I think it is safe to say that Northwestern is the most surprising team in the Big Ten this year. The Wildcats entered the season with only four wins in the past two seasons, no wins in North America since the fall of 2021, and they had an ugly offseaosn scandal that resulted in long-time coach Pat Fitgerald getting fired. Even after a punchless week 1 loss to Rutgers they were mostly written off as the worst team in the conference.

Now permanent head coach David Braun has done a tremendous job of turning things around, however. They have won three Big Ten games after only winning two the last two years total. They have beaten Minnesota and Wisconsin in shock victories to keep them in the hunt for a bowl game. They are not the best team in the conference, but if I had a vote I would vote for David Braun as the Big Ten coach of the year since he wasn't even on staff last season. In just a few short months he went from being the defensive coordinator of FCS power North Dakota State to head coach of a Big Ten program that might inexplicably make a bowl game.

The Wildcats are on the cusp of bowl eligibility, needing just one win in the last two games to secure the postseason. With a high APR score they might even already be okay depending on how the final weeks of hte year shake out. When you add that this game might be the final one in the 97 year history of the current Ryan Field, Northwestern has a lot ot play for against Purdue.