The 2017 college football season is fast approaching, and here is one x-factor for each team in the Big Ten.
Last year, 10 Big Ten teams went to a bowl game. But a collective 3-7 record, including a high profile 31-0 loss by Ohio State to eventual national champion Clemson in the College Football Playoff, was less than stellar.
Of the four teams that did not earn a bowl bid, Michigan State (3-9) was by far the most surprising and they have nowhere to go but up after a very disappointing season. But Rutgers (2-10), Purdue (3-9) and Illinois (3-9) seem to still have a long way to go in 2017.
A year after Lovie Smith (Illinois), D.J. Durkin (Maryland) and Chris Ash (Rutgers) debuted in their jobs, there are three new head coaches in the Big Ten again this year. P.J. Fleck is set to “Row The Boat” from Western Michigan to Minnesota, and Jeff Brohm is coming from a successful three-year run at Western Kentucky to lead a new era at Purdue. Tom Allen was elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach before Indiana’s bowl game last year, after Kevin Wilson’s departure, and he’ll take over permanently as a first-time head coach this year.
But the Big Ten pecking order will ultimately be determined by the players on the field. On that note, here is one player who will be the biggest x-factor for each team in the conference this year.
Purdue Boilermakers: RB D.J. Knox
Knox suffered a torn ACL in Purdue’s 2016 spring game, and missed all of last season. In 2015, in 10 games played, he had 409 rushing yards (3.8 yards per carry) and 26 receptions in a reserve role.
Brohm is bringing a prolific, fast-paced offense with him from Western Kentucky. Markell Jones is the Boilermakers’ No. 1 running back, and he may be leaned on similarly to how Anthony Wales was last year as the workhorse back in Brohm’s offense at Western Kentucky (237 carries, 30 catches). But a new offensive system will be an adjustment for everyone, and now that he’s healthy Knox should have a key role this season.
Quarterback David Blough is the Big Ten’s third-leading returning passer this year (3,352 yards in 2016), but Purdue severely lacks proven playmakers at wide receiver. Leaning on Jones, Knox and a deep group of running backs seems likely. But I’m pointing directly, specifically to Knox as a difference maker, even in a secondary role, and I’m confident Brohm will find a way to get him on the field.