20 for 2020 College Football Topics, No. 19: The five teams that should rebound with a big 2020 after a mediocre 2019.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
Let’s give the voters in the two major polls a little bit of credit on this – the 2019 preseason AP and Coaches polls weren’t all that bad when it came to getting them close to the pin.
Granted, it’s not hard to pick Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ohio State and LSU to be good – the preseason top six in both polls – but there are always a few misfires.
Here are five teams ranked in the 2019 preseason top 25 that didn’t live up to expectations, but should be a whole lot better this year. The list is based on last year’s preseason ranking going from the bottom up, starting with …
5. Nebraska Cornhuskers
2019 Preseason Ranking
AP 24, Coaches NR (26)
Final Record: 5-7
What Went Wrong?
The expectations weren’t exactly through the roof from the pollsters – the Huskers were only ranked in the top 25 in the AP poll – but there was a whole lot of buzz about Year Two under Scott Frost being the launching pad for a new Big Red Machine.
After all, if Northwestern could play for the Big Ten title like it did in 2018, then why not Nebraska? The schedule didn’t look that bad, QB Adrian Martinez had a year under his belt, the talent level was starting to come together, and …
Nope.
Both lines were mediocre, the offense was way too inconsistent, the explosive plays were duds, and there were too many mistakes and turnovers as the Huskers dropped five of their last six games.
It was the first time Nebraska experienced three straight losing seasons since a rough run from 1956 to 1961.
Why 2020 Will Be Better: Returning Talent
The defensive line will be the early issue with three starters gone from the front three, and CB Lamar Jackson is going to be a star at the next level, but just about everyone is back on a defense that now has a little bit of depth, too.
It all comes down to how good Adrian Martinez is. If he’s great in Year Three, the offense should finally be what Husker fans have been waiting for with the potential of ten starters returning.
Why 2020 Will Be Better: Schedule
– 2020 Nebraska Football Schedule Analysis
If Nebraska is close to being Nebraska again, the first half of the schedule is a dream.
Nebraska isn’t supposed to lose at home to Cincinnati, or Purdue, or Illinois, and Nebraska is supposed to win at Northwestern. 7-0 is an attainable goal before a brutal finishing kick, but the possibility is there to at least be the Minnesota of last season with a hot start.
At the very least, it’s time to go bowling again.
NEXT: After taking a year off …
4. Stanford Cardinal
2019 Preseason Ranking
AP 25, Coaches 23
Final Record: 4-8
What Went Wrong?
Injuries. Lots and lots of injuries.
2019 was when Stanford was supposed to major player again after taking what seemed like a year off.
It feels like it was 25 years ago, but the 2017 Stanford team played for the Pac-12 title, and the 2015 team won it on the was to the Rose Bowl. From 2009 to 2018, the program had won eight games or more every season, had four Pac-12 Championship appearances, and won ten games or more six times.
The 2019 Cardinal came up with the fewest wins – four – since going 4-8 in 2007. And why? Injuries, more injuries, and even more injuries.
Stanford was beaten up in the opening week win over Northwestern – applying a beating on the defending Big Ten West champion, too – and never recovered.
Why 2020 Will Be Better: Returning Talent
QB KJ Costello left to go play for Mike Leach and Mississippi State, but Jack West and Davis Mills have a little experience, and former super-recruit Tanner McKee will finally join the fun this summer after spending the last few years on a church mission.
Most of the offense is back – including a loaded offensive line that took its lumps throughout last season – and five starters are expected to return on defense.
Why 2020 Will Be Better: Schedule
– 2020 Stanford Football Schedule Analysis
The Pac-12 as a whole should be solid, but the South is still trying to find its footing. The Cardinal don’t have to play Utah or Arizona State from the other division (good) but have to on the road to face Notre Dame, Oregon and Washington (really, really bad).
Getting back to the ten-win mark will be tough, but there are enough winnable games – William & Mary, at Arizona, at UCLA, Colorado, Washington State, Oregon State – to make 2019 look like a strange aberration.
NEXT: It’s not like the ACC is all that much better …
3. Syracuse Orange
2019 Preseason Ranking
AP 22, Coaches 22
Final Record: 5-7
What Went Wrong?
63-20.
The Orange couldn’t generate the same magic of the 10-3 2018 season thanks to a defense that went bye-bye too often – like in the 63-20 loss in Week Two against a miserable Maryland team – and without any ability to come through in key moments.
The run defense was bad, the offensive line worse, and there wasn’t a penalty that the team didn’t try to commit.
Give head coach Dino Babers and the team credit for not quitting on the year, though, after a 3-6 start. It won two of the last three games, showed off an improved offense late in the year, and for all the problems on D, it was great at taking the ball away.
Even with the positives, if was the fifth losing season in the last six years.
Why 2020 Will Be Better: Returning Talent
Losing the terrific NFL defensive end combination of Kendall Coleman and Alton Robinson isn’t fun, but there are just enough young parts returning from last year’s defense to not be any worse than it was in a bad 2019.
The offensive side needs to be the difference, and it has to start with a bigger year from QB Tommy DeVito. The passing game has to be better, the receivers have to do more, and DeVito can’t be used as a tackling dummy again. The line has to be better, but it has a whole lot of options to play around with.
Why 2020 Will Be Better: Schedule
– 2020 Syracuse Football Schedule Analysis
Win at Boston College to start the season, survive what should be a shootout against Louisville, and it’ll be a 6-0 start before going to Clemson. Even if there are some rocky parts early, the second half is manageable with three home games in the final five, and the road dates at Wake Forest and Pitt.
Missing four of the five teams from the Coastal that went bowling last year – Miami, North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech – is a plus, but more than that, is the team can keep improving as the season goes on, it should be a second winning season in three years.
NEXT: Let’s try this again …
2. Michigan State Spartans
2019 Preseason
AP 18, Coaches 20
Final Record: 7-6
What Went Wrong?
If this seems familiar, it’s because Michigan State was on this list last year. And why? The 2017 team was fantastic with a 10-3 run and a Holiday Bowl win, but the 2018 version crashed and burned offensively, ruining a national championship-level season from the defense.
Going 7-6 wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the season MSU was supposed to have.
The D came back loaded, the O was supposed to be a whole lot stronger, and it didn’t work.
The strange brain-cramp finish in a home loss to Arizona State was bad, but a brutal five-game losing streak – choking late against Illinois, and getting bombed by Ohio State, Wisconsin, Penn State and (gulp) Michigan by a combined score of 144 to 27 – was far worse.
Oh sure, closing out with a Pinstripe Bowl win over Wake Forest was nice, but this was hardly the season everyone expecting.
Why 2020 Will Be Better: Returning Talent
This is a wee bit more problematic than the other four teams on this list. Start with the loss of head coach Mark Dantonio and the changes coming under Mel Tucker.
Expect a bit of a different energy and a bit of a breath of fresh air after two stagnant seasons for the program. However, seven key parts are off to the NFL Draft, a new quarterback has to emerge if it’s not Rocky Lombardi, and six starters are done on D.
However, this is a talented team for Tucker to work with, and he needs to mold the defense early on because …
Why 2020 Will Be Better: Schedule
– 2020 Michigan State Football Schedule Analysis
This is going to be a very, very interesting season with this schedule. MSU HAS to be able to beat Northwestern to open things up and then win at BYU. Take care of home against Toledo and Miami, and it’ll be a good start.
The Big Ten East is the Big Ten East – it’s going to be incredible again – but there’s no Wisconsin to face from the West, the Michigan and Ohio State games are at home, and there’s the firewall of Rutgers and at Maryland to close things out.
No, this isn’t going to be a massive bounce-back season for the Spartans, but expect more than seven wins.
NEXT: The eyes of the college football world are upon …
1. Texas Longhorns
2019 Preseason
AP 10, Coaches 10
Final record: 8-5
What Went Wrong?
Injuries. They were a problem all season long on both sides of the ball – particularly the defense – as every game seemed like a struggle.
The Longhorns get a free pass for a loss after giving LSU its toughest battle of the season, and the Oklahoma defeat was more than acceptable, but other than that, they just couldn’t get the season going.
The secondary was abysmal, no one in the Big 12 committed more penalties, and the offensive line almost got QB Sam Ehlinger killed.
Even so, the team kept battling, it destroyed Utah 38-10 in the Alamo Bowl, and it was an okay run – it was the second-best season since 2013 – but the Longhorns didn’t build on the breakthrough 2019 run.
Why 2020 Will Be Better: Returning Talent
Ehlinger is back.
He might not be Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields, but he’s a rock-solid college quarterback with next-level upside. A few years of fantastic recruiting has built up the depth and the skill around No. 11, and now there’s no excuse.
Only two teams on the slate have the talent to hang around with the 2020 Longhorns. More on that in a moment.
Eight starters – almost all of them underclassmen last year – are expected to be back on D after taking their lumps last season. The offense can’t be any worse on the line, and the skill parts are great despite losing receivers Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay.
Why 2020 Will Be Better: Schedule
– 2020 Texas Football Schedule Analysis
Oh yippee, there’s a trip to LSU in the second week of the season. That’s obviously an issue, and so is the date in Dallas against Oklahoma, but if Texas is really going to be a thing, the rest of the schedule can’t be a problem.
There aren’t two true road games in a row – the Oklahoma game comes after a trip to Kansas State, and both come after a week off – and two of the Big 12 road games are at Texas Tech and Kansas.
For a great team, this is an 11-1 schedule.
It’s time for Texas to be a great team.
