan State, vs. Purdue
Completed Losses (1) | at Penn State
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (5) | vs. Minnesota, vs. Northwestern, vs. Rutgers, vs. Illinois, at Nebraska
Losses (1) | at Wisconsin
Third Place - Purdue Boilermakers
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
6-6 Overall, 5-4 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 2-4, (1-2)
Completed Wins (2) | at Virginia Tech, vs. Illinois,
Completed Losses (4) | vs. Fresno State, vs. Syracuse, vs. Wisconsin, at Iowa
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (4) | at Nebraska, vs. Minnesota, at Northwestern, vs. Indiana
Losses (2) | vs. Ohio State, at Michigan
Fourth Place - Minnesota Golden Gophers
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
5-7 Overall, 3-6 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 3-3, (1-2)
Completed Wins (3) | vs. Nebraska, vs. Eastern Michigan, vs. Louisiana
Completed Losses (3) | at North Carolina, at Northwestern, vs. Michigan
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (2) | vs. Michigan State, vs. Illinois
Losses (4) | at Iowa, at Purdue, at Ohio State, vs. Wisconsin
Fifth Place (tie) - Illinois Fighting Illini
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
4-8 Overall, 2-7 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 2-4, (0-3)
Completed Wins (2) | vs. Toledo, vs. FAU
Completed Losses (4) | at Kansas, vs. Penn State, at Purdue, vs. Nebraska
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (2) | vs. Indiana, vs. Northwestern
Losses (4) | at Maryland, vs. Wisconsin, at Minnesota, at Iowa
Fifth Place (tie) - Nebraska Cornhuskers
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
4-8 Overall, 2-7 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 3-3, (1-2)
Completed Wins (3) | vs. Northern Illinois, vs. Louisiana Tech, at Illinois
Completed Losses (3) | at Minnesota, at Colorado, vs. Michigan
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (1) | vs. Northwestern
Losses (5) | vs. Purdue, at Michigan State, vs. Maryland, at Wisconsin, vs. Iowa
Seventh Place - Northwestern Wildcats
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
3-9 Overall, 1-8 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 3-3, (1-2)
Completed Wins (3) | vs. UTEP, vs. Minnesota, vs. Howard
Completed Losses (3) | at Rutgers, at Duke, vs. Penn State
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (0)
Losses (6) | at Nebraska, vs. Maryland, vs. Iowa, at Wisconsin, vs. Purdue, at Illinois
NEXT … The Big Ten East
First Place - Ohio State Buckeyes
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
12-0 Overall, 9-0 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 5-0, (2-0)
Completed Wins (5) | at Indiana, vs. Youngstown State, vs. Western Kentucky, at Notre Dame, vs. Maryland
Completed Losses (0)
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (7) | at Purdue, vs. Penn State, at Wisconsin, at Rutgers, vs. Michigan State, vs. Minnesota, at Michigan
Losses (0)
Second Place - Penn State Nittany Lions
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
11-1 Overall, 8-1 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 5-0, (3-0)
Completed Wins (5) | vs. West Virginia, vs. Delaware, at Illinois, vs. Iowa, at Northwestern
Completed Losses (0)
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (6) | vs. UMass, vs. Indiana, at Maryland, vs. Michigan, vs. Rutgers, at Michigan State
Losses (1) | at Ohio State
Third Place - Michigan Wolverines
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
10-2 Overall, 7-2 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 6-0, (3-0)
Completed Wins (6) | vs. East Carolina, vs. UNLV, vs. Bowling Green, vs. Rutgers, at Nebraska, at Minnesota
Completed Losses (0)
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (4) | vs. Indiana, at Michigan State, vs. Purdue, at Maryland
Losses (2) | at Penn State, vs. Ohio State
Fourth Place - Maryland Terrapins
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
9-3 Overall, 6-3 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 5-1, (2-1)
Completed Wins (5) | vs. Towson, vs. Charlotte, vs. Virginia, at Michigan State, vs. Indiana
Completed Losses (1) | at Ohio State
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (4) | vs. Illinois, at Northwestern, at Nebraska, at Rutgers
Losses (2) | vs. Penn State, vs. Michigan
Fifth Place - Rutgers Scarlet Knights
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
6-6 Overall, 3-6 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 4-2, (1-2)
Completed Wins (4) | vs. Northwestern, vs. Temple, vs. Virginia Tech, vs. Wagner
Completed Losses (2) | at Michigan, at Wisconsin
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (2) | vs. Michigan State, at Indiana
Losses (4) | vs. Ohio State, at Iowa, at Penn State, vs. Maryland
Sixth Place - Michigan State Spartans
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
4-8 Overall, 2-7 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 2-3, (0-2)
Completed Wins (2) | vs. Central Michigan, vs. Richmond
Completed Losses (3) | vs. Washington, vs. Maryland, at Iowa
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (2) | vs. Nebraska, at Indiana
Losses (5) | at Rutgers, vs. Michigan, at Minnesota, at Ohio State, vs. Penn State
Seventh Place - Indiana Hoosiers
ESPN FPI Predicted Win/Loss Final Record
2-10 Overall, 0-9 Big Ten
Schedule Breakout
Current Record | 2-3, (0-2)
Completed Wins (2) | vs. Indiana State, vs. Akron
Completed Losses (3) | vs. Ohio State, vs. Louisville, at Maryland
ESPN FPI Future Results
Wins (0)
Losses (7) | at Michigan, vs. Rutgers, at Penn State, vs. Wisconsin, at Illinois, vs. Michigan State, at Purdue
NEXT … ESPN FPI Predicted Final Big Ten Standings
ESPN FPI Predicted Final Big Ten Standings Summarized
Final ESPN FPI Predicted Big Ten Standings
Big Ten East
| Team | Big Ten | Overall |
| Ohio State | 9-0 | 12-0 |
| Penn State | 8-1 | 11-1 |
| Michigan | 7-2 | 10-2 |
| Maryland | 6-3 | 9-3 |
| Rutgers | 3-6 | 6-6 |
| Michigan State | 2-7 | 4-8 |
| Indiana | 0-9 | 2-10 |
Big Ten West
| Team | Big Ten | Overall |
| Wisconsin | 8-1 | 10-2 |
| Iowa | 7-2 | 10-2 |
| Purdue | 5-4 | 6-6 |
| Minnesota | 3-6 | 5-7 |
| Illinois | 3-6 | 4-8 |
| Nebraska | 2-7 | 4-8 |
| Northwestern | 1-8 | 3-9 |
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