The Todd Graham era at Pittsburgh lasted less than 12 months. Graham left Pittsburgh after one season to be the Head Coach at Arizona State. Pittsburgh Panthers fans were not fond at all of the way Graham left, and you can’t blame them one bit.
The boys from Baton Rouge had a flawless 2011 season before rival Alabama shut them out in the BCS title game, 21-0. For the balance of the campaign, LSU had a defense that might have been the only unit more imposing than Alabama’s.
The Hogs have really taken a step forward in the last several seasons, but this off-season has been shrouded in controversy (not unlike many other scenarios in the world of college football). The lying and sex scandal that precipitated the firing of head coach Bobby Petrino should hopefully not affect the product on the field in Fayetteville in 2012, but who knows? At the very least, Arkansas could miss Petrino’s aggressive play-calling.
For the fourth time in the last five years the Cincinnati Bearcats finished with double digits in wins in 2011. The Bearcats went just 4-8 in Butch Jones’ first year, but they went 10-3 and beat Vanderbilt in the Liberty Bowl at the end of the season. Cincinnati made a big move in 2011, but they return just 11 starters from that team.
The Gators, long an SEC powerhouse, must rebound from a disappointing 2011 season. Until 2010, Florida (under former head coach Urban Meyer) made appearing in BCS bowls its calling card, winning a national title in ’08 against Oklahoma and a Sugar Bowl in ’09 versus upstart Cincinnati.
South Florida started the 2011 season 4-0 before falling apart and losing 7 of their last 8 games. The team lost four games by a field goal, so there were plenty of close calls. In fact, Coach Skip Holtz called it by far his most frustrating season ever as a coach.
Greg Schiano was a legend at Rutgers for putting the football program back on the map. He broke a lot of hearts when he left to coach the Tampa Bay Bucs after last season. You can’t really blame the guy for taking an NFL job over a Big East college football job, but the Scarlet Knights program was definitely disappointed.
Heading into the 2011 season, no one expected much of anything from the Louisville Cardinals. Louisville finished with 5-2 record, which tied for the best mark in the Big East.
Head coach Nick Saban has fielded a lethal football squad in Dixieland since his arrival six years ago. The Tide had a Sugar Bowl appearance in 2008, followed by National Titles in ’09 and last season. While taskmaster Saban must replace a considerable amount of NFL-bound talent in 2012, this team is deeper and more talented than most, and is poised for another great season in the SEC West division.
Head coach Mark Richt enters his 12th season as the main man Between the Hedges at Sanford Stadium, holding the clipboard for the Georgia Bulldogs. Various times during his tenure, he has been on the hot seat and also been lauded for being a brilliant motivator.
Until last season’s 7-6 finish, Army hadn’t had a winning season since the 1990s and hasn’t beaten a Top 20 team since 1972.
Once former head coach Paul Johnson took over and installed his option scheme in Annapolis – early in the last decade – the Middies ascended from laughingstock (11-45 from 1998-2002) to a streak of eight straight bowl games.
Syracuse had a very strong football program until the middle of the last decade, when the school hired Greg Robinson and he made the switch to a West Coast offense.
It has been a quiet postseason party scene in Louisville, Kentucky since 2006, when the Cardinals played Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl, and nearly appeared in the national title game.
Previous coach Randy Edsall did a remarkable job in bringing this program from literally non-existent in the FBS ranks to national relevancy – the Huskies were in the Fiesta Bowl vs. Oklahoma last year.
The Florida International Golden Panthers have only had a football program since 2002, but Mario Cristobal took his team to the top of the Sun Belt in 2010.
