Big Ten Football: 3 dark-horse candidates to win the conference in 2017

Heading into the 2017 season, there are a few teams that could pull a rabbit out of their hats and challenge for the Big Ten football title.

In a little over a month, college football will be back and it will be glorious. Now is the time to start looking at the teams that are lining up to contend in the 2017 season. Every season, there is always a team or two that surprises. This is one of the multitude of reasons why college football is so fun. The Cinderella stories make for good headlines and exciting play on the field.

Last year in the Big Ten, it was Penn State when most thought they were at least a year away from contending. In the Pac-12, Colorado was picked dead last in the South division and they surprised everyone with a 10 win season and division crown.

For 2017, there are four teams in the Big Ten that have separated themselves from the rest of the pack. This is not about those teams, but about the dark horse contenders that can make it to Indianapolis in December for the Big Ten championship game.

The Big Ten East looks to be a three team race. It would be very surprising if a team other than Ohio State, Penn State or Michigan won that division. With that said, the dark horse contenders all reside in the West division. Let’s have a look at those teams and who has the best chance to unseat Wisconsin as division champion.