The Big Ten West has been a topic of grand conversation in the recent past, in part because the three top programs in the conference (Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State) reside on the other side of the league. That, of course, leaves plenty of room for blazing hot takes from the masses on just how the division will shake out in 2016, and ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit reportedly weighed in with an interesting opinion on who will reach the Big Ten title game this season.
https://twitter.com/hasselESPN/status/760909105414410241
Yes, that is Kirk Herbstreit picking Minnesota to win the Big Ten West.
To be fair, the Golden Gophers do have a favorable conference schedule, as Minnesota will host Iowa and avoid Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State altogether. Still, this is an offensively challenged operation that finished with a 6-7 record in 2015 (including a bowl win) and Minnesota will need to overachieve in order to make Herbstreit look brilliant here.
Herbstreit also put forth another aggressive opinion concerning Iowa, even if it is one that will please SEC fans. The Hawkeyes famously enjoyed an undefeated regular season in 2015 before dropping the conference title game to Michigan State and losing in damning fashion to Stanford in the Rose Bowl, but Herbstreit joins the parade of folks assuming that Iowa's success was based solely on competition level.
It would depend greatly on Iowa's SEC-based schedule as to whether an 8-4 record is reasonable, but this type of statement makes headlines and it will play well for Herbstreit, who is often accused of Big Ten bias. The Big Ten West is weird and that isn't a new phenomenon, but these two statements are sure to move the needle a bit.
