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

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4. Wyoming at Iowa (Sept. 2)

Iowa will be opening the season on Sept. 2 at home against the Mountain West standouts the Wyoming Cowboys.

While facing off against a Mountain West team is typically looked at as an easy win for a Big Ten team, the 2017 Wyoming squad is surprising formidable.

Meet the Cowboys

Wyoming finished the 2016 season with an 8-6 record behind of arm of then red shirt sophomore phenom Josh Allen.

Allen, a prospect who didn’t receive a single scholarship offer coming out of high school, is now considered one of the best quarterback prospects in the entire nation, and is considered a near lock to be selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Josh possesses elite arm talent and the solid build of an NFL starter and could end up being the best quarterback Iowa faces in 2017.

Josh will be asked to lead Craig Bohl’s pro-style offense that utilizes concepts currently foreign to most of college football, like the huddle, two tight end sets and even the fullback. Bohl puts a lot of responsibility on Allen’s shoulders during the game, even allowing his quarterback the luxury of calling audible at the line of scrimmage.

In 2016, Wyoming’s defense was ranked 106th in the nation in total defense. The team struggled to keep opposing offenses out of the end-zone, but hope could be coming in the form of new defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton. Hazelton served as a defensive assistant on Bohl’s North Dakota State team and spent last season as a linebackers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

If he is able to bring some of the professional approach to the Cowboy’s squad it could help the squad win the Mountain West division.

Why it could be an upset

Iowa is building a strong program after spending a few years playing average at best football. The team is built around a tough veteran defensive front seven that can body opposing team at the line of scrimmage. This hard nose defensive helps to keep Iowa in a number of low scoring games, from which the offense’s pro-style power running attack can wear opponents down.

However, Iowa does have an Achilles heel.

Iowa keeps its defense in base formation for almost the entirety of the game. Typically when opposing offenses line up in three, four or even five wide receiver set, the defense will match up by deploying in the nickel formation (five defensive backs) or the dime formation (six defensive backs). These sub packages give the defense a better chance to match up their backs one-on-one, or to place more athletic defenders in zone coverage as opposed to a base 4-3 defense that lines up three linebackers and only four defensive backs.

This pension for the base defense will be challenged in week one, when Kirk Ferentz’s squad will face off against Craig Bohl’s multiple set offense. When evaluating tape, coach Bohl will line up his receivers in the 11 personnel package (three wide receivers, one running back and one tight end) on the majority of plays, but also calls plays out of the trips formation, ace formation and even the empty backfield with four-five wide receivers.

Allen is an incredibly talented quarterback, with great vision, arm talent and a deep understanding of the quarterback position. His able to dissect opposing defenses from the pocket is a coaches dream, and he has the ability to scramble for extra yardage if his receivers are covered. If Iowa isn’t able to match up their defense to better combat the Cowboys offense it will be incredibly hard for Iowa to beat Josh Allen and his Wyoming squad in Week 1.

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