Big Ten Football: 5 bold predictions for the 2017 season

Four teams from the Big Ten have cracked the top ten in the first polls of the season. Who will come out on top of this competitive conference?

The 2017 edition of the Big Ten Conference will feature a top-heavy group, with numerous potential NCAA championship-caliber teams and a competitive edge sure enough to give whoever comes out as the league winner a leg-up on competing conferences in the College Football Playoff (CFP) race.

The Penn State Nittany Lions capped off an impressive, yet shocking end to their 2016 campaign- storming back in the conference title game to defeat the Wisconsin Badgers and secure their place in Pasadena in the Rose Bowl.

Last year, the two teams representing the conference in Indianapolis- Wisconsin and Penn State- both failed to crack the top four in the CFP and saw the Ohio State Buckeyes end up representing the Big Ten in the national semifinal, despite neither winning or even making the conference title game.

This year, things will be a little more black and white as the Badgers, Buckeyes, Nittany Lions, and Michigan Wolverines are all set to begin the season as top ten teams. Of course last season, just the Buckeyes and Wolverines began the season ranked out of those four teams- which made it difficult for both Wisconsin and Penn State to climb up and put themselves in position.

There are a lot of questions and things to proven in 2017, but one thing is for sure- it never ends up like you think it will. Here are five bold predictions to look out for entering the 2017 college football season on behalf of the Big Ten Conference.