19 for ’19: 19 key offseason topics: No. 9. Every Power Five league’s sleeper team.
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Sorry, but there’s no way you saw Kentucky coming last season.
No, you didn’t have Pitt in the ACC Championship or Syracuse winning ten games, and no way, no how did you predict that Northwestern would play for the Big Ten title.
But that’s what makes this whole thing fun. Of course the Alabamas, Clemsons and Ohio States of the world would do what they’re going to do, but other Power Five fan bases want to have some fun, too.
Which five Power Five teams this college football season have the best potential to rise up and rock?
ACC: Virginia Cavaliers
It might be hard to call Virginia too much of a sleeper considering what Bronco Mendenhall put together over the last two seasons – including an impressive bowl win over South Carolina to close out last year.
This team should be stronger than the eight-win squad of 2018.
Bryce Perkins is a terrific quarterback to work around, the receiving corps is solid, the lines are good, and the defensive back eight is full of veterans. Best of all, there’s no such thing as a sure-thing loss on the schedule – there’s no Clemson.
– 2019 College Football Early Predictions For All 130 Teams
Pitt was able to get to the ACC title game last year by winning at the right time in Coastal play. This year, the Cavaliers have to beat the Panthers right out of the gate in the season opener.
They don’t leave Charlottesville after November 2nd, and there’s a week off to prepare for the road game at Miami. The Hurricanes will be coming off a date against a Virginia Tech team that has to go to Virginia in the regular season finale. Eventually, the Cavs are going to beat their rivals.
Asking for a ten-win season isn’t crazy.
– Virginia Schedule & Analysis
NEXT: Big Ten Sleeper
Big Ten: Illinois Fighting Illini
Enough is enough, Illinois. Start winning already under Lovie Smith.
The program’s last winning season was 2011, and it only won seven games. That Rose Bowl run under Ron Zook in 2007 seems like a gajillion years ago now.
The program needed a massive rebuild, and that’s what Smith has tried to do over the last three seasons. It’s been ugly and generally unproductive with just nine wins so far and just one victory over an FBS team – last year against Minnesota – that finished with a winning record.
Smith and the coaching staff went hard after transfers this offseason, but it also went very, very young over the last few years in an attempt to build up the base. This is when the payoff has to come.
– CFN 2019 Future Win Total Lines: Big Ten
The quarterback situation is stronger now with star recruit Isaiah Williams ready to give MJ Rivers a push. Four starters are back on the offensive front, almost all the top skill players return, and the defense is loaded with experience. All five starters are back in the secondary, and all four main men return on the defensive front.
The schedule helps. The Illini should beat Akron, UConn and Eastern Michigan to start out 3-0, and that should be just enough of a run to get the team up to speed with a home game against Nebraska to kick off the Big Ten season.
No, Illinois isn’t going to win the Big Ten West, but it can beat Rutgers, it should be able to at least challenge Northwestern, and it’ll pull off an upset or two in conference play to finally get back to a bowl game – and bother the rest of the conference.
– Illinois Schedule & Analysis
NEXT: Big 12 Sleeper
Big 12: Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State had the pieces in place to do a whole lot more than 5-7 last season.
It’s not that Bill Snyder couldn’t coach, but there wasn’t enough of a passing game, the offensive line underachieved, and the defense didn’t do much of anything to get behind the line.
Enter North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman, whose Bison team was fifth in the nation in the FCS in total defense, had a great year on the offensive front, and was terrific at getting into the backfield.
– Big 12 Football Schedule: 5 Things That Matter
Not dogging Snyder, but the new coach and new ideas should do just enough to make the Wildcats terrific.
The receiving corps is solid for veteran Skylar Thompson to work with, three starters return on the O line, and almost everyone of note is back on D.
The schedule isn’t easy, but the Wildcats get Oklahoma, TCU and West Virginia at home. They should have right mix of experience, scheme and toughness to be a thorn in the Big 12’s side.
And they have Klieman, a terrific get to build on everything Snyder created.
– Kansas State Schedule & Analysis
NEXT: Pac-12 Sleeper
Pac-12: UCLA Bruins
No chance that Chip Kelly has two bad years in a row.
He stepped in, went really, really, really young, and the program went through the ugly growing pains it had to get past to have any hopes of turning into a Pac-12 powerhouse.
It might have been an inconsistent run, and the Bruins lost four of their last five games, but it started to click. Freshman QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson got his feet wet, Joshua Kelley turned into a solid running back, and now the offensive pieces are there to build off a strong finish.
There were plenty of transfers this offseason, but ten starters return on the defensive side, four starters are back on the offensive front, and Kelly is getting the parts in place to do what he needs.
– Spring Bowl & College Football Playoff Projections
The non-conference schedule – at Cincinnati, San Diego State, Oklahoma – is a bear, but that should toughen the Bruins up for the conference slate.
There’s no Oregon or Washington to face from the North, but going to Washington State, Arizona, Stanford, Utah, and across town to USC won’t be a breeze. Even so, expect the offense that put up 34 points in the win over the Trojans and 42 in the shootout loss to Stanford to be far steadier.
Going from 3-9 to 9-3 might be a stretch, but Bruin fans should start to see the future success start to kick in.
– UCLA Schedule & Analysis
NEXT: SEC Sleeper … sort of
SEC: Arkansas Razorbacks
The idea of being a sleeper is relative – it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to win the division. Maybe a team can be a sleeper on a one or two week basis to catch a giant team off-guard.
That’s Arkansas, with a team that should be what last year’s wasn’t.
No one was expecting Chad Morris to step in and make the Hogs the new Alabama, but with his offensive coaching style, they were supposed to be that dangerous team that, on the right day, could pull off a shocker. The defense wasn’t going to stop anyone, but that offense …
It didn’t show up.
Not only was the Arkansas offense bad in the 2-10 season, but it got worse as the season went on. Call that the proverbial one step back to potentially take a giant leap forward.
The problems led to a wholesale change of quarterback possibilities, with Texas A&M’s Nick Starkel coming aboard instead of going to Florida State, and with SMU’s Ben Hicks transferring over, too.
– SEC 2019 Win Total Projections
The running backs are good, even if almost all of the good ones seemingly got hurt this spring, La’Michael Pettway left, but most of the top targets are back, and the line can’t help but be stronger.
The defense? Sort of along for the ride, and not the point – this all works for Arkansas this season if the offense starts to crank it up.
Beating Portland State, Colorado State – after losing to the Rams last year – WKU and San Jose State shouldn’t be an issue, but the Hogs need to be able screw up at least a few SEC teams, and they should.
Again, they’re not going to the College Football Playoff or anything, but can the passing game start to kick in like it’s supposed to and stun an Auburn? Mississippi State? How about catching Alabama off-guard as it looks forward to its off week to prepare for LSU? How about LSU as it gets ready for Texas A&M?
At the very least, the Hogs should be a whole lot more fun.
– Arkansas Schedule & Analysis
