Michigan vs. Northwestern: With OSU, Nebraska Down, Can Michigan Win Big Ten?

The Big Ten is one of the most intriguing conferences in the country heading into Week 6 of the college football season.

As good as the likes of Wisconsin and Michigan have been thus far, no one expected Ohio State and Nebraska to look as poor as they have in their respective losses. Both the Buckeyes and Cornhuskers were embarrassed last weekend, leaving the college football world scratching their heads and pondering what is wrong with these well-respected programs.

We know that Wisconsin is the real deal. But what about Michigan? Are the Wolverines for real this year?

More importantly, can Michigan win the Big Ten this year?

I'm not going to give a definite "no" at this point, because anything can happen at any time. But despite getting off a quick 5-0 start, people have to keep in mind that those five wins came against the likes of Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, San Diego State, Minnesota and a decent Notre Dame team.

The Wolverines haven't exactly faced a daunting schedule by any means yet. Their one challenging game came at home, under the lights, against a Notre Dame team that had them on the ropes late, but a thrilling finish led to a Michigan victory.

Starting with tonight's game against Northwestern on the road, the college football world will get a chance to see how legitimate this Michigan team really is. The Wolverines luck out by skipping Wisconsin on their schedule this year. But road games at Michigan State and Illinois could knock this team back to reality before closing out the season against Nebraska and Ohio State.

While Michigan might appear to be the second-best team in the Big Ten right now, in all reality, they are not an elite team again quite yet, and they will likely finish with at least three loses at the season's end.

But still, if Michigan finishes the regular season with just three or four loses, that's got to make some fans in Ann Arbor happy. Especially after going through what they did with Rich Rodriguez over the past three years.

Especially if they can put an end to that streak at beat Ohio State to close out the season.

So, simply put, no, Michigan is not likely to win the Big Ten this year.

But 8-4 or 9-3 should sound pretty good to these fans.