Big Ten Football: 5 biggest potential upsets of the 2017 season

With the 2017 college football season quickly approaching, lets evaluate 5 potential upset games that could rock the Big Ten power rankings.

Everyone loves a good upset, unless it’s against their favorite team.

Whether it’s Appalachian State upsetting Michigan in 2007, or Pitt’s last-minute upheaval of Clemson in 2016, the thrill of watching a team of underdogs take down a collegiate Goliath is second to none.

Going into the 2017 season, the Big Ten looks to be one of the most competitive conferences in all of college football. It’s totally conceivable that as many as four of the conference’s teams, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Wisconsin, could be in contention for a playoff berth deep into the month of December.

That is, unless they get upset.

As teams begin to schedule more competitive out-of-conference games early in the season, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult for anyone to run the table and ensure themselves a spot in the college football playoffs.

This challenge is especially true for the Big Ten, who have a number of high-profile out-of-conference games highlighting the first month’s schedule. Winning these games could serve as a major resume booster for teams on the playoff bubble, but losing them could also eliminate a team from contention before conference play even begins.

Similarly, as the Big Ten’s heavyweights prepare to play each other throughout the season, it’s possible that they could lose a trap game to a lesser squad. While a team like Wisconsin may not see Iowa as much of a challenge, that game could be circled on Iowa’s schedule all season, and prepare the entire season for this one game.

In this piece, we will examine five potential upset games in the Big Ten this season, and see how they could affect the power rankings.