The realistic goals might not all be the same, but across the league, every team at some point has to face a crucial stretch to reach its potential.
Whether it’s simply making it to a bowl game or trying to win the Big Ten and head to the College Football Playoff, there’s a three- or four-game, make-or-break portion of the schedule that is going to determine that fate for everybody.
All week long, the Big Ten reporting crew is identifying those pivotal weeks around the conference and what they might mean this fall. Up next: Purdue.
Toughest stretch: The month of November (at Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin, at Indiana).