With the Big Ten football season kicking off on Thursday night, let’s take a look at three teams that could be facing potential upsets.
The Big Ten football season is starting earlier this season than ever before as Ohio State opens the year with a road game against Indiana. The Hoosiers are hoping to pull off the mammoth upset, but the Buckeyes are bringing back a talented squad.
It’s rare to see a conference matchup this early in the season, but the Big Ten is trying something out. It’s definitely bringing some intrigue to Thursday night’s slate of games as no road game in the Big Ten is a given.
Let’s take a look at the three teams in the conference that will be on upset alert in Week 1.
Hear me out on this one. While Iowa has been one of the more consistent teams in the Big Ten West over the past few years, it did lose to an FCS foe a season ago. In fact, the Hawkeyes hosted North Dakota State and came out on the losing end of a 23-21 thriller.
That loss certainly shocked the college football world, but it wasn’t a major surprise to those who had followed the Bison. They were considered one of the best FCS programs out there and had pulled off upsets against FBS opponents before. While embarrassing, the upset wasn’t the biggest shock.
However, the Hawkeyes will be opening the 2017 season against a Mountain West opponent that finished its 2016 season with an 8-6 mark. The Cowboys of Wyoming also have one of the best quarterback prospects in the 2018 class in Josh Allen. Iowa, on the other hand, is starting a brand new quarterback with C.J. Beathard gone.
All I’m saying is this one will be much closer than people expect.