| 15. Mississippi State Bulldogs |
| #4 in SEC |
After years of swirling rumors, Dan Mullen finally left for the one job that probably had the sway to do it. But boy did he leave the cupboard FAR from bare. Joe Moorhead bet on himself when he left his FCS head coaching job at Fordham, one where he had made the tournament in three consecutive seasons, to take the Penn State offensive coordinator position. It paid off handsomely for both sides. He ignited a Penn State offense, and likely saved James Franklin’s job, while getting himself a Power 5 head coaching job of his own. One that is a much more attractive job than when Mullen took it nine years ago. What looked like a major problem when Nick Fitzgerald was lost for the season a year ago in the Egg Bowl, did turn out to be one...in the form of a quarterback controversy. The senior should be healthy, but his replacement, freshman Keytaon Thompson, was dynamic in his first start in the Gator Bowl, outperforming former Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson in an upset win over Louisville. There is seemingly no issue, its Fitzgerald’s job, but after having it all to himself last year, he now has to look over his shoulder at the sophomore if he begins to struggle. And while he has never struggled to run the ball, he still hasn’t developed as much as a passer as Joe Moorhead would like. Fitzgerald’s style fits Mullins’ offense, Moorhead will have to adapt his. He wants more of a downfield passing game, but the Bulldogs were last in the SEC in passing yards and completion percentage, but having the third most effective running game. Fitzgerald would have joined running back Aeris Williams with over 1,000 yards rushing if not for the injury, he finished with 984 yards, and a team high 14 rushing touchdowns. Defensively it’s all about the line. In a conference known for its defensive trench play, Mississippi State may have the best starting four in the league. Depth wise, nobody can compete there with Bama, ever. But those top 4 guys I would take over anyone else’s starters. The issue is behind them, where both linebacker and cornerback are major, major questions. Being able to generate so much with just four guys will help, but in an era where teams are rotating guys up front so much, how often will they all be on the field together, when you are asking them to be responsible for so much.
Key Players| QB | | Nick Fitzgerald, Senior |
| RB | | Aeris Williams, Senior |
| WR | | Keith Mixon, Junior |
| . | |
| DE | | Montez Sweat, Senior |
| DT | | Jeffrey Simmons, Junior |
| S | | Mark McLaurin, Senior |
| 14. Miami Hurricanes |
| #2 in ACC |
For the first time in a long time, Miami had swagger. Some of that was false bravado. Some of that was tiresome shticks (like a turnover chain). But if there is any program who can wear that well, it’s Miami. And it doesn’t bother me. Most other schools try it, it wears thin, and you can’t wait for it to be exposed. At the U? I love them for being what they are. The Canes got as high at #2 at 10-0 going into the regular season finale at Pitt, before a stunning upset loss to the Panthers, an ass whoopin’ from Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, and a loss to Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl sent them to an 0-3 finish and a #13 ranking. Don’t buy any talk about them being a phony. Let’s not forget they had a pair of wins, in November, not September, over #13 Virginia Tech and #3 Notre Dame, by a combined 69-18. This team was for real, they just hit a slump at a wrong time. The team still had major deficiencies, but for how overdone the turnover chain became, it represented a very real thing, a very fun, very aggressive defense, that hoped if they forced you to make quick decisions, you wouldn’t be able to find the holes to exploit them. And it worked. They were by most metrics a solid, but not special defense. But they led the ACC in sack rate and led in turnovers forced by almost 0.5 per game. But 10-3 is a good start, the program is rejuvenated. Mark Richt felt stale at Georgia, he seems to have found a happy place at his alma mater. While his former school is recruiting off the charts, nobody is noticing just how well Richt is recruiting at Miami, bringing in the #8 overall class and #2 in the ACC, on the heels of a #12/#2 class a year ago. It may seem like Miami always recruits like that, but they don’t, it’s their best class in a decade. For those who felt the offense was inconsistent last year, a huge influx in talent is coming, including arguably the #1 RB and #1 TE recruit in the nation, a top 5 QB and a 4* WR. That quarterback, Jarren Williams, could factor into 2018. Malik Rosier wilted against better competition, even getting benched against Pitt, while technically still being the starter for a 10-0 team. He completed only 44% of his passes and had 5 picks to go with only 3 touchdowns, and saw his per carry average drop from 3.7 ypc to 2.9 ypc. It will be surprising for anyone but Rozier to begin the season under center, but not unthinkable. We saw Richt pull the plug on him once already. The running game struggled initially once Mark Walton was lost to injury, but Travis Homer proved to be an all-ACC caliber back, and he’s running behind a better offensive line now. The receivers are young, but insanely talented. That’s the position group that they have most quickly flipped. Defensively, the back seven should still be outstanding. The issue is the front, and that’s why I don’t have the Canes in my top 10 as plenty of other places do. They disrupted a lot up front, and it made everything behind them work. Is that secondary just as good if they have to cover for longer? I suspect we’ll have to find out. Keep an eye on their Friday night game in Chestnut Hill in late October, that could be a sneaky fun one.
Key Players| RB | | Travis Homer, Junior |
| C | | Tyler Gauthier, Senior |
| G | | Navaughn Donaldson, Sophomore |
| . | |
| LB | | Shaquille Quarterman, Junior |
| CB | | Michael Jackson, Senior |
| S | | Jaquan Johnson, Senior |
