About that "except" part that comprises 33% of a team's conference schedule. In 2021:
- Iowa didn't play tOSU Mich, MSU and RU. The sum of their records was 25-11
- NU didn't play PSU, MD, Ind, and RU. The sum of their records was 9-27
Doesn't seem "mostly level" to me. I'm sure it is just a coincidence that Iowa won the division that year.
So would a theoretical 1-loss Wisconsin be worse than a PU team that finished with the 4th best record at 6-3 in the conference? PU's schedule included a loss to the 7-2 3rd best record team, and worse yet, did not include a game against either of the two teams with the best records.