5 Dark Horse Teams that Could be the Next Colorado in 2017

Coming off a conference championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff, Michigan State was ranked in the top 12 in the preseason by both the AP and the coaches. But after opening the season 2-0, the Spartans lost nine of their last ten games to fall from first to last in the Big Ten East. In 2016, Mark Dantonio’s team had to deal with the loss of more than half of the offensive production that fueled its championship efforts the year before, and they suffered through an inconsistent effort from fifth-year senior Tyler O’Connor.

Working in the Spartans’ favor next season are several factors. First, Michigan State avoids both Wisconsin and Northwestern next year in cross-division play and also get to face Iowa at home. They have to go to both Ann Arbor and Columbus, two games that would provide a serious boost to schedule strength were the Spartans to win on the road. While they will need to find yet another new starting quarterback and will lose several key defensive players like Malik McDowell, the rest of the ingredients are in place for a more-experienced team to enter right back into the thick of the Big Ten race in 2017.