After another disappointing season for the Miami Hurricanes, the hot seat under Al Golden is getting even hotter. Fans of the program are losing their patience as the team continues to be mired in mediocrity. And the issue certainly has been the talent, as evidenced by the litany of representation in February’s NFL Combine.
The SEC East was ripe for the taking last season, but the Georgia Bulldogs just had too many missteps to take advantage. The team will field another solid roster that will flirt with a top 10 ranking in the AP poll this upcoming season, but many will question the job security of head coach Mark Richt if the squad again fails to break through.
Virginia needed to go bowling a year ago in order to save head coach Mike London’s job – or so we all thought. The Cavaliers went 5-7, picking up just a single victory after Oct. 4. Last season, but London returns for a sixth season. London is a good recruiter, and the talent in Charlottesvile is improving, even if the results aren’t.
While the Alabama Crimson Tide were not able to break through and win a national title this past season, the team was once again right in the thick of the title hunt, winning the SEC and qualifying for the inaugural College Football Playoff, where they lost to the eventual national champions, Ohio State.
The Tennessee Volunteers are starting to come out the other end of what’s been a very long rebuild for a proud program. The Volunteers were once a breeding ground for NFL talent, and appears headed in the right direction in its efforts to get back to that elite level.
The Florida Gators gave Will Muschamp his last chance a year ago, and he didn’t do enough to save his job. Now Jim McElwain takes over in Gainesville with an eye on turning the Gators around in a hurry, but all signs point to a rebuilding year.
The Virginia Tech Hokies have won at least 10 games in eight consecutive seasons from 2004 through 2011, but has gone just 19-13 against FBS opponents over the last three seasons, and 7-6 in 2014. The Hokie defense remains among the best in the country, but finding some consistency on offense will be the key to a successful season.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs burst into the national spotlight as the darling team of 2014, picking up a rare double-digit win season. However, with that breakout now comes increased expectations for a program that hasn’t shown it can regularly put together that kind of success.
Describing the 2014 season Ole Miss just put together is tricky. The season was a success in some ways and a disappointment in others. Considering how difficult the SEC West wound up being, getting to nine wins is a heck of an accomplishment, but the Rebels certainly placed their sights higher after pulling down those goal posts after upsetting Alabama in Oxford.
Missouri has quietly won the SEC East in back-to-back seasons, though the program continues to be an afterthought in the division. The team has handled the move from the Big 12 to the SEC very well, but until they can break through and win something of significance, they’ll continue to be overlooked.
The Houston Cougars are typical of most mid-major programs. Just when they think they are getting things really rolling they lose a senior quarterback, or a hot coach, and they are right back to square one.
In 2011 they went 13-1 thanks to the combo of QB Case Keenum and HC Kevin Sumlin (both now gone). They might have even gone to a BCS game were it not for a loss in the Conference USA title game to Southern Miss. Since then they have been competitive but 8-5 is not 13-1. It wasn’t even good enough for Tony Levine to keep his job. This is Houston right?
The San Diego State Aztecs enter the 2015 NCAA Football Season following a 2014 campaign that saw them go 7-6. Although that’s not a terrible standing for a team that’s shown improvement over the past few seasons, it’s that exact improvement that makes a 7-win year a bit of a disappointment.
The Fresno State Bulldogs are coming off a disappointing season. Derek Carr, Davante Adams, Isaiah Burse, two starting offensive linemen and three top-tier defensive linemen all left. The defense took a step in the wrong direction, and the offense did as well.
The Nevada Wolf Pack found their way back to postseason competition in Brian Polian’s second season as the lead man. Now the challenge for the team is to carry that momentum into 2015 despite uncertainty at quarterback — not to mention the offensive line and wide receiver spots.
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders’ 2014 NCAA Football season was a roller coaster of a year. Many times were they were inconsistent on both sides of the ball, while other times they looked unstoppable. They won back-to-back games just one time and fell three points short at UTEP in their season finale to miss out on a postseason bowl.
For the first time since Mark Helfrich took over the Oregon Ducks football program, the team from Eugene will be forced to usher in a new era behind center this season. Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota has taken his talents to the NFL, which means the team originally known as The Webfoots will have a brand new look to them — although don’t expect the system to change with their star quarterback no longer on the roster.
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Pac-12 2015-2016 College Football Preview – Oregon Ducks
Head Coach: Mark Helfrich
2014 Record: 13-2
Odds to Win College Football Championship (from Bovada): 20/1
Odds to win Pac-12 (from GTbets): 5/2
Season Win Total (from 5Dimes): 9.5
If the Ducks have become known for anything over the past few years, it’s their blinding speed and their ‘next man up’ mentality. That means this team won’t change much about their offensive approach just because Mariota is gone, and it also means there’s a good chance we see success in the soggy Pacific Northwest regardless of who takes snaps from behind center.
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The question, of course, is: How much success? If we’re being honest here, Oregon fans have been spoiled over the past six seasons. Since Chip Kelly took over in 2009, this group has become a perennial contender. Two National Championship appearances (including one last season), three Rose Bowls (including one last season) a Fiesta Bowl and an Alamo Bowl make up this team’s resume.
During that stretch, the Ducks have lost a mere 11 games. So again, we ask: How much success can the Duks find in this new era, and can they avoid coming own to earth for the first time in years?
You can’t start talking about the Ducks’ strengths without diving a bit deeper into their offensive system. Call it gimmicky if you want; this group has established an identity on offense, and it’s the system that it runs that has led to so much success.
The ‘Blur’ offense is designed to tire defenses. It’s as simple as that. No other team in the country pushes the pace like the Ducks, and few other teams are able to combine the passing and running game to create the ultimate threat.
Last season, the Ducks were 10th in the nation in passing yards with 312.5 yards per contest. On the ground, the were 22nd, compiling 234.5 yards each week.
Those numbers led to the team scoring an impressive 45.4 points per contest, which was fourth in the nation.
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Although we’ll stick with the notion that Oregon won’t change much about the offense with Mariota gone, there’s one player who could force this team to hit the ground harder this season: Royce Freeman. As a true freshman, the 5’11”, 230-pound back was named a Freshman All-American, led the Pac-12 in touchdowns scored and tied 12th nationally in rushing touchdowns.
The skill positions as a whole contain an embarrassment of riches, but look for Freeman to establish himself as one of the better tailbacks in the country this season.
Fair or not, we’re putting quarterback as a weakness until proven otherwise.
Chances are, the Ducks do not have the next Mariota on their roster. Although that’s really saying more about the Heisman Trophy winner than the incumbent pieces, we simply don’t know what Jeff Lockie or transfer Vernon Adams will do when facing Pac-12 competition on a week-to-week basis.
Making matters even more complicated, Davis is still having transfer issues coming in from Eastern Washington. That’s an issue he and the Ducks need to figure out as soon as possible, otherwise the battle at QB loses its luster and Lockie walks into the spot without any semblance of competition.
Defensively, this team is young in the secondary. This is going to cause a problem not just for the corners themselves, but for the linebacking core.
The Ducks were hardly aggressive rushing the ball last season, and the team has said it will look to be more aggressive in that area this year. But the linebackers must also drop back on occasion as a crutch for the young secondary.
Oregon needs to find the perfect balance there, otherwise, the defense that gave up just 23.6 points last season could see a dip in production in that department.
The Oregon Ducks are going to have a good season. In fact, they’re probably going to have a very good season.
It just won’t be to the standard we’ve seen them have in the recent past.
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The Ducks will likely go either 8-4 or 9-3 in regular-season play. A respectable number for any program, but not quite what this program has grown accustomed to over the past six years.
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