If these Wisconsin personnel woes persist then it's quite possible that the Badgers won't run away with the B1G title as had previously been assumed to be a foregone conclusion. At the very least we are glad that The Upset put to rest the silly Seth Davis ruminations that Wisconsin was going to sweep the B1G regular season despite the fact that the Badgers stood only a 6 percent chance of making that happen.
So how has that upset as well as a weekend's worth of other action affected the B1G projections? Behold...
Despite the upset loss at Rutgers, Wisconsin is still the favorite to win the B1G. However the door to the B1G crown has opened much wider for the likes of Maryland and Michigan State, and even Ohio State has seen its odds marginally improve despite the Buckeyes' loss at Indiana on Saturday.
The effects of "The Upset" were more profound at the bottom of the projected standings with Rutgers handing over to Penn State the dubious distinction of becoming the first team to finish 14th in the B1G. It's not all bad news for the Nittany Lions as Rutgers and Northwestern -- despite a near upset in East Lansing on Sunday -- also are still very much vying for that little piece of B1G history.
The updated win projections show just how far Maryland has narrowed the gap on the Badgers. The Badgers are now expected to win 13.8 games his B1G season while Maryland is expected to win 13 games. That smells like a B1G title race to us. The three leading contenders for the B1G cellar are all within a half game of each other on an expected win basis so that race to the bottom is heating up.
While Wisconsin's projections have suffered a serious dent the biggest loser since B1G play has to be the Gophers which lost their fourth straight game when they couldn't complete their bid for a road victory in Ann Arbor. Minnesota is now expected to go 8-10 in B1G play whereas they were expected to win 10.4 games prior on the eve of conference play.
On a brighter note aside Maryland and Michigan have seen the biggest upward movement in the projections. Maryland's projected win total of 13 is up from a pre-conference projection of 11.2 wins, and the Wolverines have improved by a game and a half from an expected 7.4 wins to 8.9 wins.
Last but not least is our update to the cumulative win probabilities below. Enjoy tonight's football game everybody!
