The Best Big Ten Team Nobody Knows Anything About

The Big Ten game of the year still appears on the surface to be the Nov. 8 meeting between Ohio State and Michigan State in East Lansing. The conference's playoff hopes may very well be influenced by its outcome. 

But quietly—as under-the-radar teams in forgotten conferences tend to do—Minnesota has a potentially meaningful game the same day with Iowa with Big Ten West implications. 

The Golden Gophers have put together a 5-1 record and lead the West Division. The only loss: 30-7 to TCU in Week 3, which, in hindsight, isn't the worst loss a team could suffer. The Frogs were unable to hold on to a lead in a shootout Saturday against Baylor but remain a formidable team in the Big 12.

Of course, leading the Big Ten West isn't the same statement as leading, say, the SEC West. There aren't many quality wins in that part of the Big Ten. Still, the Gophers have steadily improved under fourth-year head coach Jerry Kill. Minnesota's win total under Kill has gone up each year, but this is his best start to date in Minneapolis through six games. 

As Tom Dienhart of BTN.com explains, 2014 has a history-making feel for Minnesota: 

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But know this: Minnesota is 2-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2004 and just the third time since 1990. And there’s a good chance the Gophers could push that to 4-0 with games coming up vs. Purdue and at Illinois to close October. Then, the lifting gets heavy in November. In fact, no Big Ten school may have a more difficult closing month: Iowa; Ohio State; at Nebraska; at Wisconsin.

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The amazing thing about this 5-1 team is that there's only a little bit of star power. Tight end Maxx Williams (12 receptions, 225 yards, three touchdowns) is the most well-known face on this team. 

The only other player who's receiving any kind of national recognition is running back David Cobb, who ranks eighth nationally with 136.5 rushing yards per game, per cfbstats.com. But he's still overshadowed by two other running backs in the Big Ten: Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah and Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon. 

(Another Big Ten back, Indiana's Tevin Coleman, is being overlooked as well. But that's a different subject for a different day.) 

Of course, quarterback turnover hasn't helped offensive production. From MarQueis Gray to Max Shortell to Philip Nelson and now Mitch Leidner, there hasn't been a consistent guy under center for a couple of years. 

But the heart and soul of Minnesota under Kill has been the defense. From giving up 32 points a game in Kill's first season in 2011 to being a top-four scoring defense in the Big Ten in 2013, the Gophers have steadily improved on that side of the ball while the offense has tried to catch up. 

Two players off of the 2013 defense, safety Brock Vereen and defensive tackle Ra'Shede Hageman, became the first Gophers to be drafted since 2010. 

Minnesota has been opportunistic in other ways, however, scoring three touchdowns on kick returns since Kill's arrival, including one yesterday in a 24-17 win over Northwestern. 

Looking ahead, everything Minnesota has built could come down to a crucial stretch in November. In addition to playing host to the Hawkeyes on Nov. 8, Minnesota gets Ohio State at home the following week before heading to Nebraska and Wisconsin. 

Against some of the best players in the Big Ten—Abdullah, Gordon and Ohio State defensive tackle Michael Bennett—Minnesota will have more than enough opportunities to prove its worth. 

For a team that was scarcely represented on preseason Big Ten superlative lists, winning the Big Ten West would be a major accomplishment. But given Kill's history of building programs at Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois, it's not out of the realm of possibility. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football.