Chris Collins likes to compare the Big Ten schedule to an 18-round boxing match.
In many ways, the analogy makes sense. Almost all of the 18 games each team plays are tough, physical contests. And in a year that has already shown an unusual amount of parity in the conference, no games are sure wins or sure losses for a team like Northwestern.
“You go into every round, you come out of that corner and you give everything you have into that round,” Collins said Tuesday. “Hopefully, when the dust settles, you win more rounds than you lose.