Big Ten Picks: Can the Huskies Help Conference Overtake SEC in College Football Playoff Field?

What’s the difference between nine and 10 wins?

The simple answer is “one.”

If you’re talking about regular-season wins for a Big Ten team, however, the real answer is:

Everything. 

Ten, and you’re almost certainly in the College Football Playoff. Nine means you’re out. 

Ten puts a team in the heavyweight division. It’s one extra mile per hour for an airplane to break the sound barrier. It’s not the summit of Mount Everest, but it's The Balcony, a stop way up there that means you’re getting close to reaching the world’s highest mountaintop. 

Can the Huskies ascend to The Balcony of the college football world this season, or will they stumble at the base camp?