Friday Five: Conference title sleepers
By Tom Fornelli | College Football Writer
May 29, 2015 2:59 pm ET
We have truly reached the dog days of the offseason, as we prepare to turn our calendars to June. Even if it's still late May, it's never too early to start thinking about potential sleepers in the 2015 season.
All right, maybe there are times where it's too early, and this could definitely be one of those times, but I'm going to do it anyway and you can't stop me.
For this week's Friday Five I've decided to take a look at the five Power Five schools that aren't going to be considered favorites in their conferences, but could surprise us all this fall. Now, before we get to the rankings, let's make one thing clear. I'm not ranking these teams in order of how good they are, or how well I think they're going to do this season. They'll be ranked in an order that signifies how likely I believe it is that they'll actually play for a conference title (you know, win their division), if not win it outright.
Got it? Good, let's get to it.
'Why not Texas?' is what I like to pretend Charlie Strong is asking in this photo. (USATSI)
5. Texas
It seems strange to be in a position where we consider Texas a sleeper in the Big 12, but alas, this is where things sit currently. Since the Longhorns last won a conference title in 2009 the good seasons have all included only eight or nine wins, and another such season probably won't get it done in the Big 12.
Now, there are obvious question marks about the Longhorns headed into 2015, the biggest one being the quarterback position. What we do know, however, is that with Charlie Strong at the helm we can probably count on this defense being pretty good again. So if the offense can manage to find any kind of consistency whatsoever, there's a chance here. Not a great one, admittedly, but that's why they're fifth on this list.
Jared Goff is one of the best QBs you might not have heard of yet. (USATSI)
4. Cal
Somewhat surprised to see Cal here, right? Like, Texas made some sense, but you weren't thinking about Cal. Well, I am. Here's what we know about the Pac-12 heading into 2015. The South Division is still going to be pretty good and is likely the second-best division in college football behind the SEC West. We also know that Stanford had problems last season, Washington lost roughly 35 players to the NFL (off a team that still only managed to win eight games) and Oregon is going through some major changes of its own. Then there's Cal, which was only 5-7 last year, but has one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Jared Goff.
With Sonny Dykes entering his third year, this is a team that is going to score a lot of points, and that's important in the Pac-12. The key, of course, will be whether a defense that allowed damn near 40 points per game last season can improve. I would like to think it can't get worse, and I'm sure Dykes does as well. Another factor working against the Bears is that they have to go on the road to play Oregon, Washington and Stanford, who would all be considered the favorites in the division. So Cal pushing Oregon for the division title isn't the likeliest of scenarios, but how many of us had TCU going HAM on the Big 12 last year? Exactly.
Jerry Kill's Gophers find themselves in a wide-open division this season. (USATSI)
3. Minnesota
The Big Ten West is just plain wide open. The smart money has to be on Wisconsin because even though Melvin Gordon is gone, and Gary Andersen followed him out the door, Paul Chryst steps into a very familiar situation. Meanwhile Nebraska has a new coach and an entirely new system on offense, Iowa still worships the Field Position God over the Points God, Northwestern has fallen back to Earth in recent years, and Illinois and Purdue are still totally Illinois and Purdue.
Then there's Minnesota. Yes, the Gophers lost key players like David Cobb and Maxx Williams, but they're still poised to make noise in the division this season. They have an excellent coaching staff, and they also have the benefit of getting both Wisconsin and Nebraska in Minneapolis this season. Sure, the cross-divisional draw of Ohio State and Michigan isn't exactly kind, but at least Michigan will be coming to Minnesota. Now, I feel like the ceiling here for the Gophers would be a 6-2 mark in the Big Ten, but honestly, 6-2 will probably be enough to get the job done in the West. As for beating whoever wins the East, well, that's another situation entirely.
Can Alex Collins help carry Arkansas all the way to Atlanta? (USATSI)
2. Arkansas
This pick was probably expected. Arkansas has been touted as a 2015 dark horse since the end of last season, and for good reason. The Razorbacks may have only gone 7-6 last season, but only two of those losses featured two-score deficits (45-21 to Auburn in the season opener and a 45-32 loss to Georgia at home in October). The Hogs nearly knocked off Alabama, almost took down Mississippi State when it was the No. 1 team in the country, absolutely destroyed Ole Miss 30-0, and almost got to Mizzou in Columbia to finish the regular season.
This is a battle-tested team that gets a lot of key parts back, particularly on offense. Now, the SEC is an absolute minefield, particularly the West, but at the end of the day somebody will emerge from the rubble all battered and bloody. That team just might be Arkansas. I would like the odds better if it didn't have to play both Alabama and LSU on the road this year, but thems the breaks, and Bret Bielema's style of football plays anywhere.
Bobby Petrino certainly has faults, but he also knows how to win games. (USATSI)
1. Louisville
Is Louisville being here a reflection of how I feel about the Cardinals in 2015, or is it because of what I think about the ACC as a whole? It's probably both. Louisville has quite a bit to replace off last year's team (no team in the ACC has fewer returning starters), and that includes just about the entire offensive line. Yet I still feel good about the Cardinals.
The defense may have lost quite a bit, but Charlie Strong left that cupboard pretty full for Todd Grantham, and we know that a Bobby Petrino offense is going to be fine. And when you look around the ACC Atlantic, both of its traditional powers of late have question marks of their own. Florida State will be good, but how good without Jameis Winston and other key players from the past couple of years? Clemson will still be good, but how sorely will it miss offensive coordinator Chad Morris, all those departures on defense, and can DeShaun Watson stay healthy?
I don't know the answers to those questions yet, but what I do know is that if both Florida State and Clemson take steps back in 2015, Louisville will be more than happy to pick up the slack and win the Atlantic. And given everything that goes on in the Coastal Division on an annual basis, if Louisville gets to the ACC Championship Game, you would have to like its odds. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...5199485/friday-five-conference-title-sleepers
By Tom Fornelli | College Football Writer
May 29, 2015 2:59 pm ET
We have truly reached the dog days of the offseason, as we prepare to turn our calendars to June. Even if it's still late May, it's never too early to start thinking about potential sleepers in the 2015 season.
All right, maybe there are times where it's too early, and this could definitely be one of those times, but I'm going to do it anyway and you can't stop me.
For this week's Friday Five I've decided to take a look at the five Power Five schools that aren't going to be considered favorites in their conferences, but could surprise us all this fall. Now, before we get to the rankings, let's make one thing clear. I'm not ranking these teams in order of how good they are, or how well I think they're going to do this season. They'll be ranked in an order that signifies how likely I believe it is that they'll actually play for a conference title (you know, win their division), if not win it outright.
Got it? Good, let's get to it.
'Why not Texas?' is what I like to pretend Charlie Strong is asking in this photo. (USATSI)
5. Texas
It seems strange to be in a position where we consider Texas a sleeper in the Big 12, but alas, this is where things sit currently. Since the Longhorns last won a conference title in 2009 the good seasons have all included only eight or nine wins, and another such season probably won't get it done in the Big 12.
Now, there are obvious question marks about the Longhorns headed into 2015, the biggest one being the quarterback position. What we do know, however, is that with Charlie Strong at the helm we can probably count on this defense being pretty good again. So if the offense can manage to find any kind of consistency whatsoever, there's a chance here. Not a great one, admittedly, but that's why they're fifth on this list.
Jared Goff is one of the best QBs you might not have heard of yet. (USATSI)
4. Cal
Somewhat surprised to see Cal here, right? Like, Texas made some sense, but you weren't thinking about Cal. Well, I am. Here's what we know about the Pac-12 heading into 2015. The South Division is still going to be pretty good and is likely the second-best division in college football behind the SEC West. We also know that Stanford had problems last season, Washington lost roughly 35 players to the NFL (off a team that still only managed to win eight games) and Oregon is going through some major changes of its own. Then there's Cal, which was only 5-7 last year, but has one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Jared Goff.
With Sonny Dykes entering his third year, this is a team that is going to score a lot of points, and that's important in the Pac-12. The key, of course, will be whether a defense that allowed damn near 40 points per game last season can improve. I would like to think it can't get worse, and I'm sure Dykes does as well. Another factor working against the Bears is that they have to go on the road to play Oregon, Washington and Stanford, who would all be considered the favorites in the division. So Cal pushing Oregon for the division title isn't the likeliest of scenarios, but how many of us had TCU going HAM on the Big 12 last year? Exactly.
Jerry Kill's Gophers find themselves in a wide-open division this season. (USATSI)
3. Minnesota
The Big Ten West is just plain wide open. The smart money has to be on Wisconsin because even though Melvin Gordon is gone, and Gary Andersen followed him out the door, Paul Chryst steps into a very familiar situation. Meanwhile Nebraska has a new coach and an entirely new system on offense, Iowa still worships the Field Position God over the Points God, Northwestern has fallen back to Earth in recent years, and Illinois and Purdue are still totally Illinois and Purdue.
Then there's Minnesota. Yes, the Gophers lost key players like David Cobb and Maxx Williams, but they're still poised to make noise in the division this season. They have an excellent coaching staff, and they also have the benefit of getting both Wisconsin and Nebraska in Minneapolis this season. Sure, the cross-divisional draw of Ohio State and Michigan isn't exactly kind, but at least Michigan will be coming to Minnesota. Now, I feel like the ceiling here for the Gophers would be a 6-2 mark in the Big Ten, but honestly, 6-2 will probably be enough to get the job done in the West. As for beating whoever wins the East, well, that's another situation entirely.
Can Alex Collins help carry Arkansas all the way to Atlanta? (USATSI)
2. Arkansas
This pick was probably expected. Arkansas has been touted as a 2015 dark horse since the end of last season, and for good reason. The Razorbacks may have only gone 7-6 last season, but only two of those losses featured two-score deficits (45-21 to Auburn in the season opener and a 45-32 loss to Georgia at home in October). The Hogs nearly knocked off Alabama, almost took down Mississippi State when it was the No. 1 team in the country, absolutely destroyed Ole Miss 30-0, and almost got to Mizzou in Columbia to finish the regular season.
This is a battle-tested team that gets a lot of key parts back, particularly on offense. Now, the SEC is an absolute minefield, particularly the West, but at the end of the day somebody will emerge from the rubble all battered and bloody. That team just might be Arkansas. I would like the odds better if it didn't have to play both Alabama and LSU on the road this year, but thems the breaks, and Bret Bielema's style of football plays anywhere.
Bobby Petrino certainly has faults, but he also knows how to win games. (USATSI)
1. Louisville
Is Louisville being here a reflection of how I feel about the Cardinals in 2015, or is it because of what I think about the ACC as a whole? It's probably both. Louisville has quite a bit to replace off last year's team (no team in the ACC has fewer returning starters), and that includes just about the entire offensive line. Yet I still feel good about the Cardinals.
The defense may have lost quite a bit, but Charlie Strong left that cupboard pretty full for Todd Grantham, and we know that a Bobby Petrino offense is going to be fine. And when you look around the ACC Atlantic, both of its traditional powers of late have question marks of their own. Florida State will be good, but how good without Jameis Winston and other key players from the past couple of years? Clemson will still be good, but how sorely will it miss offensive coordinator Chad Morris, all those departures on defense, and can DeShaun Watson stay healthy?
I don't know the answers to those questions yet, but what I do know is that if both Florida State and Clemson take steps back in 2015, Louisville will be more than happy to pick up the slack and win the Atlantic. And given everything that goes on in the Coastal Division on an annual basis, if Louisville gets to the ACC Championship Game, you would have to like its odds. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...5199485/friday-five-conference-title-sleepers
