Dan Mullen makes 2023 Big Ten West predictions
Former Florida Gators and Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach turned analyst Dan Mullen has been dishing out conference predictions lately as Week 1 of the 2023 college football season approaches. And in his latest iteration, he took on the Big Ten West division that underwent numerous changes this offseason.
Purdue took home the Big Ten West championship last season following an 8-4 finish to the regular season, but this season’s West title race seems a little bit more open.
But not according to Mullen, who called the Big Ten West a two team race, check out his full Big Ten West predictions for the upcoming football season below.
Dan Mullen’s 2020 Big Ten West Predictions
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Wisconsin Badgers
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Purdue Boilermakers
- Northwestern Wildcats
Mullen apparently sees the Boilermakers taking a major step back this season, going from defending Big Ten Champions to finishing second to last in the standings only being Northwestern, whose offseason has been filled with off-the-field storylines and controversy.
The two teams in his alleged two-horse race for the Big Ten West are Iowa and Wisconsin, as he has the Hawkeyes coming out on top to end the season and represent the West in the conference championship game. Iowa boasted one of the nation’s top defenses a season ago, holding opponents to just 14.4 points per game. But their offensive struggles were well document and handcuffed the Hawkeyes, averaging a conference worst 251.6 yards per game last season.
The Hawkeyes are hoping new transfer quarterback Cade McNamara can turn things around on offense, just like Wisconsin is hoping that new head coach Luke Fickell can turn their program around this season.
Mullen seems to believe in the turnaround, choosing the Badgers to finish second right behind Iowa in the standings. Fickell helped transform the Cincinnati program into one that secured two conference titles, four bowl game appearances, and three double-digit win seasons during his six-year run with the program. And if he could do the same for Wisconsin, especially early in his tenure, the Big Ten West race will definitely have some new added excitement in 2023.
The West title race will be a fun one to watch this season, but at the end of the day, a team from the West division hasn’t taken home a Big Ten Championship since Wisconsin did in 2012. The East has been dominant in conference title games, it will definitely be interesting to see if a West champion can finally emerge this season as the Big Ten champion.