I look forward to this every year!I don't
Starts tomorrow, get ready to strongly disagree!You putting Sparty behind UTSA,Old Dominion,Akron & UMASS?
There will probably be at least three or four teams that will be worse than the Wolverines.Oh will you never let it go......good job
You putting Sparty behind UTSA,Old Dominion,Akron & UMASS?
Ya but some othes things conspired, good players either not making grades,being dismissed for getting in trouble and an inordinate amount of injuries too.But being blindly loyal to underachieving coaches certainly greased the skids.Ultimately he lifted the program up to great things and also watched it crash back down
I’m predicting MSU is 12th in preseason Big Ten. Ahead of only Rutgers and either Illinois or Maryland. Dantonio left such an unflushed toilet of a program.
Ya but some othes things conspired, good players either not making grades,being dismissed for getting in trouble and an inordinate amount of injuries too.But being blindly loyal to underachieving coaches certainly greased the skids.Ultimately he lifted the program up to great things and also watched it crash back down2019 7 6
#130 UTEP Miners |
#14 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Justin Garrett, Senior |
G | Bobby DeHaro, Junior |
K | Gavin Baechle, Junior |
. | |
DE | Praise Amaewhule, Sophomore |
CB | Duron Lowe, Senior |
CB | Josh Caldwell, Senior |
#129 North Texas Mean Green |
#13 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Tre Siggers, Junior |
WR | Jaelon Darden, Senior |
TE | Jason Pirtle, Senior |
. | |
DT | Dion Novil, Senior |
LB | Tyreke Davis, Senior |
LB | K.D. Davis, Junior |
#128 New Mexico State Aggies |
Independent |
KEY PLAYER | |
QB | Josh Adkins, Junior |
WR | Robert Downs III, Senior |
T | Jalen Guerrero, Senior |
. | |
DE | Xander Yarberough, Senior |
LB | Rashie Hodge, Jr., Senior |
LB | Devin Richardson, Sophomore |
There will be like 9 SEC teams in the top 20, including three of the top five.Been looking at the recruiting rankings?
Those are my wild stabs
#127 Texas State Bobcats |
#10 in Sun Belt |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Tyler Vitt, Junior |
RB | Caleb Twyford, Senior |
WR | Trevis Graham Jr., Junior |
. | |
DT | Caveon Patton, Senior |
CB | Jarron Morris, Junior |
CB | Khambrall Winters, Sophomore |
Driving cross-country on I-10 reveals how close NMST is to UTEP. Big-time rivalry, I bet. YUGE!I've also driven the entire length of I10 and you are right. There are two things you probably wouldn't realize if you hadn't driven that:
#126 FIU Panthers |
#12 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Shemar Thornton, Senior |
TE | Sterling Palmer, Junior |
T | D'Ante Demery, Senior |
. | |
DE | Alexy Jean-Baptiste, Senior |
CB | Rishard Dames, Senior |
P | Tommy Heatherly, Senior |
#125 Eastern Michigan Eagles |
#12 in MAC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Dylan Drummond, Junior |
WR | Quian Williams, Junior |
C | Mike Van Hoeven, Senior |
. | |
DE | Turan Rush, Senior |
DT | Mikey Haney, Sophomore |
LB | Terry Myrick, Senior |
#124 Rice Owls |
#11 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Brad Rozner, Senior |
WR | Austin Trammell, Senior |
C | Shea Baker, Junior |
. | |
LB | Blaze Alldredge, Senior |
LB | Antonio Montero, Junior |
S | Treshawn Chamberlain, Junior |
#123 New Mexico Lobos |
#12 in Mountain West |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Tevaka Tuioti, Junior |
T | Teton Saltes, Senior |
C | Kyle Stapley, Senior |
. | |
LB | Jacobi Hearn, Senior |
S | Jerrick Reed II, Senior |
P | Tyson Dyer, Senior |
What will be the next state, with at least two teams, to get entirely eliminated?Colorado? Probably a state with only two teams that are not good. Arkansas? Kansas?
#122 UTSA Roadrunners |
#10 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Sincere McCormick, Sophomore |
WR | Zakhari Franklin, Sophomore |
G | Spencer Burford, Junior |
. | |
DE | DeQuarius Henry, Senior |
DT | Jaylon Haynes, Senior |
S | Rashad Wisdom, Sophomore |
#121 Akron Zips |
#11 in MAC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Kato Nelson, Senior |
WR | Nate Stewart, Senior |
WR | Jeremiah Knight, Junior |
. | |
DE | Dylan Meeks, Senior |
LB | Bubba Arslanian, Junior |
CB | Jordyn Riley, Junior |
Colorado? Probably a state with only two teams that are not good. Arkansas? Kansas?With that criteria in mind, put me down for Massachusetts.
With that criteria in mind, put me down for Massachusetts.nebraska for obvious reasons??
Colorado is a triad, btw, but still in contention.
Who will be the first one team state?
With that criteria in mind, put me down for Massachusetts.Might have to change my vote to Nevada. Forgot about them. Two G5 teams with the best one having a similar record to BC? Not NM bad, but pretty bad nonetheless.
Colorado is a triad, btw, but still in contention.
Who will be the first one team state?
#120 Liberty Flames |
Independent |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Joshua Mack, Senior |
RB | Shedro Louis, Sophomore |
WR | D.J. Stubbs, Senior |
. | |
DE | TreShaun Clark, Sophomore |
DT | Ralfs Rusins, Senior |
CB | Javon Scruggs, Senior |
#119 Northern Illinois Huskies |
#10 in MAC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Cole Tucker, Junior |
TE | Mitchell Brinkman, Senior |
K | John Richardson, Sophomore |
. | |
DT | Jack Heflin, Senior |
LB | Vinny Labus, Junior |
CB | Jalen McKie, Junior |
#118 Toledo Rockets |
#9 in MAC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Bryant Koback, Junior |
WR | Bryce Mitchell, Senior |
G | Nick Rosi, Sophomore |
. | |
DE | Jamal Hines, Junior |
S | Saeed Holt, Junior |
S | Tycen Anderson, Senior |
And just like that Ohio is a quarter of the way down the plank.It's interesting, to me, how you track this, sort of fun. And why not? I was thinking that my state has Georgia State and Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State. They should all crap up fairly soon along with that other team.
#117 San Jose State Spartans |
#11 in Mountain West |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Tre Walker, Senior |
WR | Bailey Gaither, Senior |
T | Jack Snyder, Senior |
. | |
LB | Kyle Harmon, Junior |
LB | Rico Tolefree, Junior |
S | Jay Lenard, Senior |
It's interesting, to me, how you track this, sort of fun. And why not? I was thinking that my state has Georgia State and Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State. They should all crap up fairly soon along with that other team.Auburn? Methinks you'll be waiting a while.
It wasn't that long ago when GA and NC weren't all that much bigger than AL, LA, and SC. They were maybe 30-40% larger back in 1990, but now they're twice as big.Hmm... I wonder if generational data would explain it...
And speaking of GA and NC, they have been neck-and-neck population-wise for a good long while. It's interesting to note that despite these similarities, NC isn't anywhere near the recruiting hotbed Georgia is (in fact, it probably takes a backseat to states like LA, MS, AL, and SC). It's probably due to the fact that football isn't as emphasized in NC (it's all about pingpong on hardwood there) while in GA it's football first, second, and third. That said, GA is no slouch in high school hoops, but it's clearly not as good as NC (and lots of HS hotshots in GA go to ACC schools anyway).
Hmm... I wonder if generational data would explain it...The state right underneath Georgia is one of the 5 oldest. Hmm.
Population-wise, were they driven by young professionals flooding the state 15-20 years ago to raise their families, and now there's a glut of school-age children that weren't there before? Where both GA and NC have an advantage over the other southern states is having very large metro areas with jobs, but also having very low cost of living compared to NY/DC/Chicago/CA/PacNW.
Georgia is near the bottom when you look at states ranked by median age: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_median_age (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_median_age)
That might suggest that Georgia's population growth is skewed such that the youth population grew even faster than the overall state population, and might explain why it became a hotbed of athletic talent. More kids = more potential top-level athletes.
The state right underneath Georgia is one of the 5 oldest. Hmm.It's where old people go to die.
#116 Army Black Knights |
Independent |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Sandon McCoy, Senior |
WR | Camden Harrison, Senior |
C | J.B. Hunter, Senior |
. | |
DE | Edrice Patterson, Senior |
LB | Arik Smith, Junior |
P | Zach Harding, Junior |
Population is a factor of course, but clearly not the sole factor (NY). Florida has those football academies which attract good players from other states who want to specialize in football (and probably carry the minimum classwork to be eligible).
It also has a lot of top football recruits, but given that it is the third most populous state in the US, sheer population explains it.
#115 Old Dominion Monarchs |
#9 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Hayden Wolff, Freshman |
RB | Lala Davis, Sophomore |
C | Isaac Weaver, Senior |
. | |
DE | Keion White, Junior |
LB | Lawrence Garner, Senior |
CB | Kaleb Ford-Dement, Junior |
Auburn? I don't think they are in the state of Georgia.sure it is
#114 South Alabama Jaguars |
#9 in Sun Belt |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Desmond Trotter, Sophomore |
WR | Kawann Baker, Senior |
T | Jacob Shoemaker, Senior |
. | |
LB | Riley Cole, Senior |
LB | Nick Mobley, Junior |
LB | A.J. DeShazor, Junior |
#113 Bowling Green Falcons |
#8 in MAC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Bryson Denley, Senior |
WR | Quintin Morris, Senior |
WR | Julian Ortega-Jones, Sophomore |
. | |
DE | Karl Brooks, Junior |
LB | Kholbe Coleman, Senior |
LB | Jerry Roberts, Junior |
#112 Massachusetts Minutemen |
Independent |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Andrew Brito, Junior |
WR | O.C. Johnson Jr., Sophomore |
T | Larnel Coleman, Senior |
. | |
LB | Chinedu Ogbonna, Senior |
LB | Cole McCubey, Senior |
LB | Mike Ruang, Senior |
#111 UNLV Rebels |
#10 in Mountain West |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Charles Williams, Senior |
WR | Randal Grimes, Junior |
G | Julio Garcia, Senior |
. | |
LB | Farrell Hester II, Senior |
S | Bryce Jackson, Junior |
S | Greg Francis, Senior |
also, a town named Auburn in Washington st, Indiana, Cali, Maine, New York, and MassachusettsAuburn automobiles were made in Auburn, IN.
#110 Troy Trojans |
#8 in Sun Belt |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Kaylon Geiger, Senior |
WR | Reggie Todd, Senior |
T | Austin Stidham, Senior |
. | |
DT | Will Choloh, Junior |
LB | Carlton Martial, Junior |
S | Dell Pettus, Sophomore |
Auburn automobiles were made in Auburn, IN.There is an Auburn/Cord/Duesenberg Museum there today. I have never been there but I would like to visit someday.
It's where old people go to die.Florida is definitely an unusual case. Generally states with stable or declining populations are older while states with rapidly growing populations are younger. Florida is unusual in that they are growing rapidly and yet they are older due to the vast number of retirees.
It also has a lot of top football recruits, but given that it is the third most populous state in the US, sheer population explains it.
#109 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders |
#8 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Asher O'Hara, Junior |
T | Will Gilchrist, Senior |
T | Robert Jones, Senior |
. | |
LB | D.Q. Thomas, Senior |
S | Reed Blankenship, Senior |
S | Kylan Stribling, Senior |
#108 Fresno State Bulldogs |
#9 in Mountain West |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Ronnie Rivers, Senior |
WR | Zane Pope, Junior |
T | Dontae Bull, Junior |
. | |
DT | Kevin Atkins, Senior |
LB | Justin Rice, Senior |
S | Wylan Free, Junior |
At least it stayed on the road...unlike this threadHigh Jackers - I blame Fearless
#107 UL Monroe Warhawks |
#7 in Sun Belt |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Josh Johnson, Senior |
WR | Jonathan Hodoh, Senior |
TE | Josh Pederson, Senior |
. | |
DE | Kerry Starks, Senior |
CB | Corey Straughter, Senior |
S | Tyler Glass, Senior |
#106 Central Michigan Chippewas |
#7 in MAC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Kobe Lewis, Junior |
WR | Kalil Pimperton, Junior |
TE | Tony Poljan, Senior |
. | |
DT | Robi Stuart, Junior |
LB | Troy Brown, Junior |
CB | Alonzo McCoy, Senior |
#105 Vanderbilt Commodores |
#14 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Cam Johnson, Sophomore |
T | Tyler Steen, Sophomore |
G | Jonathan Junior, Junior |
. | |
LB | Dimitri Moore, Junior |
LB | Andre Mintze, Senior |
S | Tae Daley, Senior |
#104 Connecticut Huskies |
Independent |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Jack Zergiotis, Sophomore |
RB | Kevin Mensah, Senior |
WR | Cameron Ross, Sophomore |
. | |
DE | Lwal Uguak, Junior |
LB | Omar Fortt, Senior |
S | Diamond Harrell, Senior |
As for my prediction for the first mono-team state I will stay in New England and pick UConn.Cha ching!
The SEC has a team posted before the AAC.Heh, I had not realized Vandy had dropped this far of late. They obviously get squeezed out in recruiting.
#103 Colorado State Rams |
#8 in Mountain West |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Patrick O'Brien, Senior |
WR | Warren Jackson, Senior |
TE | Trey McBride, Junior |
. | |
DE | Manny Jones, Senior |
DT | Ellison Hubbard, Senior |
P | Ryan Stonehouse, Senior |
#102 East Carolina Pirates |
#11 in American |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | C.J. Johnson, Sophomore |
T | D'Ante Smith, Senior |
K | Jake Verity, Senior |
. | |
LB | Xavier Smith, Junior |
LB | Gerald Stringer, Senior |
S | Davondre Robinson, Senior |
#101 Rutgers Scarlet Knights |
#14 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Isaih Pacheco, Junior |
WR | Bo Melton, Senior |
T | Mike Lonsdorf, Senior |
. | |
LB | Tyshon Fogg, Senior |
LB | Rashawn Battle, Senior |
P | Adam Korsak, Senior |
#100 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs |
#7 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Justin Henderson, Senior |
WR | Adrian Hardy, Senior |
T | Willie Allen, Senior |
. | |
DE | Milton Williams, Junior |
LB | Willie Baker, Senior |
LB | Ezekiel Barnett, Senior |
Well yeah, but nothing to crow about? They have three NCs since the last time that the Big Ten won one, even of you include Maryland, and the Big Ten does plenty of crowing.UConn women's basketball will be "back" sooner rather than later. They have a super recruit coming in next year that will probably be in the conversation for National Player of the Year. With my daughter now in high school and starting as a freshman for a team that made it the final four of the state tournament (forgive the gratuitous dad brag moment), I've been a little more in touch with girls high school basketball lately. This kid that's going to UConn, Paige Bueckers, is unbelievable.
Maybe I just make them up. Would you bother checking?If I was to publish a pre season Insider,yes.Just curious where you get all the preseason info,not chop busting.
If I was to publish a pre season Insider,yes.Just curious where you get all the preseason info,not chop busting.Don't worry, I didn't take it that way
#99 Charlotte 49ers |
#6 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Chris Reynolds, Junior |
WR | Victor Turner, Junior |
WR | Cameron Dollar, Junior |
. | |
DE | Markees Watts, Junior |
DE | Tyriq Harris, Senior |
CB | N |
#98 Georgia State Panthers |
#6 in Sun Belt |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Cornelius McCoy, Junior |
TE | Aubry Payne, Senior |
G | Shamarious Gilmore, Senior |
. | |
DE | Hardrick Willis, Junior |
DT | Dontae Wilson, Senior |
LB | Trajan Stephens-McQueen, Senior |
#97 Kansas Jayhawks |
#10 in Big XII |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Pooka Williams Jr., Junior |
FB | Ben Miles, Junior |
WR | Andrew Parchment, Senior |
. | |
LB | Gavin Potter, Sophomore |
LB | Kyron Johnson, Senior |
P | Kyle Thompson, Senior |
#96 South Florida Bulls |
#10 in American |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Jordan McCloud, Sophomore |
RB | Kelley Joiner, Sophomore |
WR | Randall St. Felix, Junior |
. | |
LB | Dwayne Boyles, Junior |
LB | Antonio Grier, Junior |
CB | K.J. Sails, Senior |
#95 Stanford Cardinal |
#12 in Pac 12 |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Connor Wedington, Senior |
T | Foster Sarell, Senior |
C | Drew Dalman, Senior |
. | |
DE | Thomas Booker, Junior |
LB | Curtis Robinson, Senior |
CB | Paulson Adebo, Senior |
#94 Ball State Cardinals |
#6 in MAC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Caleb Huntley, Senior |
WR | Justin Hall, Senior |
G | Curtis Blackwell, Senior |
. | |
LB | Jaylin Thomas, Senior |
CB | Antonio Phillips, Senior |
CB | Amechi Uzodinma II, Junior |
Georgia State has the largest enrollment in the state. It's largely a commuter school but is changing apparently. They play football in the old Braves' stadium downtown and have major expansion plans for that general area. They should be able to find decent talent overlooked by others. This image of course includes a level of attendance not generally seen.I just looked up this stadium in the Font of All Wisdom and Knowledge. This led me to other articles. The history of Atlanta's stadiums is a convoluted one. Turner Field didn't last very long, although perhaps longer than The Ballpark at Arlington. A whole lot of money was spent on construction and multiple renovations of the Georgia Dome for it to have only lasted 25 years.
[img width=500 height=263.991]https://i.imgur.com/JLohPds.jpg[/img]
#93 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers |
#5 in Sun Belt |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | C.J. Marable, Senior |
WR | Javon Heiligh, Junior |
TE | Isaiah Likely, Junior |
. | |
DE | Tarron Jackson, Senior |
DT | C.J. Brewer, Senior |
LB | Teddy Gallagher, Senior |
#95 Stanford Cardinal #12 in Pac 12
KEY PLAYERS WR Connor Wedington, Senior T Foster Sarell, Senior C Drew Dalman, Senior . DE Thomas Booker, Junior LB Curtis Robinson, Senior CB Paulson Adebo, Senior
#92 Arkansas Razorbacks |
#13 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Feleipe Franks, Senior |
RB | Rakeem Boyd, Senior |
WR | Mike Woods, Junior |
. | |
LB | Bumper Pool, Junior |
CB | Montaric Brown, Junior |
S | Joe Foucha, Junior |
With a name like that they're lucky they're not below UTEP
#93 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers #5 in Sun Belt
Levi Draper has a ton of potential. And he'll probably still have a ton of potential 3 years from now.. . . They did add a pair of former 4* grad transfers in lineman Xavier Kelly from Clemson, and linebacker Levi Draper from Oklahoma. But the defense is a LONG ways away. . . .
#92 Arkansas Razorbacks #13 in SEC
#92 Arkansas Razorbacks #13 in SEC
KEY PLAYERS QB Feleipe Franks, Senior RB Rakeem Boyd, Senior WR Mike Woods, Junior . LB Bumper Pool, Junior CB Montaric Brown, Junior S Joe Foucha, Junior
#91 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets |
#14 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | James Graham, Sophomore |
RB | Jordan Mason, Junior |
G | Jack DeFoor, Senior |
. | |
LB | David Curry, Senior |
CB | Tre Swilling, Junior |
CB | Kaleb Oliver, Junior |
#90 Western Michigan Broncos |
#5 in MAC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Skyy Moore, Sophomore |
T | Jaylon Moore, Senior |
G | Mike Caliendo, Senior |
. | |
DE | Ali Fayed, Senior |
LB | Treshaun Hayward, Senior |
CB | Patrick Lupro, Junior |
#89 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors |
#7 in Mountain West |
KEY PLAYERS | |
T | Ilm Manning, Junior |
T | Gene Pryor, Senior |
C | Taaga Tuulima, Senior |
. | |
DT | Blessman Ta'ala, Junior |
CB | Cortez Davis, Senior |
S | Khoury Bethley, Junior |
#88 Maryland Terrapins |
#13 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Josh Jackson, Senior |
WR | Dontay Demus Jr., Junior |
T | Jaelyn Duncan, Sophomore |
. | |
LB | Ayinde Eley, Junior |
LB | Chance Campbell, Junior |
S | Nick Cross, Sophomore |
#87 Kent State Golden Flashes |
#4 in MAC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Dustin Crum, Senior |
WR | Isaiah McKoy, Junior |
K | Matthew Trickett, Junior |
. | |
LB | Mandela Lawrence-Burke, Senior |
LB | Cepeda Phillips, Senior |
CB | Keith Sherald Jr., Senior |
#86 Houston Cougars |
#9 in American |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Clayton Tune, Junior |
RB | Kyle Porter, Senior |
WR | Marquez Stevenson, Senior |
. | |
DE | David Anenih, Senior |
LB/S | Grant Stuard, Senior |
CB | Damarion Williams, Senior |
For someone in Tulsa, Houston is an easy program to dislike. And Dana Holgorsen is a weird dude who is also easy to dislike. Tanking the 2019 season so that he can have his ducks lined up for 2020 stinks, IMO.Houston felt on the cusp of big boy things, landing Ed Oliver, and playing in the New Years Six. But like Houston had occasionally in its history, every time it was on the cusp of playing with the big boys, the big boys swooped in and picked them apart. This time, the Cougars decided they were going to spend like the big boys, poaching a Power Five school’s coach, in West Virginia’s Dana Holgorson. The early returns? Not favorable. Houston stumbled to a 4-8 season, their worst since 2004, and his two best players quit the team. Holgorson is an offensive guy, and while their offense was fine, it’s going to be a whole lot better if this is the joke of a defense he is going to roll out. While the stated reason for D’Eriq King’s decision, at least initially, was a decision to play for 2020 in a manner that we are just only now starting to be ok with at the pro level, and we’ve never heard at the college level. So while that got more media attention, that mentality carried over the defensive side of the ball. The result was a predictable train wreck, that finished second worst in the American in scoring defense, total defense, rushing defense, and...hey, third worst in passing defense. Several seniors saw their roles diminished to play some underclassmen, so now, with 8 returning starters, the hope has to be that it pays off. The Cougars return the third most defensive production in the nation. Holgorson is making too much money for Houston to just cut their losses after Year 2, so it’s probably co-defensive coordinators Doug Belk and Joe Cauthen who have more on the line. They have one mega-playmaker to work with in positionless senior Grant Stuard. Houston’s official depth chart lists him as a nickelback in a 4-2-5. But it’s really a 4-2-4, and Stuard does all sorts of different things. Houston’s official spring roster lists him as a linebacker. The AAC named him as a safety in their 2019 postseason honors. Beyond him though, very little of the youth movement showed promise. As awful as the defense was, and as fine as the offense was, the Cougars were elite on special teams. They have to replace punter Dane Roy, who was fifth in the nation in punting, but that’s it. That includes kicker Dalton Witherspoon, who was 20-24 on field goals and perfect on extra points; and an elite group of returners who took 4 back for touchdowns last year, led by Marquez Stevenson’s two kick return touchdowns. The offense has its own issues, as most of the metrics that incorporate some sort of luck factor indicate that they should have scored about 4 fewer points per game. They were not on the field that much, converting just 34.8% of their third downs, and having the second highest giveaway rate in the conference. But they averaged 30.7 ppg, with an expected scoring average 26.9, down nearly 13 ppg from 2018. Houston had a top 4 class in the American in each of the past four seasons, so even with the departures they should still have enough talent to maybe flirt with bowl eligibility, but this program feels like a mess right now. And speaking of incoming talent, the Cougars just inked their worst class in years, as Holgorson’s first complete class.
#86 Houston Cougars #9 in American
KEY PLAYERS QB Clayton Tune, Junior RB Kyle Porter, Senior WR Marquez Stevenson, Senior . DE David Anenih, Senior LB/S Grant Stuard, Senior CB Damarion Williams, Senior
#85 Ohio Bobcats |
#3 in MAC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | O'Shaan Allison, Sophomore |
WR | Isiah Cox, Junior |
TE | Ryan Luehrman, Senior |
. | |
DE | Austin Conrad, Senior |
LB | Dylan Conner, Senior |
CB | Marlin Brooks, Senior |
Ohio (the state) is in serious trouble. 3/4 of their teams have already burst onto the scene. Up to its armpits in the wood chipper. Only two teams remain. Pretty sure they are in the worst shape of any of the 5+ team states.One of the two teams carries the load for all 5, though...
Not ND?Yeah, they'll probably be top 20. They are perennially overrated, after all.
Ohio (the state) is in serious trouble. 3/4 of their teams have already burst onto the scene. Up to its armpits in the wood chipper. Only two teams remain. Pretty sure they are in the worst shape of any of the 5+ team states.
SMUw hasn't outlasted a TX P5 yet, but as the only remaining G5 in that state, there's still a chance.
Huh? 🧐
#84 Syracuse Orange |
#13 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Tommy DeVito, Junior |
WR | Taj Harris, Junior |
K | Andre Szmyt, Junior |
. | |
DT | Josh Black, Senior |
S | Andre Cisco, Junior |
S | Eric Coley, Junior |
#83 Arizona Wildcats |
#11 in Pac 12 |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Grant Gunnell, Sophomore |
WR | Jamarye Joiner, Sophomore |
T | Donovan Laie, Junior |
. | |
LB | Colin Schooler, Senior |
LB | Jalen Harris, Junior |
CB | Lorenzo Burns, Senior |
#82 UAB Blazers |
#5 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Austin Watkins Jr., Senior |
WR | Myron Mitchell, Senior |
T | Colby Raglund, Senior |
. | |
DE | Jordan Smith, Junior |
LB | Kristopher Moll, Senior |
CB | T.D. Marshall, Senior |
#81 Southern Miss Golden Eagles |
#4 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Jack Abraham, Senior |
WR | Tim Jones, Junior |
G | Arvin Fletcher, Senior |
. | |
DE | Jacques Turner, Senior |
LB | Swayze Bozeman, Senior |
S | Ky |
#80 Utah State Aggies |
#6 in Mountain West |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Jaylen Warren, Senior |
WR | Savon Scarver, Senior |
C | Demytrick Ali'fua, Senior |
. | |
DE | Nick Heninger, Senior |
S | Shaq Bond, Senior |
S | Troy Lefeged Jr., Senior |
#79 Tulane Green Wave |
#8 in American |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Corey Dauphine, Senior |
TE | Tyrick James, Junior |
G | Corey Dublin, Senior |
. | |
DE | Patrick Johnson, Senior |
S | Chase Kuerschen, Senior |
S | Larry Brooks, Junior |
#78 Nevada Wolf Pack |
#5 in Mountain West |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Toa Taua, Junior |
WR | Romeo Doubs, Junior |
K | Brandon Talton, Sophomore |
. | |
DE | Dom Peterson, Junior |
LB | Lawson Hall, Senior |
S | Tyson Williams, Junior |
Ohio State has a decent shot at starting out Numero Uno in some polls.I'd really like to believe that,not sure they'll take the East.
I'd really like to believe that,not sure they'll take the East.I don't want them to, but they did. At least outwardly
PS - ELA thanx with all this time these will be read twice.Just curious why do you want Houston to tank
#77 South Carolina Gamecocks |
#12 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Ryan Hilinski, Sophomore |
WR | Shi Smith, Senior |
T | Sadarius Hutcherson, Senior |
. | |
DE | Aaron Sterling, Senior |
LB | Ernest Jones, Junior |
CB | Israel Mukuamu, Junior |
#76 Arkansas State Red Wolves |
#4 in Sun Belt |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Jonathan Adams Jr., Senior |
T | Jarrett Horst, Junior |
K | Blake Grupe, Junior |
. | |
DE | William Bradley-King, Senior |
LB | Caleb Bonner, Senior |
S | Antonio Fletcher, Junior |
Remaining one team states: Idaho, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Who drops first?
2+ team states that are down to their final at bat:Arkansas (stAte), Kansas (KSU), Maryland (Navy), Massachusetts (BC),Nevada (Reno), Arizona (ASU), New York (Buffalo) and S Carolina (Clemson). Who drops first?
#75 Tulsa Golden Hurricane |
#7 in American |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Zach Smith, Senior |
RB | Shamari Brooks, Senior |
WR | Keylon Stokes, Senior |
. | |
LB | Zaven Collins, Junior |
CB | Allie Green IV, Senior |
S | Cristian Williams, Senior |
#74 Colorado Buffaloes |
#10 in Pac 12 |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Alex Fontenot, Senior |
WR | K.D. Nixon, Senior |
TE | Brady Russell, Senior |
. | |
DE | Mustafa Johnson, Senior |
LB | Nate Landman, Senior |
S | Derrion Rakestraw, Senior |
#73 NC State Wolfpack |
#12 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Devin Leary, Sophomore |
TE | Cary Angeline, Senior |
K | Christopher Dunn, Junior |
. | |
LB | Louis Acceus, Senior |
CB | Chris Ingram, Senior |
P | Treton Gill, Junior |
IMO, Tulsa coach Phillip Montgomery is a piece of crap. He rode into town on Art Briles' coattails, telling everyone that Briles was like a second father to him. Then, after the stench in Waco got too powerful to ignore, and Briles ended up being canned, Montgomery went mum on the subject. He will not answer questions, and the Tulsa media rarely dares to ask anything tough.MSU having them as the opener last year felt dangerous, and I couldn't believe how bad they were. Opposite of the year prior where I thought Utah State was trash, and in retrospect they were one of the best mid majors in 2018
Montgomery inherited some young talent that hadn't bloomed in time to save Bill Blankenship's job, but after going 16-10 his first two years has faded to 9-27 over the next three. He's been there 5 years, but he had a worse record after 4 years than Blankenship did in his 4 years, and last year's 4-8 campaign just made his record even worse. How he still has a job is a mystery to me. Maybe he's got some pictures of the TU president on vacation in Tijuana.
IMO, Tulsa coach Phillip Montgomery is a piece of crap. He rode into town on Art Briles' coattails, telling everyone that Briles was like a second father to him. Then, after the stench in Waco got too powerful to ignore, and Briles ended up being canned, Montgomery went mum on the subject. He will not answer questions, and the Tulsa media rarely dares to ask anything tough.Well he may not have known and Briles was prolly very pretentious.Unless he was around Briles long enough to know better.Ya know it's hard to wrap your head around some of the lecherous behavior of these sanctimonious jerks.Seems guys named Montgomery are a-holes,I know the British General if you want call him that was
Montgomery inherited some young talent that hadn't bloomed in time to save Bill Blankenship's job,
Well he may not have known and Briles was prolly very pretentious.Unless he was around Briles long enough to know better.Ya know it's hard to wrap your head around some of the lecherous behavior of these sanctimonious jerks.Seems guys named Montgomery are a-holes,I know the British General if you want call him that wasRead the write-up!
#72 Illinois Fighting Illini |
#12 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Josh Imatorbhebhe, Senior |
T | AleX Palczewski, Senior |
C | Doug Kramer, Senior |
. | |
LB | Jake Hansen, Senior |
CB | Nate Hobbs, Senior |
S | Sydney Brown, Junior |
I'm a tad surprised that USCe would be this low actually, maybe because they play us pretty tough each year usually. That program "should" be able to average something like 7-5 or 8-4 with all the talent around even if they can't compete with Clemson for now. Coaching might be important.
#71 Northwestern Wildcats |
#11 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Drake Anderson, Sophomore |
WR | Riley Lees, Senior |
WR | Rashawn Slater, Senior |
. | |
LB | Paddy Fisher, Senior |
LB | Blake Gallagher, Senior |
S | Travis Whillock, Senior |
South Carolina is a weird team I think, and Muschamp is not the coach they need, I think that is apparent today. I doubt he makes it to 2021. I was befuddled as to why they hired him, but they did upset UGA last season (which may have spared UGA from a somewhat embarrassing playoff result).I've wondered that too.
I wonder if it is better to be 12-2 and win your bowl game or 12-2 and get blown out in a playoff first round event.
#70 BYU Cougars |
Independent |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Zach Wilson, Junior |
TE | Matt BUshman, Senior |
C | James Empey, Junior |
. | |
LB | Isaiah Kaufusi, Senior |
LB | Kavika Fonua, Senior |
LB | Payton Wilgar, Sophomore |
I've wondered that too.Depends on the program. Helmet schools, probably the bowl win, give yourself some momentum into next year, and inflated ranking to help you, and you'll probably have another great season shortly.
#69 Georgia Southern Eagles |
#3 in Sun Belt |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Shai Werts, Senior |
RB | Wesley Kennedy III, Senior |
RB | J.D. King, Senior |
. | |
DE | Raymond Johnson III, Senior |
LB | Rashad Byrd, Senior |
S | Kenderick Duncan Jr., Junior |
I'm all holed up in southern Utah, and the school here, Dixie State, is moving up to D1 this year. They will be an FCS independent for FB, and in the WAC for everything else. There is another FCS team 50 miles up the road, SUU, who is in the Big Sky. The nearest FBS team is UNLV at 120 miles away. The Utes are the closest P5, I believe, at over 300 miles away. BYU is a little bit closer than the Utes.Dixie St sounds like a fictional college in Mississippi. Pretty sure Bobby Boudreaux had 6 sacks against them.
Dixie St sounds like a fictional college in Mississippi. Pretty sure Bobby Boudreaux had 6 sacks against them.That was in the Mud Bowl, so it didn't count for conference rankings.
#70 BYU Cougars Independent
KEY PLAYERS QB Zach Wilson, Junior TE Matt BUshman, Senior C James Empey, Junior . LB Isaiah Kaufusi, Senior LB Kavika Fonua, Senior LB Payton Wilgar, Sophomore
He sounds like a kind of musroom.
#68 Wyoming Cowboys |
#4 in Mountain West |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Xazavian Valladay, Junior |
C | Keegan Cryder, Junior |
G | Logan Harris, Senior |
. | |
DE | Solomon Byrd, Sophomore |
DE | Garrett Crall, Senior |
LB | Chad Muma, Junior |
#67 Boston College Eagles |
#11 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
TE | Hunter Long, Junior |
T | Ben Petrula, Senior |
G | Zion Johnson, Senior |
. | |
LB | Max Richardson, Senior |
LB | John Lamot, Senior |
S | Mike Palmer, Senior |
BC has become a school that you sort of forget about even being a P5 program. They have been mediocre at best and often times outright bad in the two major sports for over a decade now.I feel like they've rarely been bad, but as you said, they've never been good. Other schools have had random bad seasons, but at least had one year, somewhere, where they've also been good.
GaTech was pretty good a decade or so back, VaTech as well, Miami further back I think.Yeah, that's a minute to go without a Sweet 16 or a Top 15 football finish.
BC and Miami lost their identities when they moved to the ACC.I remember when that move happened - it was supposed cast the rest of CFB asunder.Clemson wasn't even a blip on thew screen
Syracuse, VT and Pitt too, to a lesser extent I guess.
I feel like they've rarely been bad, but as you said, they've never been good. Other schools have had random bad seasons, but at least had one year, somewhere, where they've also been good.The “bad” was more in reference to their basketball program. They have had single digit win seasons in 4 of the last 9 years with a 19-16 campaign being the one winning season in that span. It’s hard for a P5 program to end a basketball season with less than 10 wins. BC is getting pretty good at it.
I think the ACC suffers from this more than any conference, as far as number of schools that haven't even had a singular really good season in either sports in too long. BC, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Pitt, Virginia Tech, NC State, Miami. When was the last time any of those schools reached a Sweet 16 or finished a football season ranked in the Top 15?
#68 Wyoming Cowboys #4 in Mountain West
KEY PLAYERS RB Xazavian Valladay, Junior C Keegan Cryder, Junior G Logan Harris, Senior . DE Solomon Byrd, Sophomore DE Garrett Crall, Senior LB Chad Muma, Junior
What if you added Memphis, Pitt, Houston ... city schools mostly, and not bad at all.
It just dawned on me that those 5 schools, plus WVU, Louisville, Rutgers and Cincinnati, could make up a nice conference.
#66 Purdue Boilermakers |
#10 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Jack Plummer, Sophomore |
WR | Rondale Moore, Sophomore |
WR | David Bell, Sophomore |
. | |
DE | George Karlaftis, Sophomore |
DE | Derrick Barnes, Senior |
S | Cory Trice, Sophomore |
#65 Buffalo Bulls |
#2 in MAC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Jaret Patterson, Junior |
WR | Antonio Nunn, Senior |
T | Kayode Awoskia, Senior |
. | |
DE | Taylor Riggins, Senior |
DE | Malcolm Koonce, Senior |
S | Tyrone Hill, Senior |
So New York's goose is cooked.I lost track. Is New Jersey out?
When combined with New England, everything North of the Big Ten states is out.
Is Maryland considered a Northern state? I know they were a slave state, but they remained in the union.West Virginia broke away (maybe?) solely to stay in the Union, and they still have both schools in.
I was just wondering if Maryland is considered a "Big Ten" state. I know Maryland is in the conference, but in general the conference is made up of Midwest schools. I guess central PA is Midwest, kinda??Western PA is solidly Midwest. Pittsburgh is more like Indianapolis than it is like Philly.
Is Maryland considered a Northern state? I know they were a slave state, but they remained in the union.Historically, Maryland was considered one of the "Chesapeake" colonies, along with Virginia.
Pennsylvania is Pittsburg and Philly divided by Alabama.When I first went there with Gator back in 2003 he called the middle "Pennsyltucky". I laughed.
Big Ten-SEC has always been divided along Civil War lines. So Maryland is fine.Kentucky was a border state obviously and never seceded except by a temporary faked Legislature installed and voted and ran.
Kentucky and Missouri count as "part of the Confederacy" for this particular exercise. O0They lose enough in football, don't tack one more L on them
#64 Duke Blue Devils |
#10 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Damond Philyaw-Johnson, Junior |
TE | Noah Gray, Senior |
C | Jack Wohlabaugh, Senior |
. | |
DE | Victor Dimukeje, Senior |
DE | Chris Rumph II, Junior |
S | Marquis Waters, Senior |
It’s hard to believe, but David Cutcliffe is entering his thirteenth season as the Duke head football coach, making him the dean of the ACC, and one of just 8 Power Five coaches to be at their current schools for over a decade. He’s already the third longest tenured coach in school history, and just three years away from catching Wallace Wade, for whom Duke’s stadium is named after. Granted his .476 winning percentage, and 76 wins, compared to Wade’s .742 and 110, suggest that name won’t be getting chiseled off any time soon. Nobody is pretending Duke’s money base cares about football, but the fact that he’s getting a thirteenth year with a sub-.500 record is actually fairly remarkable, considering Dave Clawson at Wake Forest and Derek Mason at Vanderbilt (both hired in 2014), are the only other Power Five coaches with more than four years below .500. In fairness, the Blue Devils have had a winning record in five of the past seven seasons, after having five in the previous thirty-eight, including none in the prior 18.
#64 Duke Blue Devils #10 in ACC
KEY PLAYERS WR Damond Philyaw-Johnson, Junior TE Noah Gray, Senior C Jack Wohlabaugh, Senior . DE Victor Dimukeje, Senior DE Chris Rumph II, Junior S Marquis Waters, Senior
Clawson is a hell of a coach
So NC is down to a G5 program, as well as a pair of P5 programs; including the one that you would normally expect to be bringing up the rear.
#63 Ole Miss Rebels |
#11 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Jerrion Ealy, Sophomore |
RB | Snoop Carter, Sophomore |
WR | Elijah Moore, Junior |
. | |
LB | Lakia Henry, Senior |
LB | Sam Williams, Senior |
LB | Donta Evans, Senior |
#62 Miami(Ohio) RedHawks |
#1 in MAC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Brett Gabbert, Sophomore |
T | Tommy Doyle, Senior |
C | Danny Godlevsky, Senior |
. | |
DE | Kameron Butler, Junior |
LB | Ryan McWood, Senior |
CB | Emmanuel Rugamba, Senior |
#61 UCLA Bruins |
#9 in Pac 12 |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Junior |
WR | Kyle Phillips, Sophomore |
T | Jake Burton, Senior |
. | |
DE | Osa Odighizuwa, Senior |
LB | Leni Toailoa, Senior |
S | Stephan Blaylock, Junior |
#60 Florida Atlantic Owls |
#3 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Chris Robison, Junior |
TE | John Raine, Senior |
G | Desmond Noel, Senior |
. | |
LB | Hosea Barnwell V, Senior |
CB | Meiko Dotson, Senior |
S | Zyon Gilbert, Senior |
#59 Oregon State Beavers |
#8 in Pac 12 |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Jermar Jefferson, Junior |
WR | Champ Flemings, Junior |
T | Brandon Kipper, Junior |
. | |
LB | Hamilcar Rashed Jr., Senior |
LB | Omar Speights, Sophomore |
LB | Avery Roberts, Senior |
#58 Marshall Thundering Herd |
#2 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Isaiah Green, Junior |
RB | Brenden Knox, Junior |
G | Cain Madden, Senior |
. | |
DE | Darius Hodge, Junior |
LB | Tavante Beckett, Senior |
S | Nazeeh Johnson, Senior |
#57 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers |
#1 in Conference USA |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Gaej Walker, Senior |
WR | Jahcour Pearson, Senior |
TE | Joshua Simon, Sophomore |
. | |
DE | DeAngelo Malone, Senior |
LB | Kyle Bailey, Senior |
S | Antwon Kincaide, Senior |
So the ACC had the best worst team, and CUSA has the worst best team.Nope, MAC did
#56 Mississippi State Bulldogs |
#10 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Kylin Hill, Senior |
WR | Osirus Mitchell, Junior |
G | Stewart Reese, Senior |
. | |
LB | Errol Thompson, Senior |
S | Marcus Murphy, Junior |
S | C.J. Murphy, Senior |
They play three pastries and NCSU, which they might beat, and catch Mizzou and UK in the East, so they could get 6 wins right there, add Arkansas and Ole Miss and you're 8-4 with a perhaps slightly better than average team.So, you're saying that it's easy to get bowl-eligible in the SEC West? ;)
What is this "Pac" you mention? Do its own fans know it exists?Not many do, I think it's a secret. Speaking of which, what is "this" going to do for athletic financials?
#55 San Diego State Aztecs |
#3 in Mountain West |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Kobe Smith, Junior |
G | William Dunkle, Sophomore |
K | Matt Araiza, Sophomore |
. | |
DE | Keshawn Banks, Junior |
DT | Cameron Thomas, Sophomore |
S | Tariq Thompson, Senior |
If you read the local media’s quick takes after the 2019 season ended, it was nothing short of a disaster, but the talk was about how Moorhead better get things sorted out quickly or he could really be on the hot seat after this season. Turns out the seat was hotter than even those who supposedly have their fingers on the pulse of Bulldogs football, with Moorhead being fired on January 3, replaced less than a week later by Mike Leach.
#56 Mississippi State Bulldogs #10 in SEC
KEY PLAYERS RB Kylin Hill, Senior WR Osirus Mitchell, Junior G Stewart Reese, Senior . LB Errol Thompson, Senior S Marcus Murphy, Junior S C.J. Murphy, Senior
#54 Miami Hurricanes |
#9 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | D'Eriq King, Senior |
RB | Cam'Ron Harris, Junior |
TE | Brevin Jordan, Junior |
. | |
DE | Gregory Rousseau, Sophomore |
CB | D.J. Ivey, Junior |
S | Gurvan Hall Jr., Junior |
good for the Canes!The Canes being ranked #54 makes me think of Woody Hayes and his comment about going for 2 against Michigan.
02 NCG knocked the U off of their perch. They haven't been the same since.They really haven't been the same since like 1994. They had like a three year flare up under Butch.
#53 TCU Horned Frogs |
#9 in Big XII |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Max Duggan, Sophomore |
WR | Taye Barber, Junior |
TE | Pro Wells, Junior |
. | |
LB | Garrett Wallow, Senior |
S | Trevon Moehring, Junior |
S | Ar'Darius Washington, Sophomore |
Sort of a blend of things.
Is there more to the story of Moorhead getting canned? Going 6-6 and beating your in-State rival in your second year shouldn’t warrant a pink slip. Especially given the suspension issues they were dealing with. MSU essentially played without 5 to 6 starters every game last year and still broke even. Unless, of course, Moorhead could be blamed, in part, for the suspensions.
I think there was a mutual aspect to it too. Weren't there rumors his people had reached out to Rutgers almost as soon as Ash was fired?Might be. I thought that was more reaction to the sense he might get canned.
Middle linebacker Garrett Wallow might not be the high end, next level talent of a Blaylock, but you can’t pick a better guy to quarterback the defense. He seems to be a lock to be a defensive captain this year. But behind him, might be even more special, with the best pair of safeties in the nation. Ar’Darius Washington has the most upside of any defensive player in the conference in my opinion. After redshirting in 2018, Washington had a breakout 2019, that saw him named Big XII Defensive Freshman of the Year, graded by PFF as the second best safety in the nation...behind only his partner, Trevon Moehring. But this defense was great last year, as I said second best in the conference, and that didn’t even get them to bowl eligibility, because the offense was absolutely awful.
#53 TCU Horned Frogs #9 in Big XII
#52 Texas Tech Red Raiders |
#8 in Big XII |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | SaRodorick Thompson, Sophomore |
C | Dawson Deaton, Junior |
K | Trey Wolff, Sophomore |
. | |
DE | Eli Howard, Senior |
LB | Riko Jeffers, Senior |
CB | DaMarcus Fields, Senior |
T.J. Vasher looks like an NFL receiver at 6’6”, but has struggled to stay on the field with suspensions.
#51 West Virginia Mountaineers |
#7 in Big XII |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Austin Kendall, Senior |
RB | Leddie Brown, Junior |
WR | Sam James, Sophomore |
. | |
DE | Dante Stills, Junior |
DT | Darius Stills, Senior |
LB | Josh Chandler, Junior |
#50 SMU Mustangs |
#6 in American |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Shane Buchele, Senior |
TE | Kylen Granson, Senior |
T | Jaylon Thomas, Junior |
. | |
DE | Turner Coxe, Junior |
LB | Richard McBryde, Senior |
LB | Delano Robinson, Senior |
#49 Missouri Tigers |
#9 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Larry Rountree III, Senior |
T | Larry Borom, Junior |
G | Case Cook, Junior |
. | |
DT | Kobie Whiteside, Senior |
LB | Nick Bolton, Junior |
S | Tyree Gillespie, Senior |
And my states appear to be off by one, and for once it is not the fault of Miami(OH). So whoever can issue that correction wins the internet for the day.
Interesting E/W splits there, both sides have the same number of pretty bad teams across conferences.Now, now! There are no bad teams. There are only differentially talented teams. ;)
#48 Michigan State Spartans |
#9 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Elijah Collins, Sophomore |
C | Nick Samac, Sophomore |
K | Matt Coghlin, Senior |
. | |
DE | Jacub Panasiuk, Senior |
LB | Antjuan Simmons, Junior |
S | Xavier Henderson, Junior |
The horrible offense wasted a pair of great defenses, and now Michigan State must replace 7 starters, including 4 likely NFL Draft picks (writing this Saturday). While Kenny Willekes and Joe Bachie were the emotional leaders of the defense, Antjuan Simmons was the brains of the operation. A well spoken, natural leader, his return might be more important than his more heralded teammates, particularly considering the shape of the front seven. The secondary, even with Josiah Scott’s early departure looks solid, even more so if the rumors of WR/CB Julian Barnett, the jewel of the Spartans’ 2019 class, sticking on defense are true. While “No Fly Zone” is premature, Barnett and fellow sophomore Kalon Gervin would be the highest upside cornerback pair of the Dantonio/Tucker era. But the front seven, aside from Simmons, has a ton of questions Naquan Jones goes from part of a great three man interior line rotation to the only known commodity. And the Spartans could be starting two walk ons at linebacker. Throw in the consensus toughest schedule in the country, and just getting bowl eligible seems like too tall of a task for this group.
#48 Michigan State Spartans #9 in Big Ten
The plan for Doege all along was to redshirt last year to allow him two years to play in ‘20 and ‘21. That’s why he didn’t play until the end of the last four games of the season. When he played he looked better than Kendall and in his 3 starts WVU went 2-1, beating both K St and TCU as road underdogs and taking Ok St to the limit before finally losing.We continue our run on Big XII teams, but leave the state of Texas. I thought West Virginia’s drop last year would be more muted than most, but I don’t think I fully appreciated just how bare the cupboard was left by Holgorson. I still think Neal Brown was a really good hire, but while the offense figures to rebound from last year, he’s got his work cut out for him defensively. The Stills brothers from nearby Fairmont, West Virginia are rock solid on the line, and allow a lot of freedom behind them, but the Mountaineers lost nearly all the depth along the line, and 5 of the 8 starters behind them have moved on. Gaining some stability on the back end is needed after a pair of very talented players let the program down. Kenny Robinson Jr. was expelled for an academic violation, and spent last season playing in the XFL, before entering the 2020 NFL Draft. Then Kwantel Raines, who was one of the highest rated safety recruits in the nation was unable to find the field, and wound up transferring to Temple. Defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, 60 years old, with 17 season of coordinating experience, showed that off in maximizing what talent he had there, trying to create havoc, and largely succeeding. They were top 30 in the nation in havoc rate; the problem is they racked up negative plays, but not turnovers, ranking bottom 25 nationally in turnovers created rate. When the offense is as bad as the Mountaineers’ was last year, you need to create some turnovers, and probably score off some yourself. Because where I really undersold West Virginia’s dropoff though was on the offensive side of the ball, where I figured there was at least some talent left behind. It appears I was wrong. The offensive production plummeted from #9 in SP+ in 2018, to #100 last year. They return their starting quarterback, leading rusher, and six of their seven top receivers. Is it really as simple as experience though? The offensive line never recovered from the injury, and eventual transfer of Josh Sills, and now has to replace both starting tackles. It was the middle of the line that really struggled to open running lanes, as the Mountaineers sputtered to just 2.6 ypc, worst in the Big XII by over a yard and a half per carry, second worst in the entire FBS, ahead of only Akron. So I’m not sure what sort of progression can necessarily be expected there. In Sam Jones at wide receiver, they do have an absolute star in the making though. He finished third in the Big XII with 69 receptions, as only a freshman. Now, he just needs to figure out how to do more with it after the reception. His 9.8 ypc was easily the least of any player in the conference with at least 19 receptions, with 11.5 being the next lowest, and his 2 receiving touchdowns put him only third on his own team, a team that had the third fewest touchdown passes in the Big XII. While there is some growing buzz to turn from Oklahoma transfer Austin Kendall as starting quarterback, to Bowling Green transfer Jarrett Doege, I’m not ready to buy in yet. Kendall had injury problems, but was never replaced for performance. Yes, Doege had better numbers in his three game stint at the end, but Kendall was in and out all year, and gave the staff plenty of chance to replace him, and they never did.
#51 West Virginia Mountaineers #7 in Big XII
KEY PLAYERS QB Austin Kendall, Senior RB Leddie Brown, Junior WR Sam James, Sophomore . DE Dante Stills, Junior DT Darius Stills, Senior LB Josh Chandler, Junior
The plan for Doege all along was to redshirt last year to allow him two years to play in ‘20 and ‘21. That’s why he didn’t play until the end of the last four games of the season. When he played he looked better than Kendall and in his 3 starts WVU went 2-1, beating both K St and TCU as road underdogs and taking Ok St to the limit before finally losing.I think they'll improve, but man that schedule, not ideal.
The general feeling among the fanbase is the job is Doege’s to lose and I think there is a little more optimism because of that. WVU just had one of those seasons where everything that could go wrong did. There were injuries everywhere. Besides the Robinson situation with academics the leading returning WR from 2018 left because of the same thing. The starting Center from 2018 transferred down to Youngstown St to be close to his girlfriend. His backup retired because of injuries. It was a perfect storm of bad luck.
I honestly don’t think the cupboard was as bare as some think it was but some things happened with transfers and injuries after Dana left that wasn’t anyone’s fault. As a result, WVU had to play a ton of guys who just weren’t ready. I realized how bad it was when I saw a 5’8 in-state walk on trying to cover Cee Dee Lamb in the OU game.
There will still be growing pains this year but I expect WVU to be better.
#47 Arizona State Sun Devils |
#7 in Pac 12 |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Jayden Daniels, Sophomore |
WR | Frank Darby, Senior |
C | Dohnovan West, Sophomore |
. | |
DE | Jermayne Lole, Junior |
LB | Darien Butler, Junior |
CB | Jack Jones, Senior |
Herm Edwards inherited a good deal of skill position talent, from N’Keal Harry and Brandon Aiyuk, to Eno Benjamin. Maximizing that talent has been the issue, with inconsistent and young quarterback play, and subpar offensive line play. Now the skill positions are the question mark, with Eno Benjamin leaving early for the NFL. Benjamin got nearly all of the running back carries, with the next highest usage back being A.J. Carter, who got 19 carries and averaged just 2.6 ypc on those touches. With the transfer of Isaiah Floyd, the only other back on the roster with college carries is Demetrious Flowers, who averaged 2.8 ypc on 11 attempts. The Sun Devils added a pair of 4* running backs in the 2020 class, both of whom were top 250 recruits, both of whom enrolled early. They compliment each other, with the small, quick Daniyel Ngata, who is also a threat on special teams and in the passing game, and DeaMonte Trayanum a bigger, more traditional back from Ohio, who spurned offers from midwest powers such as Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, and Notre Dame, to head cross country to the desert. The receiver room has more proven commodities...by one, in Frank Darby, who had 31 receptions for 616 yards, the only player among the Sun Devils’ five leading receivers to return. Like running back, the Arizona State 2020 class was heavy on top end receivers, with half of their eight 4* prospects being receivers, including Johnny Wilson, the highest rated member of the class. The offensive line was an issue, and remains one, aside from breakout freshman interior lineman Dohnovan West, who excelled at guard last year, but looks to slide over to center to replace Cohl Cabral this year.
#47 Arizona State Sun Devils #7 in Pac 12
#46 Pittsburgh Panthers |
#8 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Kenny Pickett, Senior |
C | Jimmy Morrisey, Senior |
G | Bryce Hargrove, Senior |
. | |
DE | Patrick Jones II, Senior |
DT | Jalen Twyman, Junior |
S | Paris Ford, Junior |
#46 Pittsburgh Panthers #8 in ACC
#45 Louisiana Ragin Cajuns |
#2 in Sun Belt |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Levi Lewis, Senior |
RB | Elijah Mitchell, Senior |
RB | Trey Ragas, Senior |
. | |
DT | Zi'Yon Hill, Junior |
LB | Joe Dillon, Senior |
LB | Chauncey Manac, Senior |
Pitt is in a terrible situation. Their stadium is off campus doesn't come close to selling out on a typical game. Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, and Notre Dame plunder their backyard, and they aren't "helmet" enough to get recruits from around the country. All things considered, I think Narduzzi is doing a pretty decent job there.
Narduzzi burned a lot of goodwill toward the end of the season by squandering a top 25 ranking by finishing 0-2 after a 7-3 start. It's not so much that they lost to a surging Virginia Tech squad in Blacksburg. Pittsburgh was blown out and followed that up with a lifeless loss to sub-mediocre Boston College. Given the schedule, the average recruiting, and the generally waning fan support, I'm wondering if the window for Narduzzi to have a breakout season is closed. A 9-4 and certainly 10-3 finish would've gone a long way to show the improvement that's eluded the Narduzzi tenure. And it's worth wondering if it also cost him a call from Michigan State?
How Billy Napier is still in Lafayette for Year 3 is beyond me. He seems like an absolute home run hire for a number of SEC or ACC schools. He’s the son of a coach, born and raised in Georgia, played at Furman, where he quarterbacked the team to the FCS Championship Game in 2001, spent 14 of 16 years coaching split between two different stops each at Clemson and Alabama, spent a year as offensive coordinator at Arizona State, and then took the Louisiana job, where he’s reach the conference title game in each of his first two seasons. He has raised the talent to the point that the team had three players selected in the NFL Draft, and I still have them as one of the better Group of Five teams.
#45 Louisiana Ragin Cajuns #2 in Sun Belt
#44 Washington State Cougars |
#6 in Pac 12 |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Max Borghi, Junior |
T | Abraham Lucas, Junior |
K | Blake Mazza, Junior |
. | |
DT | Will Rodgers III, Senior |
LB | Jahad Woods, Senior |
S | Skyler Thomas, Senior |
The question is just how far from Leach they strayed in hiring 41 year old Nick Rolovich from Hawaii. Off the field, Rolovich has his own quirks. He stood out for bringing a cast of characters with him to conference media days, including celebrity impersonators, such as Britney Spears and Elvis; and a tarot card reader. More relevantly, Rolovich is also an offensive minded coach, although after playing for and coaching under June Jones, he is from the Run and Shoot coaching tree, rather than the Air Raid. The differences are slight, aside from the way in which the quarterback makes his reads, and the fact that the run and shoot relies more on crossing routes. But aside from that minutiae, there isn’t a huge difference.
#44 Washington State Cougars #6 in Pac 12
ELA wrote:"The Mike Leach-Washington State divorce, which seemed years in the making, finally took place after last offseason."The AD that hired him who he liked left for Nebraska. He'd been looking around for a while.
Was there bad blood?I just viewed Wazzou as a stepping stone position.I wrote on the old board that I was hoping he'd land in C-Bus when J.T. was shown the door.Tressel and he were canned around the same time.And of course the Urban situation developed but would have been interesting Plan "B" to have the Pirate on the sidelines.Great write ups BTW
My thoughts too. Would've made a more responsible hire at Ole Miss and Miss St when they were looking for coaches a few months ago. Alas, Napier wasn't the splashier, headline grabbing name that Kiffin and Leach are.Out of curiosity, what makes Napier more responsible? (I think he turned down Miss State and at least had Ole Miss interest)
Pitt is in a terrible situation. Their stadium is off campus doesn't come close to selling out on a typical game. Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, and Notre Dame plunder their backyard, and they aren't "helmet" enough to get recruits from around the country. All things considered, I think Narduzzi is doing a pretty decent job there.I'd thought Pitt was worse than that last year.
And I can't believe Kenny Pickett is still there...
#43 Temple Owls |
#5 in American |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Anthony Russo, Senior |
RB | Re'Mahn Davis, Sophomore |
WR | Jadan Blue, Junior |
. | |
DT | Ifeanyi Maijeh, Junior |
LB | Isaiah Graham-Mobley, Senior |
S | Amir Tyler, Senior |
Out of curiosity, what makes Napier more responsible? (I think he turned down Miss State and at least had Ole Miss interest)
He's been an HC two years, taking over for a mostly successful head coach and pushing the bar up a bit higher. He's been an OC twice. Once his departure opened the door for a hire that launched a dynasty. The other time was a one-year stint, where the offense ranked 35th in SP+, and then his HC got fired, though they tired to keep him.
In terms of raw football, both Kiffin and Leach have proven far more. I guess you could say it's more responsible because he has less record as a crazy person person. But for maybe less chance of an off-field implosion, he's probably got a notably larger chance of an on-field implosion.
I guess what I mean by Napier being the more "responsible" hire, is that MSU would've gotten the potential with a lot less risk than usual; IMO, Napier's best days of coaching are ahead of him. Hiring Napier is closer to MSU hiring Mullen back in 2009 than hiring Leach, whose best days of coaching are likely behind him. But the same argument could be made of Joe Moorhead before he abruptly didn't work out. Difference here is that Moorhead was a total outsider. In the case of Napier, MSU/Ole Miss would've hired someone who couldn't be more familiar with SEC territory.I think there are some good reasons not to hire Leach, not the least of which is they're betting that going to a historical underdog for the most part with a coach who gets underdogs better than they should be is gonna get them into contender status.
That said, I didn't know Napier already (privately?) turned down MSU.
#42 Wake Forest Demon Deacons |
#7 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Sage Surratt, Junior |
C | Zach Tom, Senior |
K | Nick Sciba, Junior |
. | |
DE | Carlos Basham Jr., Senior |
LB | Ryan Smenda Jr., Senior |
S | Nasir Greer, Junior |
#41 Florida State Seminoles |
#6 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | James Blackmon, Junior |
WR | Tamarrion Terry, Junior |
T | Brady Scott, Junior |
. | |
DT | Marvin Wilson, Senior |
CB | Asante Samuel Jr., Senior |
S | Hamsah Nasirildeen, Senior |
The AD that hired him who he liked left for Nebraska. He'd been looking around for a while.I think you'd be surprised I wasn't the only Buckeye Fan who entertained the idea.Unfortunetly the Pirate's departure from Lubbock was under a cloud of suspicion. As was the Vest's who was just shown the door,so it was really a pipe dream.His Air Raid would be a complete 180 from Tressel Ball,it's always had me curious as hell.I think he could be a nightmare at USC/UCLA or Miami/FSU
Also, man OSU fans would've hated Leach. He's not cut for that sort of job.
I think these quirky offenses are best used at minor programs that struggle to gather the talent one has at an Ohio State. Ohio State could run the single wing and win ten games a year, usually.I mean, the single wing is pretty weird. It is funny that if you look back at like mid-1990s OSU-Michigan, those offenses feel plane jane as can be.
A place like Georgia Tech benefits from running that weird offense because opponents can't prepare for it adequately and they can upset someone they would never beat "normally".
I think you'd be surprised I wasn't the only Buckeye Fan who entertained the idea.Unfortunetly the Pirate's departure from Lubbock was under a cloud of suspicion. As was the Vest's who was just shown the door,so it was really a pipe dream.His Air Raid would be a complete 180 from Tressel Ball,it's always had me curious as hell.I think he could be a nightmare at USC/UCLA or Miami/FSUI think people would've like the scheme and the feel. But results are king, and therein lies the issue.
#40 Air Force Falcons |
#2 in Mountain West |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Kadin Remsberg, Senior |
FB | Timothy Jackson, Junior |
T | Nolan Laufenberg, Senior |
. | |
DE | Jordan Jackson, Senior |
LB | Demonte Meeks, Senior |
CB | Milton Bugg III, Senior |
Miss State needs fan excitement. Hiring a name coach generates some of that, at least initially. They have some fans who show up when their team is decent enough to throw a scare into LSU and Bama and beat Ole Miss.Leach is certainly an interesting hire. His system rarely translated into championships (best he did was get a split divisional championship in 08), but he's usually good for knocking off at least one big name a season. It's tough to win in Starkville, but you can guarantee a fun product on the field if nothing else.
#39 Washington Huskies |
#5 in Pac 12 |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Richard Newton, Sophomore |
WR | Terrell Bynum, Junior |
K | Peyton Henry, Junior |
. | |
DE | Levi Onwuzurike, Senior |
LB | Ryan Bowman, Senior |
S | Elijah Molden, Senior |
#38 Navy Midshipmen |
#4 in American |
KEY PLAYERS | |
FB | Jamale Carothers, Junior |
FB | Nelson Smith, Senior |
T | Billy Honaker, Senior |
. | |
LB | Diego Fagot, Junior |
S | Kevin Brennan, Junior |
S | Evan Fochtman, Senior |
#37 Nebraska Cornhuskers |
#8 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Dedrick Mills, Senior |
WR | J.D. Spielman, Senior |
WR | Wan'Dale Robinson, Sophomore |
. | |
LB | Will Honas, Senior |
CB | Dicaprio Bootle, Senior |
CB | Cam Taylor-Britt, Junior |
Even with a helmet bump, the Huskers were unable to outrank the Hoosiers.With out Frost they may be unable outplay them moving forward
ELA, where do you find the havoc rate numbers?Connolly still posts selective data on his Twitter account, but I'm at his mercy there.
#36 California Golden Bears |
#4 in Pac 12 |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Chase Garbers, Junior |
RB | Christopher Brown Jr., Junior |
T | Jake Curhan, Senior |
. | |
DE | Zeandae Johnson, Senior |
LB | Kuony Deng, Senior |
CB | Camryn Bynum, Senior |
Even with a helmet bump, the Huskers were unable to outrank the Hoosiers.15 yard penalty - hitting below the belt
15 yard penalty - hitting below the beltIn fairness the Vols only beat you out by getting a helmet bump and an SEC bump, simultaneously.
Navy has not been shy about throwing in older QBs, and their recent history has been kinda interesting.I always include the “service academies are impossible to predict” caveat, because they always lean senior-heavy, and their year to year success is seemingly largely based on how a singular class pans out. See last year when I thought Army was an upset of Michigan away from playing in a New Years Six bowl, while Navy, coming off a 3-10 season (the program’s worst since 2002), while returning the fifth least production in the entire FBS, was destined for another long year. Instead, Army went 5-8, with just 3 FBS wins (Rice, UTSA, Massachusetts), while Navy went 11-2, beat Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl, and finished ranked #20, their second highest finish since 1963. So, I’m back to being bullish on the Midshipmen this year, but who knows. What I do know is that the Navy defense returns 8 starters, as indirectly mentioned, almost unheard of for the service academies. They will take a bit of a hit if LB/S hybrid Jake Springer, an honorable mention all-conference performer last year, doesn’t return. He put his name in the transfer portal in mid-March, but hasn’t yet landed anywhere. If he returns, to pair with Diego Fagot, Navy has the top linebacker duo in the American. Fagot, on his own is a difference maker, one of just three underclassmen to earn first all-conference defensive honors a year ago, and the only non-senior linebacker to do so. It’s not hyperbole to say he is on pace to become the best defensive player to play at the academy since Ron Beagle and Bob Reifsnyder in the 50s, both of whom are in the College Football Hall of Fame. In the 60 years since Reifsnyder graduated, Navy has produced exactly one All-American on the defensive side of the ball, safety Chet Moeller, and exactly two NFL Draft picks, in the 14th and 7th rounds respectively. Navy’s overall defensive stats are always going to look good, leading the AAC, #13 nationally, due to their offensive style. But even at a per play basis, the Midshipmen ranked 3rd in the conference, despite breaking in the fifth youngest defense in the FBS. They were bolstered by the return of first year defensive coordinator Brian Newberry, who turned down multiple Power Five offers, including publicly from Mike Leach at Mississippi State. Pay change aside, your defense is going to look a lot better when you pair it with an offense running a triple option, as opposed to an air raid. The offense also looks to be in solid shape...with one glaring omission, quarterback Malcolm Perry, last year’s AAC Player of the Year. Every back who saw significant carries last year, except one is back, led by dive expert Jamale Carothers. Carothers is money in short yardage situations. On 111 carries, he was only stopped behind the line twice, the ideal threat to collapse defenses in the triple option. If Nelson Smith can recapture his 2019 form he showed as a sophomore, before a disappointing junior season, with some mild injury concerns, the Midshipmen should be more than set with their backfield, if they get the quarterback position set. Macolm Perry is off to the NFL, a rare talent at Navy, opening a battle between sophomore Perry Olsen and senior Dalen Morris. Olsen probably has the edge, with three remaining years of eligibility, and saw action in nine games last year. The problem is that he was horrible in that limited action, completing just 2 of 8 passes, and averaging just 2.4 ypc on 34 rushes.
#38 Navy Midshipmen #4 in American
KEY PLAYERS FB Jamale Carothers, Junior FB Nelson Smith, Senior T Billy Honaker, Senior . LB Diego Fagot, Junior S Kevin Brennan, Junior S Evan Fochtman, Senior
#35 Kansas State Wildcats |
#6 in Big XII |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Skylar Thompson, Senior |
WR | Malik Knowles, Sophomore |
K | Blake Lynch, Senior |
. | |
DE | Wyatt Hubert, Junior |
LB | Elijah Sullivan, Senior |
CB | A.J. Parker, Senior |
#34 Virginia Cavaliers |
#5 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Terrell Jana, Senior |
C | Olusegun Oluwatimi, Junior |
K | Brian Delaney, Senior |
. | |
LB | Charles Snowden, Senior |
LB | Zane Zandier, Senior |
S | Joey Blount, Senior |
#33 Tennessee Volunteers |
#8 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Jarrett Guarantano, Senior |
G | Trey Smith, Senior |
K | Brent Cimaglia, Senior |
. | |
DE | Matthew Butler, Senior |
LB | Henry To'o To'o, Sophomore |
S | Shawn Shamburger, Senior |
For the Vols to be "nearly ranked" is pretty good for them for reasons noted. I think they play at Oklahoma this year.Yep. 12 September in Norman.
Tennessee at OU is the second game of the season. OU will be breaking in a new QB, either a RS freshman or a RS sophomore. If the Vols have their QB position solidified, they could be in a good position to pull an upset.They have five opponents ranked higher in this compendium than they are. I don't know what their fans are expecting.
They have five opponents ranked higher in this compendium than they are. I don't know what their fans are expecting.Tennessee? Probably too much
#32 Louisville Cardinals |
#4 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Javian Hawkins, Sophomore |
RB | Hassan Hall, Junior |
WR | Tutu Atwell, Junior |
. | |
LB | C.J. Avery, Senior |
LB | Rodjay Burns, Senior |
LB | Monty Montgomery, Junior |
Would it be worthwhile to have a cleaned up version of this somewhere without all our commentary? The comments are often interesting and we obviously should have that, but perhaps in a separate thread?Drew will do that, and place it on the front page, as a published article.
We move from a team that can’t seem to figure out defense, to a team that can’t seem to figure out anything but. The defense wasn’t quite the 2018 elite version, but it was still very good. While Evan Weaver, who led the nation in tackles, while setting a school record, is now a member of the Arizona Cardinals, two of his fellow All-Pac 12 linemen return. Then Justin Wilcox received good new after good news.
#36 California Golden Bears #4 in Pac 12
#31 Indiana Hoosiers |
#7 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Stevie Scott III, Junior |
WR | Whop Philyor, Senior |
TE | Peyton Hendershot, Junior |
. | |
DT | Demarcus Elliott, Junior |
LB | Micah McFadden, Junior |
CB | Tiawan Mullen, Sophomore |
relived that the Hoosiers are off the Husker's sched this seasonI'm not sure they are overall trending up. Their recruiting class last year doesn't look great. This just appears to be one of those years where everything lines up for them. In a time, they could have been a 6-2/7-1 Big Ten co-champ going to Pasadena. In the current model I don't see them winning in Columbus to get to Indy.
the Hoosiers appear to be trending up and I really don't enjoy losing to them
UK should be up soon. Is it MTSU that is still alive in Tenn?I'm curious too
#109 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders #8 in Conference USA
UK should be up soon. Is it MTSU that is still alive in Tenn?(Memphis)
As I recall they dumped a mess of money into the program in the late 2000s and eased academic restrictions. In the end, it's just not a great football school, even if the school suddenly got on board. It's got a student body that's tepid about football in a town mostly tepid about it in a deeply disinterested high school football area.
Going into his fourth year at Cal, Wilcox has done a better job than Cal deserves. The roster is built with depth, the player development on defense is fantastic, and now with a bit of winning consistency (15-11 with wins over ranked rivals last 2 seasons), I'd expect Wilcox to bolt for the next P5 program that looks his way. Outside of Tedford's tenure, Cal is no better than the Illinois or Duke football of the PAC 12, largely because the powers that be at Cal care more about self-congratulatory activism than winning. Winning at Cal is lot higher of a bar to clear than elsewhere. I thought Washington would've done well to hire Wilcox over Lake. And as long as Wilcox secedes the offense to more specialized minds, he'll bring a bright future to whoever extends their coaching search this far West.
I THINK he will have USC lowest ranked, then Memphis, then UVA.Already did UVa, VT still out there
#30 Boise State Broncos |
#1 in Mountain West |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | George Holani, Sophomore |
WR | Khalil Shakir, Junior |
TE | John Bates, Senior |
. | |
LB | Riley Whimpey, Senior |
CB | Kehaula Kaniho, Senior |
CB | Jalen Walker, Senior |
Already did UVa, VT still out thereHeh, I'm not keeping up well at all. I missed UVA, I thought they would be decent this year.
Heh, I'm not keeping up well at all. I missed UVA, I thought they would be decent this year.Didn't miss them by much. They were #34
#29 Utah Utes |
#3 in Pac 12 |
KEY PLAYERS | |
TE | Brant Kuithe, Junior |
T | Simi Moala, Sophomore |
G | Nick Ford, Junior |
. | |
DE | Mike Taufa, Junior |
DE | Maxs Tupai, Senior |
LB | Devin Lloyd, Junior |
#28 Kentucky Wildcats |
#7 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Terry Wilson, Senior |
RB | Asim Rose, Senior |
C | Drake Jackson, Senior |
. | |
LB | Jamar Watson, Senior |
S | Yusuf Corker, Junior |
P | Max Duffy, Senior |
UK looks to be a testament to the benefits of great coaching. I think you have them too high, they look like an 8-5 kind of team to me, again.8-5 last year got them to #35 in SP+, #36 in Massey composite.
Their defense could make them a tough out. They get Miss State at home and Auburn on the road from the West, Louisville seems unlikely to challenge them. Then there are the two East powers and Tennessee. They could of course get upset by someone else, just as they might upset UF/UGA/Auburn. They get UGA at home late when the weather could be bitterly cold.
Of course, if they win a minor bowl game, they could be 9-4 and get ranked.
#27 North Carolina Tar Heels |
#3 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Sam Howell, Sophomore |
RB | Michael Carter, Senior |
WR | Dazz Newsome, Senior |
. | |
LB | Chazz Surratt, Senior |
LB | Jeremiah Gemmel, Junior |
S | Myles Wolfolk, Senior |
Can anyone say with certainty what a tarheel is?They officially are the Rams, like Alabama is the Red Elephants. Supposedly, there was some Rev War battle on the Tar River and the NC contingent "dug their heels" into the river and wouldn't retreat, or something like that, Stonewall, but Tar River.
Is it related to a zip or an ichabod?
They officially are the Rams, like Alabama is the Red Elephants. Supposedly, there was some Rev War battle on the Tar River and the NC contingent "dug their heels" into the river and wouldn't retreat, or something like that, Stonewall, but Tar River.Over the three tours I had at Fort Bragg, I heard several different stories of the origin of the name. That was one of them. A similar one didn't mention the Tar River, just that they dug in their heels as if they were stuck in tar. Another had to do with sailors being called "tars" and North Carolina's pine trees being used to make various shipyard products.
#26 Virginia Tech Hokies |
#2 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Hendon Hooker, Junior |
T | Christian Darrisaw, Junior |
G | Lecitus Smith, Junior |
. | |
DT | Jarrod Hewitt, Senior |
LB | Rayshard Ashby, Senior |
CB | Caleb Farley, Junior |
#25 Appalachian State Mountaineers |
#1 in Sun Belt |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Zac Thomas, Senior |
WR | Thomas Hennigan, Senior |
WR | Corey Sutton, Senior |
. | |
DE | Demetrius Taylor, Senior |
LB | D'Marco Jackson, Senior |
CB | Shaun Jolly, Junior |
Top 25.
21 P5
6 SEC: 2 East/4 West
6 Big Ten: 3 East/3 West
5 Big 12
2 Pac 12: 1 North/1 South
1 ACC: 1 Atlantic/0 Coastal
1 P5 Independent
4 G5
3 AAC: 2 East/1 West
1 Sunbelt: 1 East/0 West
.
By State
3 Teams: Texas
2 Teams: Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Ohio and Oklahoma
1 Team: California, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, N Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oregon, S Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
Every 4+ team state still has at least one team remaining.
Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin remain unscathed.
https://alumni.unc.edu/what-is-a-tar-heel/ (https://alumni.unc.edu/what-is-a-tar-heel/)The two additional links in the story you linked told many additional versions of the story. Most are highly improbable.
Yeah, the story I heard may be wrong, and I was a student there for 4+ years. The official story sounds more plausible. This is their mascot imagery, the ram thing, looking angry.
(https://i.imgur.com/X7cMXLL.png)
Marine School of Infantry is at Camp Geiger (near Lejuene) north of Bragg a ways. Same kind of country, sandy, pine trees, and snakes. Fayettenam is not a very nice town from what I saw.
The Mack Brown has made a quick turn around, which I think is nice for him as he likely will retire fairly soon.
Huskers sometimes wear capsI was thinking of this little feller.
husker mascots wear hats
SEC West should be interesting, I'm not sold on A&M, but they likely will be dangerous and a threat to beat the other 3 top teams. The East should have two top ten teams and nobody else ranked. Florida plays LSU every year and Georgia plays Alabama and Auburn this year. UGA should have a solid defense.A&M feels like they'll be raised to the level of being good. Which is to say they'll beat most of the teams they should, lose to most they shouldn't and maybe take one upset/pull one upset on each side (and an upset even seems dicy)
I was thinking of this little feller.Someone stole Bob's Big Boy,damn bugeaters
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Nulilred.jpg)
Little Red doesn't look like any Sooner.Looks like someone who would attack a Sooner SchoonerYeah, he came up short on thematic consistency as well as cultural sensitivity.
#24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
Independent |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Ian Book, Senior |
T | Liam Eichenberg, Senior |
G | Aaron Banks, Junior |
. | |
DT | Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Junior |
LB | Drew White, Junior |
S | Kyle Hamilton, Sophomore |
#23 Cincinnati Bearcats |
#3 in American |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Desmond Ridder, Junior |
RB | Gerrid Doaks, Senior |
WR | Alec Pierce, Junior |
. | |
DT | Elijah Ponder, Senior |
CB | Ahmad Gardner, Sophomore |
S | Darrick Forrest, Senior |
#22 Iowa Hawkeyes |
#6 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Senior |
T | Alaric Jackson, Senior |
C | Tyler Linderbaum, Sophomore |
. | |
DE | Chauncey Golston, Senior |
CB | Matt Hankins, Senior |
S | Jack Koerner, Junior |
Gameday at the CyHawk game?Two years in a row? That'd be something.
MUH-WA-HA-HA-HA,don't get mad get even,c'mon kirky and herky get YO ass whippin'Granted back to back road games at Ohio State and Penn State in mid-October are slightly problematic either way.
#22 Iowa Hawkeyes #6 in Big Ten
#21 Iowa State Cyclones |
#5 in Big XII |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Brock Purdy, Junior |
RB | Breece Hall, Sophomore |
TE | Charlie Kolar, Junior |
. | |
DE | Eyioma Uwazurike, Senior |
LB | Mike Rose, Junior |
S | Greg Eisworth, Senior |
With the West Coast on lockdown, the PAC (and MWC) may never play football this year, and could even start to collapse.Even if the conference collapses, enough of those schools care enough, they'll rebuild. USC, Washington, Oregon, probably WSU and OSU won't give that up. Cal/Stanford/UCLA I could see going either way.
Then we will have the Power 4, with the AZ schools, Utah and Colorado headed to the Big 12 (14). The PAC-8 ceases to exist.
#20 Central Florida Knights |
#2 in American |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Otis Anderson, Senior |
WR | Tre Nixon, Senior |
G | Cole Schneider, Junior |
. | |
DT | Kenny Turner, Senior |
CB | Aaron Robinson, Senior |
S | Richie Grant, Senior |
#19 Baylor Bears |
#4 in Big XII |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Charlie Brewer, Senior |
WR | Tyquan Thornton, Junior |
G | Xavier Newman-Johnson, Senior |
. | |
DE | William Bradley-King, Senior |
LB | Terrel Bernard, Junior |
CB | Raleigh Texada, Senior |
FWIW, here are the two officially approved ways of abbreviating "Oklahoma State."The latter is already taken.
oSu and fOSU
The latter is already taken.:57:
The latter is already taken.Knock it off Sconnie!!!
#18 Texas A&M Aggies |
#6 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Kellen Mond, Senior |
WR | Jhamon Ausbon, Senior |
TE | Jalen Wydermyer, Sophomore |
. | |
LB | Buddy Johnson, Senior |
CB | Myles Jones, Senior |
S | Demani Richardson, Sophomore |
#17 Texas Longhorns |
#3 in Big XII |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Sam Ehlinger, Senior |
T | Samuel Cosmi, Junior |
K | Cameron Dicker, Junior |
. | |
LB | Joseph Ossai, Junior |
LB | Ayodele Adeoye, Sophomore |
CB | D'Shawn Jamison, Junior |
Last year four of the ELA top five were SEC, and the other one was Clemson.The final poll was not far from that with four of the top 8.
The final poll was not far from that with four of the top 8.ELA's top 6 was
- LSU (15-0)
- Clemson (14-1)
- Ohio State (13-1)
- Georgia (12-2)
- Oregon (12-2)
- Florida (11-2)
- Oklahoma (12-2)
- Alabama (11-2)
I thought Fields would do just fine, but he exceeded my expectations obviously.I thought he would be the best QB in the conference.
#16 LSU Tigers |
#5 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
WR | Ja'Marr Chase, Junior |
WR | Terrace Marshall Jr., Junior |
T | Austin Deculus, Senior |
. | |
LB | Damone Clark, Junior |
CB | Derek Stingley, Jr., Sophomore |
S | JaCoby Stevens, Senior |
ELA Top 15 DemographicsUpdated: Top 15
4 SEC: 2 East/2 West
5 Big Ten: 3 East/2 West
2 Big 12
2 Pac 12: 1 North/1 South
1 ACC: 1 Atlantic/0 Coastal
1 AAC: 0 East/1 West
By State
2 Teams: Alabama and Oklahoma
1 Team: California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, S Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Minnesota and Wisconsin remain unscathed.
The G5 is down to its final team.
#15 Memphis Tigers |
#1 in American |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Brady White, Senior |
RB | Kenneth Gainwell, Sophomore |
WR | Damonte Coxie, Senior |
. | |
DE | Joseph Dorceus, Senior |
DT | O'Bryan Goodson, Senior |
CB | T.J. Carter, Senior |
I agree with the drop of LSU 15 spots. They could still finish 10-2 without much of a shock and be top ten ranked going into bowls. My guess is they snag an NY6 bowl game and get beat, finishing right around 12th to 15th at 10-3. Burrow was insane last year.
You don't replace a Joe Burrow, unless you get Justin Fields.
7-5 would be quite a slip considering how things have gone with old Ed.
I agree as well. Everything came together perfectly for Orgeron last year, and this time around, minus Burrow and a host of NFL talent, I wouldn't at all be surprised to see LSU as average as 7-5, losing to Texas in week 2 followed by a 1-3 finish leading up to the bowls. Yes, there's still so much talent, but don't forget how inconsistent LSU played in 2017 & 2018 games where they didn't have talent advantage. Lots of penalties and mental mistakes, not to avoid mentioning an offense that stalled out more often than not.
who's replacing Joe?Scott Linehan, a longtime NFL HC and OC, took over as passing game coordinator. Steve Ensminger technically never stopped being OC. They had two "WR coaches" last year, so the other one just holds the title alone now. (Brady was PGC/WR and kinda shadow OC for context)
I would give Pelini a better chance to suceed than Myles Brennan
LSU would really be suffering to lose more than four games, AT Florida, Alabama, AT Auburn, AT A&M. They get Texas at home and could lose that one early. They have three pastries OOC. The get South Carolina from the East in BR, and Miss State in BR.
I can see 9-3 as a midpoint, 8-4 possible, 10-2 somewhat possible. If they manage 11-1, Coach O should be COTY or close to it. But then, Joe Burrow was All World last year.
#14 Auburn Tigers |
#4 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Bo Nix, Sophomore |
WR | Seth Williams, Junior |
C | Nick Brahms, Junior |
. | |
LB | K.J. Britt, Junior |
LB | Zakoby McClain, Junior |
S | Christian Tutt, Junior |
So who goes out first, Auburn or Oklahoma State? Oklahoma State, I imagine.Nope.
#14 Auburn Tigers #4 in SEC
#13 Michigan Wolverines |
#5 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Zach Charbonnet, Sophomore |
WR | Nico Collins, Senior |
TE | Nick Eubanks, Senior |
. | |
DE | Kwity Paye, Senior |
DT | Carlo Kemp, Senior |
CB | Ambry Thomas, Senior |
Nice write up. Pretty much agree with everything word for word. Agree 100% on Ambry Thomas. He is better than all those guys and he’s got a shot to be a 1st rd pick if he takes another jump in year 2 as a starter. He will torch the combine in the 40 and the shuttle- and he’s a legitimate 6 ft- so as long as he has the kind of season he’s capable of 1st rd isn’t out of the realm of possibility.For Michigan there is no measure of success other than beating Ohio State, to reach Indianapolis. Harbaugh has flipped the Michigan State rivalry back, and avoided bad losses. But I think we’ve reached a point where Michigan either gets past the Buckeyes, or they don’t. 7-5 and a Holiday Bowl probably feels about the same as 10-2 and a Citrus Bowl to Wolverines fans at this point. The problem is, over the past four seasons, the years Michigan I think has had the better team (2016 and 2018), they had to go to Columbus, and they got home games in the years they were clearly inferior. Problem this year is Ohio State is both better, and at home. I think that flips next year, but in May of 2020 the last thing Michigan fans want to hear is “wait til November 2021”. The offense should be interesting, with coordinator Josh Gattis with a full year under his belt. All of the reports are that the starting quarterback is a battle between Dylan McCaffrey and Joe Milton, but I think everyone would be shocked if it’s anyone but McCaffrey. Shea Patterson regressed during his time in Ann Arbor, and some fresh blood back there should be good. Obviously the strength of the offense is the running backs, bolstered by the return of Chris Evans after missing all of 2019 with academic issues. The speedster joins the workhorse Zach Charbonnet, and Hassan Haskins, the breakout surprise of the 2019 offense. The Wolverines ran the ball only the 9th most frequently in the Big Ten last year. I think that needs to be up in the top four, depending on the offensive line play. And as obviously as the running backs are the strength of the offense, the line is the weakness. They have to break in four new starters, although when the one returning starter, Jalen Mayfield, is projected to possibly be the first tackle off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft, weakness is relative. While on paper Michigan should have had the best receivers in the conference last year, Donovan Peoples-Jones never learned how to run a route, and Tarik Black couldn’t stay healthy. I think their departure may actually lead to a better overall group. The more you get the ball into the hands of Giles Jackson, the better. The defensive line might lack the depth they had a couple years ago, but the starting four might be the best Don Brown has had to work with. Don Brown’s lines usually benefit from the constantly blitzing linebackers, but that might not necessarily be the case as much this year, so it’s a good year to have a group up front that should be able to get so much done on their own. Cam McGrone showed a lot of potential last year as a redshirt freshman, but also made some critical freshman mistakes. He better grow up in a hurry, because he’s just about the only certainty for Michigan at that level. Much like the line, the secondary has some really high top end players, but some questions behind them. Cornerback Ambry Thomas has always been underappreciated by the media, under Jeremy Clark, David Long and Lavert Hill. I think Thomas is better than all those guys, and now has a chance to show it. Daxton Hill showed right away as a true freshman why Alabama tried so hard to flip him. Depending on what you consider Jabrill Peppers to be, Hill is on a trajectory to be the best safety Michigan has had since Corwin Brown.
#13 Michigan Wolverines #5 in Big Ten
KEY PLAYERS RB Zach Charbonnet, Sophomore WR Nico Collins, Senior TE Nick Eubanks, Senior . DE Kwity Paye, Senior DT Carlo Kemp, Senior CB Ambry Thomas, Senior
All of the reports are that the starting quarterback is a battle between Dylan McCaffrey and Joe Milton, but I think everyone would be shocked if it’s anyone but McCaffrey.
#13 Michigan Wolverines #5 in Big Ten
When was the last time that the Wolverines didn't crack the ELA Top Ten? :o#11 in 2018
#12 USC Trojans |
#2 in Pac 12 |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Kedon Slovis, Sophomore |
WR | Amon-Ra St. Brown, Junior |
G | Alijah Vera-Tucker, Junior |
. | |
DE | Drake Jackson, Sophomore |
DT | Jay Tufele, Senior |
S | Talanoa Hufanga, Junior |
So, the USC-Bama game, if played, should be worth watching.No it won’t. Bama gonna roll them.
#11 Alabama Crimson Tide |
#3 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Najee Harris, Senior |
WR | DeVonta Smith, Senior |
T | Alex Leatherwood, Senior |
. | |
LB | Shane Lee, Sophomore |
LB | Christian Harris, Sophomore |
CB | Patrick Surtain II, Junior |
So who goes out first, Auburn or Oklahoma State? Oklahoma State, I imagine.
The comment about how Michigan would realistically be 11-1 or 8-4 with the same quality team seems accurate. Assuming no huge upsets, their schedule is:Michigan has an absolutely brutal schedule. Geez.
@ Waskington
Wisconsin
Penn State
@ Minnesota
@ Ohio State
@ MSU could be dicey.
Any top 10-15 team could finish 8-4 with that slate even if ranked properly. A 10-2 finish would suggest to me they are top ten easily, maybe top 6.
Not in my world! :)
OSU2 has outlasted Auburn and Bama.
Could they also beat out your Sooners?
I musing about who would be favored in a matchup on a neutral field between Alabama and ANYONE ranked above them other than perhaps Clemson and Ohio State. I think UGA is an early 7 point dog at Bama later in September.FPI has them #3 behind Clemson and Ohio State. SP+ has them #1.
I think it would be kinda neat to have a ranking based solely on "the odds".
FPI has them #3 behind Clemson and Ohio State. SP+ has them #1.Yeah, I don't see it. I think Clemson is the only team I'd favor over Ohio State.
So yeah, at most two. I'm thinking they'd probably be favored over OSU though.
I thought Ohio State was really really really good all last year, and they obviously were on a par with Clemson. LSU turned out to be much better than I thought they were earlier, Burreaux was the reason. Those three teams were the obviously upper crust elite teams, and still are except LSU lost too much I suspect. I'm hard pressed not to have Bama lingering in their stead, but that could well be Sabanitis, which is a variation on Helmetitis.LSU will probably have a major drop off. They lost the OC Joe Brady to the NFL and they lost arguably the greatest college QB any of us have ever seen. Burrow completed 76.3% of his passes for 5,671 yards and 60 TD's vs only 6 INT's. He also ran for 5 TD's. You aren't replacing that OC and that QB and getting better. Just isn't happening.
If UGA gets exceptional QB play, I'd put them close to elite. Their D should be elite. My guess is the AP poll will be Clemson Ohio State Bama Georgia Oklahoma ... which means little of course.
#10 Minnesota Golden Gophers |
#4 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Tanner Morgan, Junior |
WR | Rashod Bateman, Junior |
G | Blaise Andries, Junior |
. | |
CB | Coney Durr, Senior |
CB | Benjamin St. Juste, Senior |
S | Jordan Howden, Junior |
#9 Oklahoma State Cowboys |
#2 in Big XII |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Chuba Hubbard, Junior |
WR | Tylan Wallace, Senior |
WR | Dillon Stoner, Senior |
. | |
LB | Amen Ogbongbemiga, Senior |
LB | Malcolm Rodriguez, Senior |
S | Kolby Harvell-Peel, Junior |
It's not even June, this seems early but appreciated of course.It's about right. Actually the first year I did it (2005) I timed it to be done before I headed across the pond to start my internship, which was like May 10?
Clemson Washington Oklahoma Ohio State Wisconsin Georgia FloridaOregonUSF?
#8 Oregon Ducks |
#1 in Pac 12 |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | C.J. Verdell, Junior |
WR | Johnny Johnson III, Senior |
T | Penei Sewell, Junior |
. | |
DE | Kayvon Thibodeaux, Junior |
CB | Thomas Graham Jr., Senior |
S | Jevon Holland, Junior |
Very good write up except for this IMO - Anonymous Coward,BBTS and myself went a few rounds on this last September.It cuts both ways while Moorehead was indeed crafty/insightful.Franklin however recruited a stable of studs in a nice 3 yr dragnet.And JM took creative advantage of the circumstances thus polishing his portfolio leading to greener pastures.Perhaps Moorehead is like Ed Warinner very good at certain gigs out of his element when the focus is moved to differentThe Ducks also lost offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo, who left to take the head coaching job at UNLV, but I think they upgraded there, by hiring Joe Moorhead, whose head coaching tenure at Mississippi State didn’t go as planned, but who saved James Franklin’s job at Penn State with the job he did fixing his offense.
#8 Oregon Ducks #1 in Pac 12
#7 Georgia Bulldogs |
#2 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Jamie Newman, Senior |
WR | George Pickens, Sophomore |
C | Trey Hill, Junior |
. | |
LB | Monty Rice, Senior |
LB | Azeez Ojulari, Sophomore |
S | Richard LaCounte, Senior |
Very good write up except for this IMO - Anonymous Coward,BBTS and myself went a few rounds on this last September.It cuts both ways while Moorehead was indeed crafty/insightful.Franklin however recruited a stable of studs in a nice 3 yr dragnet.And JM took creative advantage of the circumstances thus polishing his portfolio leading to greener pastures.Perhaps Moorehead is like Ed Warinner very good at certain gigs out of his element when the focus is moved to differentIt's annoying. Franklin's job was never in jeopardy.
Mecole Hardman left two seasons ago, FYIYeah, I meant seeing him in the NFL last year, I think it was evident that he could have done more at Georgia if they had let him.
#6 Wisconsin Badgers |
#3 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Jack Coan, Senior |
TE | Jake Ferguson, Junior |
T | Cole Van Lanen, Senior |
. | |
DE | Isaiah Loudermilk, Senior |
CB | Faion Hicks, Senior |
S | Eric Burrell, Senior |
ELA Top 5 demographicsSo Oklahoma must carry the load for the entire country west of the ETZ?
2 B1G East
1 SEC East
1 Big 12
1 ACC
.
By State: 1 in each Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and S Carolina.
By Time Zone: 4 Eastern, 1 Central
2 South, 3 North (Midwest/Northeast)
It isn't going to contain the Wolverines.
ELA's fact got me curious about seasons that ended without playing Minnesota at the end/in the conference finale. Here's what I got:Missed that one, I think I just looked at the date and assumed.
2013: Penn State on Thanksgiving week, Minnesota the week earlier. Last year of leaders and legends
2012: Penn State a week after OSU. Minnesota was on Oct. 20
2011: Penn State, Minnesota was Nov. 12
2010: NW, Minnesota was Oct. 19 (the card game)
2009: NW ending the conference season. At Hawaii to finish. Minnesota was a early Oct. game to christen the new stadium for conference play
2008: Cal Poly was the season closer, but Minnesota wrapped conference play
2006: Iowa wrapped conference play, then a weird Buffalo game
2005: Iowa, then at Hawaii
2004: Iowa
2003: Iowa
2000: At Indiana on Nov. 11, then two weeks off before at Hawaii
working on it!Well, that's a start.
Mecole Hardman left two seasons ago, FYI, and Herrien is spelled with an e.Crap for some reason I thought he was in Gainesville.Supposedly a Buckeye lean at one time and obviously developed nicely
Missed that one, I think I just looked at the date and assumed.To be fair, with how that game went, I wish I missed it too.
#5 Florida Gators |
#1 in SEC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Kyle Trask, Senior |
TE | Kyle Pitts, Junior |
K | Evan McPherson, Junior |
. | |
LB | Ventrell Miller, Junior |
S | Donovan Stiner, Senior |
S | Shawn Davis, Senior |
#1 in the SEC????!!!!????
#5 Florida Gators #1 in SEC
Let me see if I understand. Florida with a good quarterback, no established running backs or receivers, and the loss of six starters on their defense, is going to win the SEC? Those assertions are those of the OP. Florida will imo have a good team though not as good as last year. They have a decent chance at second in the East although Tennessee is coming in a hurry and with little chance against Georgia with all that talent Kirby Smart is amassing.Well, I had them 11, not 16.
Alabama, on the other hand, is loaded. Jones, whom you dismissed, has superior numbers to Trask in every category. His only problem was he didn't play enough to be considered. He was 97 for 141 for 10.7 yds per completion. His qb rating was 186.9. Trask was 237 for 354 for 8.3 yards per completion with a qb rating of 146.5. Even if Jones is ineffective Bama has the Bryce Young, the number 1 rated prep qb in the country to replace him. I know the OP said he was too small. One would think that after Kyler Murray, Johnny Manziel, Tua, Baker Mayfield and Russell Wilson that it should be apparent that a qb doesn't have to be a giant.
Alabama, unlike Florida has both RBs including Najee Harris returning plus Trey Sanders the number 1 prep rb from 2018 who suffered an injury in preseason last year. The offensive line lost one player to the NFL and should be one of the nation's best. I doubt Florida's O-line matches up. For wrs Alabama has two returning who are considered top draft choices next winter, Davonte Smith and Jaylen Waddle, who the OP didn't mention in his write up.
Alabama did have problems on defense last year primarily because injuries decimated the lb and dl. Those freshman lbs are not freshmen any more plus All American Dylan Moses as well as Josh McMillan back at LB. The D-line was a weakness last year especially after Labryan Ray and DJ Dale were lost to injuries. They are both back along with the Number 2 rated recruiting class.
It is possible that Alabama could again be wracked with injuries which cost Alabama the playoffs last year, but at this point it is illogical to consider Florida better than Alabama and have them ranked 16
You are correct. It was somebody else in the thread commenting on Bryce Young being too small. I apologize, although you didn't give him or Jones much credit.Where did I say they weren't productive offensively?
Secondly your remarks about Alabama not being very productive offensively boggles one's mind. Alabama scored 614 points which was 2nd in the nation and that was with losing our AA starting qb. Florida scored 432. Florida was better defensively as they gave up only 201 as opposed to Alabama's 242. You did mention in your write up that Florida lost 6 starters. I am still having trouble understanding how you see Florida as being better than Alabama or Georgia for that matter.
You said the offensive line did not perform up to what it normally did and finished outside the top 20 of something called the Football Outsiders. I was pointing out that the offensive line played well enough for the team to average 47 points per game.You said I said they weren't productive offensively. That's the third thing now you've said I said, that I never said. I did say that their OL last year didn't perform up to their normal lofty standards, based on FOs line yards metric. That's true, it was their lowest rank there in the 6 or 7 years they've measured it.
I don't know why, but the bolded detail felt weird. Like there's a lot of reasons to argue Bama is better than UF. But saying, there's a guy who averaged 4.6 yards a carry and managed four carries a game in the last five doesn't feel like it helps the case. I mean, just saying Bama returns Harris and gets in Sanders and UF's best back has been lightly used feels like enough.
Alabama, unlike Florida has both RBs including Najee Harris returning plus Trey Sanders the number 1 prep rb from 2018 who suffered an injury in preseason last year. The offensive line lost one player to the NFL and should be one of the nation's best. I doubt Florida's O-line matches up. For wrs Alabama has two returning who are considered top draft choices next winter, Davonte Smith and Jaylen Waddle, who the OP didn't mention in his write up.
You said I said they weren't productive offensively. That's the third thing now you've said I said, that I never said. I did say that their OL last year didn't perform up to their normal lofty standards, based on FOs line yards metric. That's true, it was their lowest rank there in the 6 or 7 years they've measured it.Damn miss the championship just one year the Tide sniffs disrespect.
#4 Penn State Nittany Lions |
#2 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Sean Clifford, Junior |
TE | Pat Friermuth, Junior |
T | Will Fries, Senior |
. | |
DE | Shaka Toney, Senior |
LB | Micah Parsons, Junior |
CB | Tariq Castro-Fields, Senior |
I am not comfortable with this. HahaI thought all James Franklin did in his Joe Moorhead hire was delay the inevitable, and without him, he was headed right back to where the Nittany Lions were prior to Moorehead’s hiring. Franklin may never be an A+ gameday coach, but he seems to be more than just an ace recruiter, he’s proving he can be a strong program CEO as well. The Nittany Lions gave Ohio State everything they could handle in Columbus, and now, getting them at home, ensuring that the Big Ten East title goes through Happy Valley. To prove that Franklin isn’t just a big time recruiter, this could be his best offense yet, and that’s with his highest rated running back recruit (Ricky Slade) and highest rated receiver recruit (Justin Shorter) both transferring out because they couldn’t get on the field. The development of a deep stable of running backs is the key here, led by Journey Brown, who might be the best back in the conference. He didn’t do much in his first season and a half, getting 8 carries in 2018, and only going over 6 carries in a game once. The first game he saw his workload increase, he averaged just 3.8 ypc on 12 carries against Michigan State. But over November, and through the Cotton Bowl, Brown took off, with four 100 yard games over Penn State’s final five. His 6.9 ypc wound up leading all Big Ten backs who averaged at least 10 carries a game, 4th nationally. The next step is whether the true junior can up his carries to 200+. Maybe he won’t have to, with Noah Cain and Devyn Ford combining for 737 yards on 136 carries (5.41 ypc) as true freshman, with another pair of 4* recruits joining the team in Keyvone Lee and Caziah Holmes. They may look to play Holmes in the K.J. Hamler role though, although Hamler was much more of a receiver in high school than Holmes was. Holmes is an early enrollee, listed as a running back on Penn State’s spring roster, but he’s a 5’11”, 175 pound burner, who just needs the ball in his hands. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him fill that returner/slot role. Particularly considering that for as deep as Penn State is at running back, receiver...not so much. Really, with Sean Clifford back at quarterback, Pat Friermuth, potentially the best tight end in the nation, back, and now joined by Theo Johnson, a top 5 tight end recruit; and two All-Big Ten linemen back, receiver is truly the only question mark on the Penn State offense. Behind the departed Hamler, and Friermuth, a tight end, the top returning receiver is Jahad Dotson, with just 488 yards on 27 receptions. Behind him, going down the list,...graduated, transferred, running back, transferred, before we land on Daniel George, the likely #2 receiver, who had 9 receptions last year, never more than 2 in a game, in mop up duty. Hence my skepticism that Holmes sticks at running back. The part that makes this interesting is that Minnesota offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarocca, who diced up the Penn State secondary with the routes he utilized his receivers for, was hired away by the enemy. The top end of the defense is as good as any in the country, with Micah Parsons winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore. The problem is while the Nittany Lions have All-American candidates at all three levels, they did also lose 7 starters. The issue with Penn State’s defense is not finding guys to elevate from role players to stars, but finding complimentary pieces to fill the roles around the established stars. The program recruits at a level that it shouldn’t be a problem.
#4 Penn State Nittany Lions #2 in Big Ten
KEY PLAYERS QB Sean Clifford, Junior TE Pat Friermuth, Junior T Will Fries, Senior . DE Shaka Toney, Senior LB Micah Parsons, Junior CB Tariq Castro-Fields, Senior
None of this matters obviously, it could well turn out Florida ends up 9-3 and Bama goes 13-0, that would not shock me (or the reverse).Yes. Three SEC teams in the top 5 is definitely a more traditional kind of ranking.
This is probably a more traditional kind of ranking:
https://247sports.com/college/georgia/LongFormArticle/College-football-preseason-Top-25-rankings-2020-season-Alabama-Crimson-Tide-Georgia-Bulldogs-Florida-Texas-Ohio-State--147796428/#147796428_19 (https://247sports.com/college/georgia/LongFormArticle/College-football-preseason-Top-25-rankings-2020-season-Alabama-Crimson-Tide-Georgia-Bulldogs-Florida-Texas-Ohio-State--147796428/#147796428_19)
Yes. Three SEC teams in the top 5 is definitely a more traditional kind of ranking.It's how they end up that counts of course.
All models are wrong, some models are useful.as you can tell, I like this
as you can tell, I like thisI find models mostly useless, but nice to look at
mostly thinking of weather models, but I like to try it with all things that are similar to a model
You clowns are really making thread hard on Drew later this month. I mean, he's the one who has to clean up all the messes made so he can publish it.I can go through and delete my rankings, so that he can pull the useful part
Well, I had them 11, not 16.fwiw, i have no problem with your ranking bama #11. eventually we'll drop, and if you think it's this year, well, maybe it is.
I think someone else, not me, said Young was too small. And by the time Murray took over at Oklahoma he was 195; those other guys you listed are all over 200. Young was 183 at the AA bowl.
Also, by Bill Connolly's (who has Alabama preseason #1 FTR) own metric, Florida returns more production on both offense and defense than Alabama does.
In the future, maybe we have a locked thread on which only ELA can post and another thread for commentary.That would certainly make things easier for Drew.
https://www.cfb51.com/threads-from-the-publisher/ela-130-team-countdown/406/ (https://www.cfb51.com/threads-from-the-publisher/ela-130-team-countdown/406/)That one is from two years ago, and still contains all of the comments from the peanut gallery.
area 51That's where I post my ranking of all 100 senators.
#3 :88:hio State Buckeyes |
#1 in Big Ten |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Justin Fields, Junior |
RB | Master Teague III, Sophomore |
WR | Chris Olave, Junior |
. | |
LB | Tuf Borland, Senior |
LB | Pete Werner, Senior |
CB | Shaun Wade, Junior |
#2 Oklahoma Sooners |
#1 in Big XII |
KEY PLAYERS | |
RB | Kennedy Brooks, Junior |
HB | Jeremiah Hall, Junior |
C | Creed Humphrey, Junior |
. | |
DE | LaRon Stokes, Senior |
DE | Ronnie Perkins, Junior |
S | Delarrin Turner-Yell, Junior |
#1 Clemson Tigers |
#1 in ACC |
KEY PLAYERS | |
QB | Trevor Lawrence, Junior |
RB | Travis Etienne, Senior |
T | Jackson Carman, Junior |
. | |
DE | Xavier Thomas, Junior |
DT | Tyler Davis, Sophomore |
CB | Derion Kendrick, Junior |
Dang, ELA! Couldn't you have left us in suspense about #1 for one more day?MSU basketball fans feel/felt the same about Izzo after he won one in 2000.
In reference to your write-up on Oklahoma, I will say that OU fans thought, after the 2000 NC, that Bob Stoops would win a few more.
This will be the 20th season since then. 20 years can sure seem like a long time.
Where was LSU last year preseason? We all know some teams gel unexpectedly, though the Burrow performance was unexpectable.Sixth, behind three playoff teams, Bama and UGA.
OSU and Clemson and OU will be right there, and probably Bama/UGA/UF somewhere near the top. The precise ordering to me is irrelevant really, a discussion point I suppose. Somebody else will turn out to be very good, Michigan, Washington, Texas, Wisconsin of course, UNC maybe ... A&M?
I don't know who of course. But it's fun to discuss.
WAY too early 2021 preseason top 25, assuming the only early departures are those players listed in CBS' 2021 Top 100 NFL Draft prospect rankings...In terms of way too early, this is way too early.
- Oklahoma
- PENN STATE
- Oregon
- MICHIGAN
- Georgia
- LSU
- Texas
- USC
- Clemson
- MINNESOTA
- Alabama
- OHIO STATE
- IOWA
- Florida
- Oklahoma State
- Louisville
- Virginia
- Auburn
- WISCONSIN
- Baylor
- North Carolina
- Virginia Tech
- Notre Dame
- INDIANA
- Texas A&M
This means Brock Purdy is gone. But if he returns, watch out big time for Iowa State, that becomes a top 10 roster on paper.
WAY too early 2021 preseason top 25, assuming the only early departures are those players listed in CBS' 2021 Top 100 NFL Draft prospect rankings...So, what exactly is this list? Your estimate of what the preseason AP Poll will look like?
- Oklahoma
- PENN STATE
- Oregon
- MICHIGAN
- Georgia
- LSU
- Texas
- USC
- Clemson
- MINNESOTA
- Alabama
- OHIO STATE
- IOWA
- Florida
- Oklahoma State
- Louisville
- Virginia
- Auburn
- WISCONSIN
- Baylor
- North Carolina
- Virginia Tech
- Notre Dame
- INDIANA
- Texas A&M
This means Brock Purdy is gone. But if he returns, watch out big time for Iowa State, that becomes a top 10 roster on paper.
Sixth, behind three playoff teams, Bama and UGA.That was a pretty good ranking really.
So, what exactly is this list? Your estimate of what the preseason AP Poll will look like?2021, next year, way too early (ha).
I can't see Oklahoma as preseason #1 when we don't have a QB who has had any significant playing time. Spencer Rattler (I do love the name) is supposed to be the next great thing, but there have been many guys before him with the big rep who fell flat on their faces when it came time to show it on the field.
2021, next year, way too early (ha).Ay-yi-yi! How did I miss that?
It's June, time for folks to get creative making up lists.
I always close with it. It's generally pretty useless. I will say two things, very conclusively (i) Oklahoma, with a little bit of guys returning to school luck is poised to be absolutely loaded; and (ii) with what Michigan should have back combined with what OSU has to replace, and the game being in Ann Arbor, if Harbaugh doesn't beat OSU next year, he does deserve to be fired.This feels like a situation where we'll get to the beginning of 2021, see that OSU has notably more talent and assume the Buckeyes will do their thing.
Danny Rocco and Turner Gill laid the foundation for a middling 1-AA independent program to eventually become an FBS school. The Flames joined the Big South in 2002, but went just 15-30 over their first four seasons. Rocco was hired in 2006, and in just his second season won a conference title, the first of 8 in 10 seasons for Liberty, with Turner Gill taking over in 2012, after Rocco left to take over at Richmond. Gill got them through their FBS transitional year, before handing it off to Hugh Freeze for their first year of full FBS membership and bowl eligibility. Freeze got the job done, going 8-5, including a Cure Bowl win over Georgia Southern. That was a senior laden team, playing a ton of awful opponents. They played a pair of FCS schools, New Mexico, New Mexico State...twice, Massachusetts and Buffalo for their wins. This year, they do again play two FCS opponents, but the overall schedule is much tougher. And the Flames boasted Phil Steele’s 1st team All-Independent running back and receiver, plus the second team quarterback...all of them are gone. The good news is that Liberty also had a second team running back, who does return, in Joshua Mack. Shedro Louis, who starred as a return man last year, could be a breakout star in a system that has plenty of carries to go around. Mack, as the #2 option a year ago, averaged over 10 carries a game, and that could give the explosive Louis plenty of touches to shine. Everything about the transfer portal seems custom designed for a coach like Freeze, and while he is getting an infusion of Power Five talent, the really interesting one is Maine grad transfer Chris Ferguson, who threw for over 5,000 yards with the Black Bears, and led them to the FCS semifinals in 2017. He almost certainly becomes the starter. But the highest pedigree talent comes in Ole Miss transfer offensive tackle Bryce Matthews, son of 11 year NFL offensive tackle Jason Matthews, who was a big time high school recruit, who chose Ole Miss over basically anyone else in the nation, including Alabama and Clemson. He certainly never lived up to those expectations, but at Liberty he should anchor an offensive line that was sneakily one of the better units in the FBS a year ago. Given the expected drop off offensively, Liberty needs a defense that underperformed a season ago to step up, and a lot of that hinges on an experienced defensive line. That group ranked #106 in line yards a year ago, and while they lose their best pass rusher from the group in Jesse Lemonier, they should be much better against the run, with the 315 Ralfs Rusins in the middle, and TreShaun Clark on the edge, coming off a surprising freshman season. The Flames were just #95 in the nation against the run last year, which, considering the schedule, ouch. But, while they allowed 4.8 ypc over the season, they were roughly 0.6 ypc better down the stretch. As Clark continues to mature, that should only improve.
#120 Liberty Flames Independent
KEY PLAYERS RB Joshua Mack, Senior RB Shedro Louis, Sophomore WR D.J. Stubbs, Senior . DE TreShaun Clark, Sophomore DT Ralfs Rusins, Senior CB Javon Scruggs, Senior
I didn’t think I’d ever be writing that San Jose State fans need to hope that their incoming SEC grad transfer quarterback is anywhere close to what they had in a departing senior. But that departed senior was 2019 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year Josh Love, the first Spartan to win a conference offensive player of the year award, going back at least to San Jose State’s move from the Big West to the WAC in 1996. And that incoming transfer is Nick Starkel, who is now on his third school in three years. He left Texas A&M for Arkansas after getting passed by Kellen Mond then left Arkansas after getting passed over there. The humorous part about San Jose State even wanting him is that Jordon Love threw for over 400 yards in a stunning upset of the Razorbacks, in Fayetteville, thanks in large part to Nick Starkel throwing 5 interceptions. He will get plenty of chances to throw the ball all over the play, thanks to a pair of returning all conference receivers, and an offensive system that doesn’t want to run, with personnel that can’t run. The Spartans ran the ball 24.6 times per game last year, 36.1% of their plays. Only Mike Leach was more run averse. It helps to play behind an elite pass blocking line, that only surrendered 14 sacks on the season. Only Air Force gave up fewer among conference teams, and they passed the ball 9.7 times per game, as opposed to 41.5. The Spartans had the second lowest sack rate in the FBS, at just 2.71%, with 29% of their sacks coming in their season ending comeback win over Fresno State. Starting left tackle Jack Snyder is back, but right tackle Quinn Oseland, and all-Mountain West guard Troy Kowalski, and their top rotational tackle and guard all graduated. Even with all of those in play last year, and an upset win in their payday SEC game, San Jose State still didn’t make it to a bowl, thanks to surrendering a 70 yard drive to UNLV in just 94 seconds, in the final 3 minutes of the game. So it’s tough to see a path there this year, particularly with Penn State replacing Arkansas as their bodybag game, and trips to Boise State, Fresno State, and San Diego State among their conference slate. The defense, which was great against the pass, but awful against the run last year, figures to be the same, as they struggle to win in the trenches with their 3-4. You can’t pull that off without a nose tackle, and starter Sailosi Latu graduated, with the two guys behind him on the depth chart, Demanuel Talauati and Terrell Townsend, both entering the transfer portal. San Jose State gave up 232 rushing ypg, on 4.8 ypc a year ago, thanks to opponents running the ball 48.2 times per game against them. Considering how weak San Jose State looks to be again at the point of attack, I’d plan on more of the same.
#117 San Jose State Spartans #11 in Mountain West
KEY PLAYERS WR Tre Walker, Senior WR Bailey Gaither, Senior T Jack Snyder, Senior . LB Kyle Harmon, Junior LB Rico Tolefree, Junior S Jay Lenard, Senior
For a school that only has one ever trip to the MAC Championship Game, under Brady Hoke in 2008, and last won the conference in 1996, saying the Cardinals need to reach Detroit for Mike Neu to keep his job, may seem like an impossible ask, but then again, how many coaches, even at Ball State, get a fifth year, when the first four resulted in an 8-24 conference record, and no bowls? It certainly helps that Neu is a school legend, winning MAC MVP in 1993 while leading the Cardinals to a conference title, and the second bowl appearance in school history. But also, the program is trending in the right direction, going from 2 to 4 to 5 wins over the last three seasons, and now return 74% of their production, second most in the MAC. The only school above them, was Akron, who may have been the worst team in the FBS last year. Mix in the fact that Toledo, Northern Illinois and Central Michigan aren’t at recent levels, Eastern Michigan is in a rebuilding year, and they get their primary division contender, Western Michigan, at home, and it starts to make sense. If Neu doesn’t get it done this year, he never is. To get there, it’s going to start on the defensive side of the ball, led by a secondary, that should be the best in the conference. It starts with what certainly, on paper, has to be the MAC’s best cornerback pairing in Antonio Phillips and Amechi Uzodinma II, who combined for 9 interceptions a year ago, ranking first and third in the MAC last year at 0.42 and 0.36 per game. But as good as they were a year ago, it was the Cardinals stout run defense, one of the better mid-major 3-4 run defenses in the nation, that was even better. Jaylin Thomas is a proven playmaker on one outside linebacker, but for this unit to go from good, to possibly the best defense in the MAC, depends on how well they reload up the middle. Gone is senior nose tackle Chris Crumb, replaced by 300 pound true sophomore Justen Ramsey, at a spot where young guys typically struggle. Then from the second level, Jacob White, and his sure running back tackling abilities (117 tackles) are gone. Getting more backfield pressure from that spot would help. Ball State’s four leading tacklers, the aforementioned Jacob White and Jaylin Thomas, along with the graduated Ray Wilborn, and returning safety Bryce Cosby, combined for 375 tackles...and no sacks. The offense is not in bad shape either. Caleb Huntley returns for his senior year at tailback, after finishing third in the MAC with 106.3 rushing ypg last year, but Fletcher Walter, who had 726 yards on 132 carries as a reserve, is gone. Three of their top four receivers are back as well, but so is the guy under center, redshirt senior Drew Plitt. Plitt might be the most underappreciated quarterback in the conference, coming off a year where he was top three in completion percentage, touchdowns, passing yards, and passing efficiency, yet found himself entirely omitted from the conference postseason honors. His career yards per attempt is third in school history, and even spending just two years as the full time starter, he should wind up at least fourth all time in passing yards in school history. If he wins, his place in school history will be cemented right alongside his former MVP head coach, who can add to his own legacy with a conference title as both a starting quarterback and head coach.
#94 Ball State Cardinals #6 in MAC
KEY PLAYERS RB Caleb Huntley, Senior WR Justin Hall, Senior G Curtis Blackwell, Senior . LB Jaylin Thomas, Senior CB Antonio Phillips, Senior CB Amechi Uzodinma II, Junior
Asking the Chanticleers to challenge Appalachian State for a division title, after going 6-18 in three years in the Sun Belt, is asking a bit much, but expecting this team to take a massive step forward, is not. Joe Moglia taking this program from after thought to an FCS title contender was well documented, but less noted is just how unexpected their struggles in moving up to FBS have been. If they can stay healthy, this could be the year that all changes. That may seem like an obvious caveat, but this roster is loaded with returning talent, 18 returning starters, including 10 on offense; with the 5th most returning offensive production in the nation. The inefficiency of the passing game is where the most gains can be made, considering Coastal Carolina returns not one, but two starting quarterbacks. It doesn’t make a ton of sense, both Fred Payton and Bryce Carpenter have similar skill sets, both fit their spread read option style, with comparable passing numbers and finishing second and fourth on the team in rushing. You do wonder how much they are being held back by not being THE guy. Both played in every game they were healthy for, Payton getting 187 pass attempts and 54 rush attempts; with Carpenter getting 142 pass attempts and 109 rushes. When you have Isaiah Likely, who is probably the best tight end in the conference, I get the safe passing game, but they need to open it up more. Javon Heiligh led the team in receptions, averaging just 10.8 ypc. The Chanticleers were 11th in the FBS, second in the Group of Five, with a completion percentage of 66.78%, but averaged just 11.1 yards per completion, 20th lowest. The problem there is that the three leading receivers last year were the aforementioned Heiligh and Likely, along with tailback C.J. Marable. The likely breakout stars as far as deep targets go are gone due to transfer (Jai Williams) and graduation (Larry Collins Jr.). So it looks like more of the same. They do need to find some backfield help for Marable, who averaged nearly 120 all purpose yards per game, but put too many miles on his body. He averaged 17 carries per game, had the second most receptions on the team, and occasionally returned kicks. Second among tailbacks was Jacquez Hairston, who averaged less than 7 total touches per game. So why does remaining healthy matter more to Coastal Carolina than most? For all of that returning production, seemingly nobody backing them up wanted to stay, losing 12 players to transfer. Most problematic is how those guys seemed to be grouped into heavy losses at certain positions, losing three running backs, three receivers, and four linebackers. For the defense, getting defensive end Tarron Jackson back for his senior year is massive. Their defensive success is largely based off pressure generating, and he’s the best on the team at that. He was first in the Sun Belt in sacks, fifth in tackles for loss, and first among linemen in tackles. Losing Sterling Jackson, the best penetrating interior lineman, will hurt that, but C.J. Brewer is a space eater, who should continue to take up blockers to Jackson to keep making plays. For now Jackson is my preseason Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year.
#93 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers #5 in Sun Belt
KEY PLAYERS RB C.J. Marable, Senior WR Javon Heiligh, Junior TE Isaiah Likely, Junior . DE Tarron Jackson, Senior DT C.J. Brewer, Senior LB Teddy Gallagher, Senior
Northwestern kept pushing just how far they could go with as inept an offense as they had year in and year out, and it finally bit them. In fairness, they reached the Big Ten title game the year prior with the #94 SP+ offense, relying solely on the #30 defense. Their defense actually improved in 2019, up to #27, but their offense fell off a cliff to #123, which resulted in a flip from 8-1 in conference play, to 1-8. It was the worst season in Evanston since they went winless in Big Ten play in Gary Barnett’s final season, in 1998. That was finally the impetus for Pat Fitzgerald to move on from Mick McCall, who had been his offensive coordinator since 2008, and bring in Mike Bajakian from Boston College. It was time for a fresh start, but this hire is not exactly inspiring. Bajakian was Butch Jones’ offensive coordinator across three different schools (Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Tennessee) from 2007-2014. He then spent four years in the NFL as quarterbacks coach with the Buccaneers “grooming” top pick Jameis Winston. Yikes. But Boston College’s offense, particularly the passing game, saw significant improvement in his one year there. That’s what impact Fitzgerald has to hope he has on his quarterbacks, who were absolutely awful last year, averaging an FBS worst 4.5 ypa. The Wildcats were getting T.J. Green back, following a season ending injury in 2018, and more importantly, adding Clemson transfer Hunter Johnson, a former 5 star recruit. Green got hurt again, Johnson was horrible, and third stringer, Aidan Smith, who hadn’t attempted a pass through his first three seasons, ended the year as the starter, and best option. All three are back in 2020, but the Johnson disaster did not scare Fitzgerald away from hitting the transfer portal again. This time adding Peyton Ramsey as a grad transfer from Indiana. Ramsey was second in the Big Ten in completion percentage last year, fourth in QBR. If the quarterback play is merely decent this year, instead of worst in the FBS, the offense could actually be ok. True freshman Drake Anderson, didn’t exactly call back the dynamic offenses his father played for in Evanston at the turn of the millennium, but considering the loaded boxes he was facing, he stayed healthy, and was moderately effective. They may have stumbled into something late with Evan Hull, who only played in four games, but averaged over 6 ypc; and they have to hope Isaiah Bowser regains his form. He was arguably the second best tailback over the second half of 2018, but never got on track in 2019. While the offensive line was the main problem in 2018, it was actually decent last year, and now returns four starters, including All-Big Ten tackle Rashawn Slater. They could be one of the five best units in the conference. If the offense is just like #80 or so in SP+, the team could be a major bounce back candidate, because the defense appears to be absolutely loaded, particularly in the back seven. They return 8 starters from a top 30 defense a year ago, led by linebacker Paddy Fisher, who could be preseason Big Ten defensive player of the year. The Wildcats’ have the #17 projected SP+ defense for this year.
#71 Northwestern Wildcats #11 in Big Ten
KEY PLAYERS RB Drake Anderson, Sophomore WR Riley Lees, Senior WR Rashawn Slater, Senior . LB Paddy Fisher, Senior LB Blake Gallagher, Senior S Travis Whillock, Senior
Zach Wilson took control of the starting quarterback job as a freshman, and never (willingly) gave up the job. The problem was that he missed three games with an injury, and Baylor Ramsey and Jaren Hall came in and were arguably better. They each had a higher completion percentage, and passing efficiency, while not suffering the interception issues that Wilson did. It would have been an interesting spring battle, but now you do wonder if Kalani Sitake, who is firmly on the hot seat after a 27-25 start to his career after four seasons, is willing to now let a quarterback competition extend into fall practice. He already has a lower winning percentage through four years than Gary Crowton did in between LaVell Edwards and Bronco Mendenhall, and Crowton didn’t get a fifth season. Assuming it is still Wilson, he’ll be aided by what could be a really good running game. Things started to really round into form late in the season, averaging 5.9 ypc over the final quarter of the season, sixth best in the FBS. Nine different Cougars got at least 23 carries last year, so it truly was a running back by committee approach, but for some reason, the most effective, freshman Sione Finau only got 59 carries, despite averaging 6.1 ypc. He also missed four games with injuries, but a first full season in a college weight program could see him be even better. They add grad transfer Devonta’e Henry-Cole from rival Utah, who had an up and down career, that saw him averaged 5.25 ypc over two seasons with the Utes, but only got 89 carries, and those two seasons straddled an entire lost 2018 season due to a wrist injury. He’s probably the most talented back on the roster though, and maybe now gets a consistent opportunity. Considering how divided out the carries were last year, mixed with the mess at receiver, both should get 100+ carries this year. And that mess at receiver is a big one, with BYU’s top three wideouts all graduating. They did catch a break in tight end Matt Bushman, who would have been drafted, electing to return for his senior year. He actually led the team last year in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Last year was a reboot year on defense, that was expected. So falling from #18 to #63 in ypp allowed is not necessarily the issue. It as that they failed to establish the guys going forward to actually make it a rebuilding year. So the defense enters 2019 really no better off than they were last year. Aside from linebacker Isaiah Kaufusi, you could tell me just about any projected starter was not actually still starting by the end of the year, and I wouldn’t find it necessarily surprising. They do have a deep rotation at linebacker, one that can withstand injury, so maybe through mixing and matching around Kaufusi they find a really good group, with eight of nine players from last year’s three deep return. BYU always made their mark on that side of the ball by being nasty in the trenches, and the 2019 Cougars simply were not that, with just 4.31% sack rate, bottom 20 in the FBS. And it was just 2.0% on standard downs, fifth worst. They weren’t good against the run either, sacrificing 2.73 line yards per play, in the bottom 25. That’s simply not the BYU mentality I’m familiar with.
#70 BYU Cougars Independent
KEY PLAYERS QB Zach Wilson, Junior TE Matt BUshman, Senior C James Empey, Junior . LB Isaiah Kaufusi, Senior LB Kavika Fonua, Senior LB Payton Wilgar, Sophomore
For Michigan there is no measure of success other than beating Ohio State, to reach Indianapolis. Harbaugh has flipped the Michigan State rivalry back, and avoided bad losses. But I think we’ve reached a point where Michigan either gets past the Buckeyes, or they don’t. 7-5 and a Holiday Bowl probably feels about the same as 10-2 and a Citrus Bowl to Wolverines fans at this point. The problem is, over the past four seasons, the years Michigan I think has had the better team (2016 and 2018), they had to go to Columbus, and they got home games in the years they were clearly inferior. Problem this year is Ohio State is both better, and at home. I think that flips next year, but in May of 2020 the last thing Michigan fans want to hear is “wait til November 2021”. The offense should be interesting, with coordinator Josh Gattis with a full year under his belt. All of the reports are that the starting quarterback is a battle between Dylan McCaffrey and Joe Milton, but I think everyone would be shocked if it’s anyone but McCaffrey. Shea Patterson regressed during his time in Ann Arbor, and some fresh blood back there should be good. Obviously the strength of the offense is the running backs, bolstered by the return of Chris Evans after missing all of 2019 with academic issues. The speedster joins the workhorse Zach Charbonnet, and Hassan Haskins, the breakout surprise of the 2019 offense. The Wolverines ran the ball only the 9th most frequently in the Big Ten last year. I think that needs to be up in the top four, depending on the offensive line play. And as obviously as the running backs are the strength of the offense, the line is the weakness. They have to break in four new starters, although when the one returning starter, Jalen Mayfield, is projected to possibly be the first tackle off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft, weakness is relative. While on paper Michigan should have had the best receivers in the conference last year, Donovan Peoples-Jones never learned how to run a route, and Tarik Black couldn’t stay healthy. I think their departure may actually lead to a better overall group. The more you get the ball into the hands of Giles Jackson, the better. The defensive line might lack the depth they had a couple years ago, but the starting four might be the best Don Brown has had to work with. Don Brown’s lines usually benefit from the constantly blitzing linebackers, but that might not necessarily be the case as much this year, so it’s a good year to have a group up front that should be able to get so much done on their own. Cam McGrone showed a lot of potential last year as a redshirt freshman, but also made some critical freshman mistakes. He better grow up in a hurry, because he’s just about the only certainty for Michigan at that level. Much like the line, the secondary has some really high top end players, but some questions behind them. Cornerback Ambry Thomas has always been underappreciated by the media, under Jeremy Clark, David Long and Lavert Hill. I think Thomas is better than all those guys, and now has a chance to show it. Daxton Hill showed right away as a true freshman why Alabama tried so hard to flip him. Depending on what you consider Jabrill Peppers to be, Hill is on a trajectory to be the best safety Michigan has had since Corwin Brown.
#13 Michigan Wolverines #5 in Big Ten
KEY PLAYERS RB Zach Charbonnet, Sophomore WR Nico Collins, Senior TE Nick Eubanks, Senior . DE Kwity Paye, Senior DT Carlo Kemp, Senior CB Ambry Thomas, Senior
So yeah, a pretty good showing. Only a handful of way off picks, on a cursory glance.Do I really get credit for Oregon?
He was 4/5 on P5 champions, with his lone miss picking Florida over Bama.
Just goes to show how unpredictable this stuff can be, even if a fella is as "plugged in" as ELA.
Well yeah, that's arguably the most amazing pick really.the uf pic wasn't outlandish either. almost went 5-5.
Clemson, OSU, Oklahoma? Obvious. Bama was obvious too, but Florida was your "venturing out on a limb" pick. But Oregon? And it panned out? Incredible.
the uf pic wasn't outlandish either. almost went 5-5.Up until about a month ago, it looked a lot better than the Oklahoma pick