2016 College Conference Previews

2016 ACC Preview
By Marc Lawrence
Playbook.com

Heisman Watch

In a conference loaded with talent if would be safe to surmise a potential Heisman Trophy winner or two resides here. Looking deeper, that estimate appears to be on the low side. Let’s make it five Heisman contenders. In descending order they would include…

Louisville QB Lamar Jackson – with a cannon for an arm and the agility of a top-notch running back, Jackson has all the tools.

Miami QB Brad Kaaya – a potential first-round NFL quarterback with leadership skills beyond his years.

Pitt RB James Conner – a sleeper choice with size and speed and a new lease on life, we’ll be watching him on Sundays next year.

Florida State RB Dalvin Cook – future NFL star out to prove Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette come up short.

Clemson QB Deshaun Watson – the best quarterback in college football at the close of the season last year is looking for retribution in 2016.

Powering Up

The 26 selections in this year’s NFL draft gives the ACC 115 draft picks over the past three years, the second-highest total by any conference during that period.

Clemson led the way for the ACC with nine selections and is the only ACC team to have had had four or more players chosen in the Draft in each of the last eight years.

A very young league in 2015, the ACC returns many of its top performers in 2016. The ACC is set to return nine of its top 10 rushers; nine of its top 10 passers; nine of its top 10 in receiving yardage and eight of its top 10 in total offense. The ACC had a league-record seven 1,000-yard rushers in 2015 and all seven return in 2016.

Note: Numbers following team name represent the amount of returning starters on offense and defense, along with the number of returning linemen, with an asterisk (*) designating a returning quarterback.

ACC ATLANTIC

BOSTON COLLEGE (Offense - *8/3, Defense - 7/2, 37 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW

In 2014, Boston College was one of only 3 schools that finished in the top 15 in the nation in both rushing offense and rushing defense. Last year, however, the rushing offense suffered a crushing blow when star RB Jon Hillman bowed out with a broken foot in Week Four. Once again the defense held its own, but the offense went into total hibernation. New OC Scott Loeffler (Virginia Tech) will rely on Hillman’s return and Kentucky graduate transfer QB Patrick Towles, a 6’5”, 235-pound veteran that tossed for 5,099 yards and 24 TDs in 3 years with the Wildcats. Now, behind a top-ranked defense that returns a solid nucleus, the Eagles’ new-look offense looks to fly right in 2016.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Eagles were the first FBS team to lose back-to-back games since 1989 despite allowing less than 10 points in each loss.

PLAY ON: at Wake Forest (11/26) - *KEY

CLEMSON (Offense - *8/3, Defense - 4/2, 52 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Despite losing 8 starters from 2014’s top-ranked defense, and OC Chad Morris to SMU, the Tigers were edged by Alabama in the College Football Playoff championship game last season. Indeed a job well done by the winningest senior class in school history (46-8.) – despite also being the 5th youngest FBS team in the nation last year (played 28 freshmen). Yes, they were hit hard by graduation and NFL defections but with star QB Deshaun Watson back – this year’s cover boy and the only quarterback to ever have 4,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in a single season – a matter of unfinished business becomes Priority One for Dabo’s kids this season.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Tigers were 51-0 SU in games when leading after 3Q until last year’s loss in the Football Playoff championship game.

PLAY AGAINST: as a favorite at Florida State (10/29)

FLORIDA STATE (Offense - *11/5, Defense - 6/3, 57 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: LARGE AND IN CHARGE

How many different ways can you say loaded? For a team that last year lost 8 starters from a prolific offense, including Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jameis Winston, it could have been calamitous. Instead, the Seminoles enjoyed a 10-win season thanks to a defense that improved 60 YPG. Suffice to say, with 17 starters back, including all 11 on offense (with 3 WRs compiling at least 50 catches), it’s safe to say Florida State is rolling in it this season. Star RB Dalvin Cook – the only player in the nation to rank in the Top 10 offensively in YPR, Yards Rushing, All Purpose Yards, Rushing TDs and Scoring – leads the charge.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Seminoles and Alabama are the only teams that enter the 2016 season having gone to 4 consecutive BCS/New Year’s Six bowl games.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. Wake Forest (10/15)

LOUISVILLE (Offense - *10/4, Defense - 8/1, 46 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: DEEP AND EXPERIENCED

After a puzzling 0-3 start, the Cardinals won 6 of their final 7 games to put the wraps on a 6th consecutive winning season. The Redbirds were led by dynamic SO QB Lamar Jackson, who started the final 7 games of the season and led the team in rushing (980 yards, 11 TDs) while passing for 1,840 yards, 12 TDs. A star in the making, Jackson dominated the spring game, going 24-for-29 for 519 yards and 8 TDs. In addition, Louisville’s entire RB, WR and TE receiving corps return. Eight starters back on defense, including SR LB Devonte Fields (led the nation in tackles for a loss last season), insures that Louie’s stop-unit will be among the best in the ACC in 2016. Color the Cards as the sleeper team in the ACC.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Bobby the Louse’s teams are 91-18 SU when scoring over 20 points in a game, and 60-3 SU when allowing 14 or fewer points.

PLAY ON: at Houston (11/17)

NC STATE (Offense - 6/2, Defense - 8/3, 45 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: DRINKING THE KOOL-AID

The Wolfpack find themselves riding a current wave of prominent underclassmen, as freshmen and sophomores made a total of 143 starts last season. Only the Washington Huskies made more. Adding to the juvenile rush, head coach Dave Doeren will be breaking in a new offensive coordinator, Eliah Drinkwitz from Boise State, and a new starting quarterback. Drinkwitz, an assistant on Auburn’s 2010 national championship squad, will be ramping up the attack in 2016 while looking to replace Jacoby Brissett behind center. Still, Doeren is 11-1 SU and 6-2 ATS during the first four games of the season with NC State and after a soft opening, NCSU should be undefeated entering back-to-backers with Notre Dame and Clemson. If Drinkwitz lives up to expectations, the Pack could be back.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Wolfpack are 16-1 SU and 11-3 ATS in games in which they outgain their opponent under head coach Doeren.

PLAY ON: at Louisville (10/22)

SYRACUSE (Offense - *8/2, Defense - 8/1, 45 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: ORANGE OVERHAUL

Despite SU and ATS improvement last year, the Orange took major steps backward in both offensive and defensive production when they were outyarded by 151 YPG in conference play. The call immediately went out for new head coach Dino Babers, aka ‘Instant Offense’ from Bowling Green, who inherits 99.6% of last year’s offensive production. FYI: Babers had 17 all-MAC performers in his 2 years with the Falcons. Dino’s defense (an oxymoron if there ever was one) will need to improve on a Syracuse squad that never stopped a 4th down attempt last season. And god forbid should the Orange mimic his Bowling Green gang that led the nation in penalty yards in 2015. Fasten your seat belts.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Orange are 11-1 SU and 10-2 ATS in their last 12 bowl games versus sub .800 opponents.

PLAY ON: at Wake Forest (10/8.)

WAKE FOREST (Offense - *9/4, Defense - 8/4, 45 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: EASY AS 1, 2, 3

Known for his prowess in building football programs (Fordham, Richmond, Bowling Green), head coach Dave Clawson has shown dramatic improvement at every stop, including a noticeable increase in Year Three. Clawson’s teams averaged 3.25 wins in his first year and 4.25 wins in his second year, and 6.0 wins in his third year, while also managing to deliver a conference championship at every stop. Year Three of the Clawson regime at Wake Forest kicks off in 2016. Following the same successful script that’s benefitted many teams of late, Clawson’s freshmen made a total of 71 starts last season, the 3rd most in the land. In fact only 6 seniors dotted last year’s roster, the fewest in the FBS.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Demon Deacons were the only FBS team in the nation in 2015 whose top 3 rushers were all true freshmen.

PLAY ON: at Duke (9/10)

ACC COASTAL

DUKE (Offense - *6/3, Defense - 6/1, 45 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: UNFORTUNATE SIRKUMSTANCES

A 6-1 start last season was the Devils’ best since 1953. A repeat performance in 2016, however, appears unlikely. Coach David Cutcliffe has been a very good judge of quarterback talent since taking over the Duke program, finding the right signal callers to fit his offense, and it appeared QB Thomas Sirk had the makings to be the best of the bunch. Unfortunatley, Sirk ruptured his left Achilles tendon during a team conditioning session and underwent surgery in February. Sirk, who tore his other Achilles and missed the entire season in 2012, was one of only four Power 5 quarterbacks to lead his team in both rushing and passing during his first year as a starter. Backup QB Parker Boehme becomes Plan B.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Blue Devils are 4-5 SU vs. ranked opponents under Cutcliffe. They were 0-47 SU vs. the same prior to his arrival.

PLAY AGAINST: at Georgia Tech (10/29)

GEORGIA TECH (Offense - *7/2, Defense - 9/3, 43 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: REPATCHED ROOF

In his previous 18 years as a head coach, Paul Johnson had led his teams to either the FCS playoffs or FBS bowl games 17 times. In 7 previous seasons with Georgia Tech, Johnson has produced thirteen 1,000-yard rushers. And Tech appeared well on its way again last year, opening the season 2-0 before the roof caved in. (And we don’t mean DC Phil Roof). Due largely to a rush game that was down 90 YPG, the Yellow Jackets shockingly suffered losses in 9 of their final 10 games of 2015. The leading rusher was true freshman Marcus Marshall (654 yards) but behind a team that led the nation in fewest penalties (38) last year, look for most of the leaks to be addressed this season.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Yellow Jackets were 1-5 in one-possession games last season.

PLAY ON: at Pittsburgh (10/8.)

MIAMI FLORIDA (Offense - *9/4, Defense - 6/2, 41 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES

After 15 seasons at Georgia, Mark Richt has returned home to his alma mater in what could prove to be the best coaching hire in 2016. Richt brings glossy numbers, including 85-40 SU in conference games and 49-16 SU in an opponent’s stadium. The best news for Richt is that QB Brad Kaaya has the total command and respect of this team and returns for his 3rd season as the starter. One of 9 starters back on offense, Kaaya tossed for 3,238 yards with 16 TDs and 5 INTs last season. If Manny Diaz’s new attacking defense holds up its end of the deal, long-suffering Canes fans just may enjoy a double-digit win season for the first time since 2003.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Hurricanes ranked dead last in Penalties Per Game (9.31) last season.

PLAY AGAINST: at Virginia (11/12)

NORTH CAROLINA (Offense - 7/4, Defense - 6/3, 41 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: WELL-HEELED TARS

The addition of DC Gene Chizik to the Tar Heels last season cannot be underestimated. That UNC improved 62 yards and 14.5 points (best in the nation) per game defensively was not a coincidence. Nor was the fact they won 11 consecutive games for the first time in their school history. New QB Mitch Tribusky, a former 4-star recruit from Ohio, backed up departed Marquise Williams the past two seasons, completing 40 of 47 passes for 555 yards and 6 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Eliah Hood is one of only 5 returning Power 5 RB’s with 1,000 rushing yards, 10 TD’s and a 6.0 YPR last season. Interestingly, North Carolina faces 7 teams with new coaches this season.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Larry Fedora is 11-0 SU and 10-1 ATS in regular season games versus opponents who were upset as a favorite in their previous game.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. Georgia Tech (11/5)

PITTSBURGH (Offense - *8/4, Defense - 8/3, 52 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: NAILING IT

New coach Pat ‘Nails’ Narduzzi led the Panthers back from a 6-win abyss in 2014 when his young troops registered 8 victories last year. Much to his chagrin, he did it without the services of star RB James Conner, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in the first game of the year and then announced he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in December. Like us, the Panthers are praying he’s back on the field in 2016. His backup, redshirt FR Qadree Ollison, was named the ACC’s Offensive Rookie of the Year after rushing for 1,121 yards and 11 touchdowns. Starting QB Nate Peterman also returns. FYI: Pitt was the only squad in the nation that had no games decided by more than 20 points.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Panthers’ 5 losses last year came against five bowl teams that went 52-15 combined on the season.

PLAY ON: at Virginia (10/15)

VIRGINIA (Offense - *7/3, Defense - 6/0, 37 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: LOOK HOOS RISING

Little did new head coach Bronco Mendenhall realize that when he agreed to bolt BYU in favor of Virginia, he would inherit a team that has recorded the largest decline in recruiting talent of all teams playing in Power 5 conferences over the previous 5 years. Along with new assistant and DL coach Ruffin McNeill (former East Carolina mentor), the new faces will look to take the Cavaliers places they have not been in a while – namely to a bowl game. Coupled with 1 postseason appearance in the last 8 years, the Cavs’ metamorphosis begins as Mendenhall led the Cougars to a bowl game in each of his 11 years in Provo. The only place to go is up.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Cavaliers have 9 players returning along the offensive line, each of who started for UVA at some point in their career.

PLAY ON: at Virginia Tech (11/26)

VIRGINIA TECH (Offense - 9/4, Defense - 7/2, 42 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: OFF THE BEAM

After 23 straight bowl seasons, the longest in the nation, nothing speaks to success like the legendary Frank Beamer. The iconic coach has finally retired and with it, after orchestrating a dramatic turnaround at Memphis, new head coach Justin Fuente steps into a mighty large pair of shoes this year. The best news for Fuente is the return of DC Bud Foster who is back again for his 30th season at Virginia Tech. Foster’s famed Lunch Pail Defenses have ranked in the Top Five among FBS teams in scoring defense on 6 different occasions, and have led the FBS in sacks (749) and interceptions (337) since 1996. Once again, the heat is on.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Justin Fuente finished his playing career as a QB at Murray State, the same school that Frank Beamer coached prior to VT.

PLAY ON: as a dog at Duke (11/5)

2016 Big Ten Preview
By Marc Lawrence
Playbook.com

Getting To Know You

All Big Ten teams will take part in a nine-game conference schedule for the first time since 1984. Teams from the East Division will host five conference home games during even-numbered years, while teams from the West Division will host five home games during odd-numbered years.

With nine conference games and the schedule rotation, every player will have the opportunity to play against every other team in the conference at least once during a four-year period.

Yea, We Can Play

The 2016 campaign will feature 31 All-Big Ten players (11 first-team, 12 second-team, 8 third-team) and 42 honorable mention selections from last season.

Ohio State had 10 picks in the 1st 3 rounds of the draft. The other 13 Big Ten schools combined for 13. Ohio State joins 2004 Miami as the only schools to have 5 players selected in the Top 20 of a single draft.

Ironically, Big Ten has not had a QB taken in the 1st round since Penn State’s Kerry Collins in 1995.

Welcome Aboard

The Big Ten welcomes three new head coaches in Illinois' Lovie Smith, Maryland’s DJ Durkin and Rutgers’ Chris Ash. Smith takes over at Illinois after serving as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two seasons.

Five current Big Ten mentors have been college head coaches for 10 years or more – Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz (20 seasons), Nebraska’s Mike Riley (15), Ohio State’s Urban Meyer (14), Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio (12) and Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald (10).

Note: Numbers following team name represent the amount of returning starters on offense and defense, along with the number of returning linemen, with an asterisk (*) designating a returning quarterback.

BIG TEN EAST

INDIANA (Offense – 8/3, Defense – 8/1, 57 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: WILSON’S WARPATH

It took Kevin Wilson five years but Indiana’s 7-year bowl drought ended last season. Like Tulsa, though, a high-powered offense wasn’t enough to overcome a porous defense as both schools gained over 500 YPG – but also surrendered over 500 YPG, and ended the season on the losing side of the ledger at 6-7. Wilson has assembled the highest-rated recruiting classes in school history over the past 4 seasons. The hard work on the recruiting trail has paid off as eight freshmen earned All-Big Ten freshman recognition in 2013, five in 2014 and three in 2015. QB Richard Lagow replaces Nate Sudfeld. Formerly at UConn and Oklahoma State, Lagow threw for 4,516 yards and 38 TDs in two JUCO seasons.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Wilson’s offenses have set 54 school records, including single-season points, total yardage, passing yardage and rushing yardage.

PLAY ON: vs. Michigan State (10/1)

MARYLAND (Offense – *7/3, Defense – 5/2, 44 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: HEADS UP

Last year the Terrapins were a team that improved its stats on both sides of the ball, yet slipped from 7 wins to 3. Enter D.J. Durkin, former DC at Michigan, who takes the reins as a head coach for the first time in his career. Ironically, Durkin is the neophyte on this coaching staff with his top three assistants Pete Lembo, Mike London and Scott Shafer, each head coaches last year at Ball State, Virginia and Syracuse, respectively. Senior QBs Perry Hillis and Caleb Rowe need to do a better job protecting the football while all-Big Ten DB and KR William Likely is the first defensive player in Maryland history to surpass 3,000 all-purpose yards.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Terrapins had 29 passes intercepted last season – the most in the nation.

PLAY ON: at Michigan (11/5)

MICHIGAN (Offense – 8/4, Defense – 6/3, 52 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: HAIL HARBAUGH

How big an impact did Jim Harbaugh actually have on Michigan’s 2015 season, you ask? Try doubling Michigan’s win total in one year, tossing three consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1980, and leading the nation in pass efficiency defense – all on the heels of having missed a bowl game for only the 3rd time since 1978. One potential problem is that Wolves’ seniors made a total of 186 starts last season, the 3rd most in the nation. They’re gone. So, too, is DC D.J. Durkin, now the head coach at Maryland. Fear not: UM faces a slate of teams that went only 57-86 ATS in 2015, and doesn’t meet a foe with a winning ATS mark until hosting Maryland in Game #9. Har-ball at its best!

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Former Wolverines head coach Lloyd Carr has been appointed to the College Football Playoff selection committee.

PLAY ON: at Michigan State (10/29)

MICHIGAN STATE (Offense – 3/2, Defense – 6/3, 53 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: WHO’S GONNA FILL THEIR SHOES?

A fortuitous band of Spartans won 7 one-possession games last season – the best in the nation. That’s not to take away from all they have accomplished of late: a school-record 9 consecutive bowl game appearances... ranked in the AP Poll for a school-record 41 consecutive weeks, including 32 weeks in the Top 10... the winningest senior classes in MSU football history... and on and on it goes. This year, though, they must get by without QB Connor Cook, the most successful signal-caller in MSU history… and a top-heavy group of seniors that made 152 starts (6th most in the nation) last season. Fifth-year senior QB Tyler O’Connor, who orchestrated the monumental upset at Ohio State last year, looks to fill his shoes.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Spartans are 26-10 (.722) in Big Ten road games under head coach Mark Dantonio, including a 20-4 record (.833) since 2010.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. Ohio State (11/19)

OHIO STATE (Offense – *3/2, Defense – 3/1, 39 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: URBAN RENEWAL

Football fever has never been as high as it is today at Ohio State. Just ask any of the 100,189 fans in attendance at the Buckeyes’ SPRING GAME this past April. That’s simply amazing, especially considering Urban Meyer’s kids didn’t win the Big Ten title last season. They did, however, outscore conference foes over 20 PPG, the best in the league last year. You’ll be hard-pressed to find much of that talent on hand this season, though, as 12 players were selected in this year’s NFL draft – including a record 9 in the first three rounds. Now downgraded with the fewest amount of returning starters by any FBS team, Meyer’s recruiting prowess suddenly takes center stage.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Buckeyes will face 10 teams this year that played in a bowl game last season.

PLAY AGAINST: As a favorite at Wisconsin (10/15)

PENN STATE (Offense – 9/4, Defense – 5/1, 41 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: MOOR HEAD THAN EVER

After navigating their way through scholarship reductions and wallowing two straight years in mediocrity under HC James Franklin (finishing second-to-last in the conference in offense), the Lions have decided it’s time to put an aggressive attack together. Enter new OC Joe Moorhead who, in 4 years at Fordham, led his charges to 3 FCS playoff appearances. Now touting a full allotment of 85 scholarship players, the Nits are ready to go toe-to-toe with the Big Ten’s big boys. “Forget about the past, we’re moving forward,” insists Moorhead. “We want to be the hammer and not the nail. We want to be the aggressor.” Batten down the hatches and expect PSU to react on the fly to a breakneck tempo.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Nittany Lions will face 8 bowl teams this season, 5 of who won 10 or more games last season.

PLAY ON: vs. Temple (9/17)

RUTGERS (Offense – *7/4, Defense – 7/3, 50 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: FROM ASHES TO ASH

You know your team is having a rough season when your head coach is levied a 3-game in-season suspension. As a result, former HC Kyle Flood is history and Chris Ash, former DC with Ohio State, is the new man in town. Ash will look to recondition the team by having it hit the gym and the weight room for extra sessions. After all, the Knights were outscored and outyarded by conference foes, -20.5 and -167 YPG, worst in the Big Ten last season. Now it’s on to a new era with sharp new uni’s. Having to tackle 9 teams that played in bowl games last season toughens the task, for sure. But having no back-to-back road games helps.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Knights rallied from 25 points down late in the 3rd quarter to defeat Indiana, 55-52, last season.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. Indiana (11/5)

BIG TEN WEST

ILLINOIS (Offense – *7/3, Defense – 4/3, 38 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: LOVE IS IN THE AIR

It’s been said that a new coach’s best friend can be a veteran quarterback. If that’s the case, then 5th year senior QB Wes Lunt, who has spent his collegiate career dealing with change, and new HC Lovie Smith should bond like Gorilla glue. “I see the vision, and we're going in the right direction with this staff," said Lunt. Gone is Illinois' no-huddle spread offense. Unfortunately, also gone is former Big Ten Freshman of the Year, WR Mike Dudek, with yet another ACL injury for the second straight year. Unlike Dudek, only one starter returns in the back 7 on defense. Leave it to Lovie, though. The Illini will be back – sooner than later.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Illini are 6-32 SU and 13-25 ATS in their last 38 Big Ten games, including 1-7 SU and 2-6 ATS as a favorite.

PLAY ON: vs. Minnesota (10/29) - *KEY

IOWA (Offense – *6/4, Defense – 7/2, 41 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: TIME TO FINISH

After setting a school record with 12 wins last season, the Hawkeyes were left salivating for more after dropping both of their final two games of the campaign (Iowa 1-9 SU in its final 2 games over last 5 years). Coming this-close to playing in the College Football Playoff (a last-second 3-point loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten title game sent them to the Rose Bowl instead), Iowa will turn again to SR QB C.J. Beathard (13-0 SU as a regular season starter) and his newest weapon, QB-to-WR convert Ryan Boyle, who dazzled this spring. The best news of all? DB Desmond King, the Jim Thorpe Award winner, consensus All-American and Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year, returns for his senior season.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Hawkeyes’ Kirk Ferentz shares the distinction (with Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops) of being the longest tenured head football coach in the nation.

PLAY AGAINST: as a favorite vs. Wisconsin (10/22)

MINNESOTA (Offense – *7/3, Defense – 6/2, 41 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: KILL THE DEAL

Jerry Kill is gone, and the Tracy Claeys era is underway. And with it, alterations have begun. Claeys gave the pink slip to Kill’s offensive coordinator/line coach and quarterbacks coaches. New OC Jay Johnson comes from UL-Lafayette where he ran a spread offense out of a pistol formation. It’s what you do when your offense ranks dead last in the conference in scoring and 2nd to last overall. Hence, the coaching staff is no longer the longest tenured in college football. It’s understandable that Claeys wants to create his own identity. Here’s hoping they begin winning games on the field (in the stats) as well as on the scoreboard. Then he can breathe easier.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Golden Gophers have been to seven bowl games since 2006. Until last year, they were outyarded in every season.

PASS

NEBRASKA (Offense – *8/2, Defense – 7/1, 51 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: SILK SLIPPERS

You knew the winningest football program in America since 1975 (395 wins) was in trouble after last year’s loss to BYU snapped a nation-best skein of 29 straight season-opening victories. It was the first of FIVE one-possession losses for the hard-luck Huskers under 1st year head coach Mike Riley, who suffered a staggering 4 defeats on the last play of the game. Big Red managed to close the season by winning 3 of their final 4 games, while managing to slip past unbeaten and eventual Big Ten champion Michigan State. QB Tommy Armstrong returns with 33 career starts under his belt. He is the first player in NU history with two 3,000-yard total offense seasons. Beware of the silk.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Huskers have sold out 347 consecutive games at Memorial Stadium, dating back to the 1962 season.

PLAY ON: at Iowa (11/25) - *KEY as a dog

NORTHWESTERN (Offense – *7/5 Def – 6/2 57 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: SIGN ‘O’ THE TIMES

Thank goodness the Wildcats won all 5 one-possession games (best in the nation) last season. After losing 5 contests the previous 3 seasons on the final play of the game, Northwestern hunkered down and took care of business last year, dominating defensively while doubling their win total from each of the previous two seasons. Led by 1st-team All-Big Ten sophomore LB Anthony Walker’s 122 tackles, including 20.5 for losses (2nd best in the nation), the Wildcats are now focused on becoming the best defense in the nation this season. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald confirms the notion saying, “From my perspective, we're much further along." Unless the offense comes, it may not matter.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Northwestern and Kansas State are the only two FBS teams with the same 10 full-time assistant coaches the last four years.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. Nebraska (9/24)

PURDUE (Offense – *8/3 Def – 8/3 47 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: FRY BABY

Rest assured, behind the Big Ten’s poorest recruiting classes over the last two years, HC Darrell Hazell is sitting on one red-hot chair. With a 2-22 SU mark in conference games – to go with a 1-13 SU log on the highway – even Johnnie Cochran would have a difficult time defending Hazell’s follies. After being pressed to play 70 underclassmen in 2014 with a group that improved its offense 62 YPG and its defense 44 YPG, the forced infusion didn’t matter. And not having Ohio State and Michigan on the schedule for a 2nd straight season (and again this year) should have helped matters. Nada. Now this year, with the most returning starters in the Big Ten, will it matter?

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Boilermakers are 0-7 SU in one-possession games versus FBS foes under Darrell Hazell.

PLAY AGAINST: at Nebraska (10/22)

WISCONSIN (Offense – 6/4, Defense – 6/2, 51 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: HOLY CHRYST

Paul Chryst’s first year with the Badgers was a hallowed success. A 10-win season, albeit against the 2nd softest schedule in the Big Ten, was capped with a bowl win over USC. All that was lacking was a rushing attack and an anchor back, almost always a staple in the Wisconsin offense. Without those, the ground attack slipped a whopping 170 YPG. Unless addressed immediately, it could be a harbinger of degeneration this season. Nonetheless, thanks mainly to a stellar defensive effort, the Badgers outyarded conference foes by 108 YPG, the best in the Big Ten in 2015. Behind the top scoring defense in the land, the Badgers allowed the fewest plays per game defensively (60.8.) in the nation last year.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Wisconsin will face 9 opponents in their first nine games this year that participated in a bowl game last season.

PLAY ON: at Northwestern (11/5)

2016 Big 12 Preview
By Marc Lawrence
Playbook.com

Still The Same

The idea of a conference championship game for a 10-team league didn’t seem of interest to coaches.

“A year ago, we went to Oklahoma State in the last game of the regular season and won by 35 points,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “And the way it was set up, had we played a championship game, we would have played them again the very next week.”

However, talk of expansion and playing a conference title game remains in the air with school A.D’s.

Heisman Hopefuls

Four Big 12 quarterbacks have appeared on some early Heisman Trophy blogs, including prolific signal-callers, namely Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes, Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph and Baylor’s Seth Russell.

Meanwhile, nine teams return their regular starting quarterback in 2016. Eight of the Conference’s top 10 rushers return next season, including four that averaged over 100 yards a game.

Yeah, That’s Us

In spite of the fact the Big 12 owns a lousy 45-70 ATS bowl record since 2001, it has had at least seven bowl teams in 16 of the last 18 seasons. In fact the Big 12 was the only conference last season in which all of its bowl opponents were from power conferences.

Over the last seven seasons, the Big 12 football conference has had six different teams win a conference trophy. No other Power 5 conference has had as many different champions since 2009.

Half of the upcoming season’s non-conference opponents (15-of-30) competed in a 2015 bowl game. The Big 12 will play five teams that played in CFP New Year’s Bowls (Stanford, Iowa, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Houston), the second-most of the Power 5 leagues.

Note: Numbers following team name represent the amount of returning starters on offense and defense, along with the number of returning linemen, with an asterisk (*) designating a returning quarterback.

BAYLOR (Offense - *5/1, Defense - 5/0, 47 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: THE NOT-SO-ARTFUL DODGER

Art Briles is history, fired after 8 years in the wake of a sexual assault scandal involving Baylor football players. Jim Grobe steps in to pick up the pieces and though the Bears might be short on returning starters, there's a lot of experience to lean on. QB Seth Russell was 7-0 as the starter in 2015, averaging 61 PPG before his season ended with a neck injury. He’s back along with replacement QB Jarrett Stidham. Four of the top 5 WRs also return along with Shock Linwood, one of 2 returning running backs to rush for 1,000 yards last season. Even without Briles calling the shots, the nation’s No. 1 scoring and No. 2 rushing offense should keep rolling. Remember, for a third straight season, Baylor finished No. 1 in the country in total offense (616.2 ypg) and scoring (48.1 ppg). And with it the Bears have finished in the top 15 of both polls in three consecutive years and are one of only six programs to accomplish that feat, along with Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Michigan State and Ohio State.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Interim Baylor head coach Jim Grobe is 1-11 ATS as a non-conference favorite of more than 7 or more points.

PLAY AGAINST: at Rice (9/16)

IOWA STATE (Offense - *6/1, Defense - 10/2, 43 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: IT’S AMAZING WHAT CAMPBELL CAN DO

Thirty-six-year old Matt Campbell, who was 35-15 at Toledo, takes over the reins in Ames from veteran Paul Rhoads. Campbell brought in the highest-ranked Iowa State signing class over the last five seasons. Included is JUCO QB Jacob Park, originally signed with Georgia as a 2014 redshirt. He’ll battle Joel Lanning, who started the final five games of the season, tossing 10 TDs and tallying over 400 yards in three of those starts. Meanwhile, RB Mike Warren, the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, burst onto the scene with 1,339 rushing yards as a redshirt freshman last season, the fifth most in ISU history. Iowa State ended the season with an average of 182.0 rushing yards per game, its most since 2000. The biggest attrition takes place along the offensive line, which loses 111 career starts. It will take time to make ISU a winner but Campbell was a brilliant hire.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Paul Rhoads, Campbell’s predecessor, is the only coach to take the Cyclones to a bowl in his first season.

PLAY ON: vs. Kansas State (10/29)

KANSAS (Offense - *8/3, Defense - 8/1, 49 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: AND THE BEAT GOES ON

No surprise here: the Jayhawks were outscored and outyarded by conference foes, worse (-35.8 PPG and -267 YPG ) than any team in the Big 12 last season. As a result, they regressed to 3-57 SU in their last 60 conference games – easily the worst mark in the nation over the same span. Through it all, Kansas ranked dead last (No. 128) in both total defense (560.8 YPG) and defensive scoring PPG allowed (46.1) last season, while also allowing the 5th most plays per game (80.6) on defense. On a good note, QB Ryan Willis became KU’s all-time passing leader among freshmen with 1,719 yards (164-of-305) in 2015. If head coach David Beaty is expecting to be around for a third season, it’s imperative a stop-unit that declined 108 YPG makes a U-turn in a hurry. Good luck with that.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: After their season opener, the Jayhawks will face 8 straight bowl teams that were 62-9 SU combined last year.

PLAY AGAINST: at West Virginia (11/5)

KANSAS STATE (Offense - *5/1, Defense - 9/2, 40 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: YOUTH MOVEMENT

Grandpa Snyder is on a youth kick, and his backers figure to be the beneficiaries. A total of 13 players made their first career starts in 2015, including 8 freshmen. In addition, 47 redshirt or true freshmen combined to make their first start, which tied for the most under Bill Snyder since the 1989 team, his first year in Manhattan. Additionally, 28 underclassmen saw playing time during the 2015 campaign. Equally impressive is the fact that KSU has been the least-penalized team in the Big 12 each of the last three seasons. And remember, the Wildcats finished the year ranked first in the conference, and second nationally, in red-zone offense, converting on 52-of-55 of their scoring attempts.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Wildcats have been to 18 bowl games in their history. They have followed a bowl season with another bowl berth 15 times.

PLAY AGAINST: at West Virginia (10/1)

OKLAHOMA (Offense - *7/3, Defense - 6/2, 49 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: NEW SEASON, SAME EXPECTATIONS

Bob Stoops won his ninth Big 12 title in 17 years last season. No other school has won more than two in that same span. In the process, the Sooners held league opponents to -114 YPG below what they were averaging at the time they faced OU, while also landing a spot in the College Football Playoffs. The defending champion has holes to fill, but also has QB Baker Mayfield (4,105 combined passing and rushing yards and 43 TDs) and RBs Samaje Perine (1,349 rushing yards and 16 TDs) and Joe Mixon (1,049 combined yards and 11 TDs) back on offense, while 51 upperclassmen dot the roster. Despite the fact that Oklahoma’s 2016 non-conference schedule will include CFP New Year’s Bowl Game winners Houston and Ohio State, consider this our annual ‘Beware of the Sooners’ call.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The 9 league opponents the Sooners faced last year averaged a combined -144 fewer yards per game against OU.

PLAY ON: vs. Texas (10/8.)

OKLAHOMA STATE (Offense - *9/5, Defense - 7/2, 42 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: LOCKED AND LOADED

Two years ago, the Cowboys fielded the nation’s most inexperienced team. Last year, behind 17 suddenly experienced returning starters, Oklahoma State won its first 10 games of the season en route to a Sugar Bowl appearance. This year they return deeper than ever, starting with the most experienced OL in college football, one that goes 6 deep with returning starters that have made 120 total starts. QB Mason Rudolph is the real deal, with the most yards-per-completion (14.28) of all active signal callers, while the entire running back corps returns intact. With two additional starters who missed last year with injuries back on defense, rest assured this is one well-heeled collection of Cowboys. FYI: forced 28 turnovers on the year, a mark that ranked second in the Big 12 and was ninth nationally. In addition, OSU’s defense scored five touchdowns on the season to lead the Big 12 and rank third nationally.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Cowboys are 10-0 SU and 9-1 ATS off back-to-back wins versus a foe off back-to-back losses under Mike Gundy.

PLAY ON: at Baylor (9/24)

TCU (Offense - 5/1, Defense - 7/3, 39 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: YOUNG NEW FROGS

Despite an abundance of injuries on both sides of the ball, the Frogs won 6 one-possession contests (games decided by 7 or fewer) points) last season – 2nd most in the nation. Former Texas A&M QB Kenny Hill replaces QB Trevone Boykin, now a Seattle Seahawk. Hill tossed for 2,649 yards and 23 TD passes in 2014 with the Aggies and looks to be a nice fit. With 4 senior starting OL having departed, along with RB Aaron Green (2,194 rushing yards and 20 TDs last two years) and WR Josh Doctson (138 receptions for 2,286 yards and 23 TDs the last two years) a ton of production has moved on to the NFL. Yes we realize that the Horned Frogs have finished in the top 10 in back-to-back seasons and five times in the last 8 years, and in 15 seasons under head coach Gary Patterson, TCU has posted six top-10 finishes and 10 in the top 25. Nonetheless, expect a dropoff in 2016.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Since 2005, TCU has the best record in Texas (111-30) among FBS programs – 12 games better than No. 2 Texas.

PLAY ON: vs. Oklahoma State (11/19)

TEXAS (Offense - *7/3, Defense - 7/2, 52 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: ABSORBING THE SHOCK

If there’s a hotter hot-seat in college football in the state of Texas than the one UT head coach Charlie Strong resides upon, it would have to be the one attached to the electric chair at the federal prison in Beaumont. As a result, Strong needs to find a spark for an offense that averaged less than 26.5 points a game last year. Hiring Tulsa OC and former Baylor assistant Sterlin Gilbert is a step in the right direction. So is landing the top recruiting classes in the Big 12 each of the last two years. And if UT can get adequate quarterback play to go with its solid run game, the Longhorns’ offense could make a huge jump under Gilbert. If not, it could be ‘adios’ to the Horns’ head coach.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Freshman Longhorns made a total of 77 starts last season, the most in the nation.

PLAY ON: at California (9/17) - *KEY

TEXAS TECH (Offense - *6/2, Defense - 6/1, 48 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: YARDS GALORE

Star JR QB Patrick Mahomes figures to factor into the Heisman Trophy race this season. He has thrown for more than 6,200 yards and 52 TD passes as an underclassman with the Raiders. He also led the nation with 5,109 yards of total offense last season. JUCO WR Derrick Willies becomes Mahomes’ new go-to target. Willies caught 49 passes for 1,115 yards and 14 TDs in junior college last season. It’s all part of the reason Texas Tech scored at least 25 points in each of its 13 games in 2015, one of only two schools in the country to do so. TTRR has had 53-straight games with at least 325 yards of total offense, the longest active streak in the FBS. A veteran secondary returns for the second straight year but it’s Kliff Kingsbury’s rush defense that remains a sieve (6.2 DYPR). In a move that doesn’t figure to helps matters, starting LB Dakota Allen was one of three players kicked off the team this spring. Uh oh.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Red Raiders’ opponents have rushed the ball for 40 or more attempts in 23 of 25 games the past two seasons.

PLAY AGAINST: at Arizona State (9/10)

WEST VIRGINIA (Offense - *9/4, Defense - 4/2, 33 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: COUNTRY IN-ROADS

SR QB Skyler Howard started all 13 games last year completing 221-of-403 passes for 3,145 yards and 26 touchdowns, including 532 yards and 5 TDs in the Cactus Bowl win over Arizona State. He returns with the 2nd most yards-per-completion of active quarterbacks. Last year’s young and inexperienced wide receiving corps is anxious to improve this year. “I would be surprised if these receivers don’t turn some heads,” said head coach Dana Holgorsen. In addition, former OSU assistant Joe Wickline is now the offensive coordinator in Morgantown. Unfortunately, the defense loses 261 games of starting experience, with just 78 games of experience returning. Meanwhile, West-by-God thanks the man above for its 162 games of offensive starting experience coming back. The question is will it help a team whose eight victories last year are the most by WVU since joining the Big 12 Conference in 2012.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Mountaineers from Morgantown are 9-0 ATS as conference underdogs from Game Ten out.

PLAY ON: at Oklahoma State (10/29)

2016 Conference USA Preview
By Marc Lawrence
Playbook.com

We Won’t Back Down

Conference USA teams never shy away from playing challenging non-conference competition and this season is no exception.

The 2016 schedule has 13 playing weeks, which provides for one open date for each team. The last two seasons were 14-week schedules, providing two bye weeks per school.

A total of 22 games are scheduled against teams that played in a bowl game last season. Conference USA will face at least one opponent from all nine of the other FBS leagues.

Letter Winners Galore

Six teams return a minimum of 50 letter wins in 2016, led by North Texas (62), Southern Miss and Western Kentucky (55), Charlotte 54, Rice (52) and FIU (50).

Only FAU (32) returns less than 40 lettermen.

We’ll Be Back Soon

UAB will return to playing football in Conference USA for the 2017 season. A total of 67 players took part in the first on-field action for the team since the program was reinstated last summer.

Bill Clark, who served as head coach during the 2014 season and guided UAB to a four-win increase in his first season, will continue to build the program as it returns to play as an FBS member for 2017.

Bowling For Dollars

For the second consecutive season, C-USA sent five teams to bowl games in 2015. They finished 3-2 in bowls, giving the league an 18-8 SU and 16-9-1 ATS mark the past four seasons in postseason play. No other FBS conference owns a higher bowl win percentage than the C-USA the last five years.

Note: Numbers following team name represent the amount of returning starters on offense and defense, along with the number of returning linemen, with an asterisk (*) designating a returning quarterback.

2016 C-USA EAST PREVIEW

CHARLOTTE (Offense – *9/4, Defense – 9/3, 54 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: YOUTHFUL EXPERIENCE

Last year the FBS’ newest spring chicken, the 49ers made their debut fast-tracking from a program that launched as an FCS Independent in 2013 and landed in Conference-USA in 2015. Head coach Brad Lambert and his 10-man staff boast over 140 years of collegiate coaching experience, with Lambert (27), assistant head coach Dean Hood (29), and coordinators Jeff Mullen (25) and Matt Wallerstedt (24), each with over 20 years of know-how. Coupled with a wealth of experience and returning starters (11 returners have started at least 20 games in their 49ers career, including 5 who have made 30 or more starts), it will be hard to hush Charlotte’s sweet talent level this year.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: 22 players who were part of the first 49ers team in 2013 make up the 2016 senior class.

PLAY ON: at UTSA (11/26)

FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Offense – 8/4, Defense – 7/3, 32 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: WET DREAMS

Just when it appeared FAU was making progress, a pair of 3-win seasons under head coach Charlie Partridge was received like a wet blanket. Making matters worse, double-threat QB Jaquez Johnson, who tossed for 3,807 yards and rushed for 1,014 more over the last two years, is gone. Fortunately, Partridge hit the streets and welcomes in strong back-to-back recruiting classes. Included is SO QB Jason Driskell, brother of former Florida QB Jeff Driskell, who started two games while passing for nearly 1,000 yards last season. In addition, both of last year’s top RBs return. Coupled with a nation-leading 16 true freshmen that started a game last season, the young Owls (68 underclassmen) appear perched for success. The Owls are projected to have 32 freshmen (19 true) in 2016, 36 sophomores, 18 juniors and 17 seniors. Just two of the team’s incoming class hails from a state other than Florida.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Owls are 5-14 SU in one-possession games since Howard Schnellenberger resigned, including 1-4 last season.

PLAY ON: vs. Old Dominion (11/19) - *KEY

FLORIDA INTL (Offense – *9/5, Defense – 5/1, 50 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: STANDING ON OUR OWN

Strangely, the Golden Panthers will most likely be indebted to Pete Garcia, the school A.D., for scheduling 7 consecutive losing opponents to open the season. They will also likely be thankful for the services of JR QB Alex McGough, JR RB Alex Gardner and SR TE Jonnu Smith who, upon their eventual graduations, will each own school records. Then again, it could all be for naught as the defense must replace 4 top all-CUSA performers, the same stop-unit that collapsed down the stretch last year and allowed 44.25 PPG during the final four games. In what’s been a series of baby steps under Ron Turner, the training wheels are set to disengage this year.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: After going 2-22 ‘In The Stats’ in Ron Turner’s first two seasons, the Panthers ‘improved’ to 4-8 ITS last year.

PLAY AGAINST: at Old Dominion (11/26)

MARSHALL (Offense - *7/4, Defense – 4/2, 48 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: ON AND ON IT GOES

Behind a 5th straight bowl win, Marshall became the only Group of 5 program to record a 3rd straight 10-win season last year. In fact, the only schools with more consecutive double-digit win seasons are Alabama (8.), Clemson (5), and Ohio State and Florida State (4 each). And in 2015, a total of 30 defenses in the FBS faced 965 or more plays. Of those, the only team that allowed fewer yards per game than Marshall’s 360.0 was once beaten and College Football Playoff runner-up Clemson (313.0). SO QB Chase Litton, 9-2 starting the final 11 games of the season while leading all true freshmen with 23 TD passes, returns for more.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Thundering Herd are 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS as home favorites with conference revenge.

PLAY ON: vs. Western Kentucky (11/26)

MIDDLE TENNESSEE (Offense – *6/3, Defense – 5/3, 40 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: ALL IN THE FAMILY

One of only 4 teams to complete the season with a 4,000-yard passer and two 1,000-yard receivers (joining Bowling Green, Tulsa and Washington State), the Blue Raiders are opting for more in 2016. MTSU brought OC Tony Franklin (former Auburn, California and Murray State offensive coordinator) in to work with CUSA Freshman of the Year QB Brent Stockstill (coach Rick’s son), who led the nation’s freshmen quarterbacks in yards and TD passes, and added weight and strength in the offseason. The defense, though, loses 4 all-CUSA performers, including all 3 starting linebackers. Expect the Raiders to rely heavily on HC Stockstill’s 20 years of bowl game experience to get them back to the postseason this year.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Blue Raiders ranked 4th nationally in red zone defense.

PLAY ON: at Vanderbilt (9/10)

OLD DOMINION (Offense – *9/3, Defense – 8/3, 42 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION

After force-feeding freshmen who made a whopping 64 starts last season, Old Dominion suffered its first-ever losing season under head coach Bobby Wilder. Rest assured, they didn’t like the taste and will be hell-bent to return to their winning ways in 2016. The team is loaded with returning starters and promising youngsters. RB Ray Lawry followed up his C-USA Freshman of the Year season with another solid effort in 2015, leading the league with 1,136 yards and rushing for 11 touchdowns. Meanwhile, SO QB Shuler Bentley and SR QB/WR David Washington are back, combining for 2,587 yards and 20 TDs last season, with each taking significant snaps. ODU’s top 5 leading receivers also return for the 2016 season, along with SR LB TJ Ricks, the conference’s leading tackler.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Monarchs have sold out all 48 home games in school history and own a 35-13 SU record in those games.

PLAY ON: at Appalachian State (9/10)

WESTERN KENTUCKY (Offense – 7/5, Defense – 4/1, 55 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: BROHM SQUAD

The hire of Jeff Brohm at WKU has proved to be electrifying. Since coming aboard in 2014, only 2 teams in the nation have finished in the Top 10 in Total Offense, Scoring Offense and Passing Offense: WKU and TCU. Having to replace legendary QB Brandon Doughty in 2016 means the Hilltoppers must now scale a mountain, but they do return all 5 starting offensive linemen (with 125 games of starting experience), as well as a 1,500-yard receiver, a 900-yard receiver, a 1,000-yard rusher, and a freshman running back who was 3rd nationally among freshman with 11 rushing touchdowns last season. Look for SR QB Nelson Fishback to plug into Brohm’s system like a light bulb into a socket.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The 2015 Hilltoppers were the 2nd most dominant league champion in C-USA history, winning league games by an average margin of 27.1 points.

PLAY AGAINST: as a favorite at Louisiana Tech (10/6)

2016 C-USA WEST PREVIEW

LOUISIANA TECH (Offense – 6/4, Defense – 3/2, 44 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: SKIP FORWARD

After stumbling in his first year with Louisiana Tech, a pair of 9-win seasons has followed for Skip Holtz since, including back-to-back bowl wins for the first time in school history. The task could be more daunting in 2016, however, as the Bulldogs’ stop-unit takes a big hit, replacing 8 starters on the defensive side of the ball, with 2 assistant coaches gone as well. In addition, La Tech seniors made 166 combined starts last season, the 4th most in the nation. That’s a lot of lost experience. As a result, it appears Skippy will once again have to rely on his famous ‘dog-log’ (see below) in order to help keep this team on a forward path.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Head coach Skip Holtz is 39-19-1 ATS as a dog, including 15-4 ATS during the first 3 games of the season.

PLAY ON: as a dog at Southern Miss (11/25)

NORTH TEXAS (Offense - 5/3, Defense – 8/2, 62 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: YOUNG GUNS

Thirty-seven-year old new head coach Seth Littrell, considered one of the brightest offensive minds in college football, comes from North Carolina where he served as assistant head coach of the offense. He inherits a squad that led Conference-USA, and ranked 3rd in the nation, in fumbles recovered last season with 14 (12 different players had at least one recovery). This from a team that featured 36 no-scholarship walk-on players who dotted 37% of the roster! The bad news is UNT ranked dead last in 3rd down defensive conversion efficiency last year (.524). That, coupled with our ‘Stat You Will Like’ below tells you where Littrell’s focus should – but won’t – go this year.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Lean Green have gone 0-13 SU and 2-11 ATS away the last 2 years, outyarded by 163 YPG.

PLAY AGAINST: at UTSA (10/29) - *Key if favored

RICE (Offense – 7/3, Defense – 9/3, 52 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: MAKE IT OR BREAK IT

After making three straight bowl appearances for the first time in school history, the Owls fell asleep on the job last year. Contributing to the falloff was a secondary that was worst in the nation in pass efficiency, directly attributed to a lack of interceptions, as Rice managed to pick off only 2 passes the entire season. Consequently, the Owls tied Wyoming with the fewest turnovers gained (10) for the year. In addition, major recruiting services report David Bailiff’s feathered fowls have incurred the 2nd largest recruiting decline over the past 5 seasons. Thus, a winning effort behind 16 returning starters this season is crucial in order to reestablish the program’s recent record-setting gains.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Owls’ 30 wins over the last 4 years matches the most in school history. The 5-year record is 36 from 1946-50.

PLAY ON: vs. UTSA (10/15)

SOUTHERN MISS (Offense – *7/3, Defense – 6/2, 55 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: BACK FROM THE ABYSS

New HC Jay Hopson, a 24-year collegiate coaching veteran (head coach at Alcorn State the past 4 seasons), and twice a former member of the Southern Miss coaching staff, returns to Hattiesburg. Hopson’s defensive units with the Golden Eagles led Conference-USA in scoring defense each of his 3 seasons as defensive coordinator. That’s good news for a team that witnessed 22 players making their Division-1 debut two years ago, then improved mightily last year while putting a 4-32 run the previous three years to bed in dramatic fashion – after compiling 18 winning seasons in a row prior to their mysterious fall. To paraphrase Arnold as The Terminator, “They’re Back!” – and Hopson figures to reap the rewards.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Golden Eagles will face only 3 opponents that owned a winning record last season.

PLAY ON: vs. Marshall (10/29)

UTEP (Offense – *8/4, Defense – 6/3, 47 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: CH-CH-CH-CHANGES

Okay, so 3 of UTEP’s 5 wins last year – and 4 of the last 6 – have been by the grace of a field goal. And sure, they faced the 2nd softest schedule in the nation last season and will square off against the softest in 2016 (only 2 foes sport winning records from last year, including none of the last 7). Yet it’s no accident that the Miners have improved leaps and bounds over the last two football seasons, tallying 12 wins and a bowl game after recording just 2 wins in 2013. Not satisfied, Miners head coach Sean Kugler keeps digging, making several staffing changes this season with the hiring of 5 new assistants, including offensive and defensive coordinators.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Miners are 8-48-1 SU and 13-40-2 ATS in the last 57 games in which they have been outgained in the stats.

PLAY ON: at Louisiana Tech (10/1)

UTSA (Offense – *7/3, Defense – 5/2, 42 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: OUT WITH THE OLD

In a move largely designed to infuse fresh blood into a young program, the Roadrunners named Frank Wilson as their new head coach, replacing former 2-time National Coach of the Year Larry Coker. Wilson brings 20 years of collegiate coaching experience to San Antonio (the last 6 as LSU’s assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator). He helped lead 8 teams to bowl games and is widely considered as one of the nation’s top college football recruiters, engineering signing classes that ranked among the nation’s Top 10 five times. UTSA faced gaping holes last season when it lost 38 seniors, thus resulting in a dismal 3-win effort. A new blueprint begins this year.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Roadrunners are 5-0 ATS in non-conference games off a non-conference win.

PLAY ON: at Colorado State (9/10) - *if off a win

2016 Independents Preview
By Marc Lawrence
Playbook.com

And Now There Are Four

With UMass’ departure from the Mid American Conference, roll call among FBS Independent college football teams has inched up to four this year as the Minuteman join the ranks of Independents.

With Navy now firmly entrenched in the American Athletic Conference, and former unattached Independents Idaho and New Mexico State currently basking in the sun (for the time being at least), the look and feel of this autonomous affiliation seems to be changing its appearance more than Bruce Jenner these days.

Common Traits

With BYU new head coach Kalani Sitake replacing Bronco Mendenhall, the three other head coaches at Army, Notre Dame and UMass – namely Jeff Monken, Brian Kelly and Mark Whipple respectively, share a common denominator of which none are exceptionally proud.

According to our all-knowing database its seems the latter three tend to really struggle in games versus opponents sporting winning records. That’s confirmed by their collective 2-32 SU and 11-22-1 ATS mark with their teams against quality opponents.

Worse, when playing from Game Four out against these same foes they fall completely off the map, going 0-27 SU and 6-20-1 ATS.

Buyer beware.

Big Ugly Dogs

Each year one or two Independent teams find themselves Independent teams earn bowl bids. And when they do they become attractive plays when taking more than 7 points during the post season.

That’s confirmed by the fact that Independent bowl dogs of 7.5 or more points are 13-5 ATS in these games since 1980, including 12-2 ATS when facing a foe that allows more than 12.5 PPG on the season.

Note: Numbers following team name represent the amount of returning starters on offense and defense, along with the number of returning linemen, with an asterisk (*) designating a returning quarterback.

2016 INDEPENDENT PREVIEW

ARMY (Offense – *7/3, Defense – 9/3, 45 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: AN ARMY OF ONE

Since winning 10 games in 1996, the Cadets have been to one bowl game and finished with a winning record just once (2010). The 13 years before then: 35-115. The 5 years since then: 14-46. Those are some mighty lean years, to say the least. A quick glance at the Statistical Review above tells volumes as the Black Knights have seen both their offensive and defensive rushing YPG production dip each year under 3rd year head coach Jeff Monken (a triple option specialist). Hence, it was no surprise the team lost 7 games by one possession (7 points) or less last season – tops in the nation. Sixteen returning starters should help elevate their chances in 2016.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Black Knights are 1-24 SU and 4-20 ATS in their last 25 true road games since 2011.

PLAY ON: vs. Navy (12/10)

BYU (Offense – *7/3, Defense – 8/3, 65 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: A MAJOR MISSION

New head coach Kalani Sitake not only has monstrous shoes to fill with the departure of Bronco Mendenhall, but must also take on a schedule from hell, with foes 97-57 SU combined last year (sorry to all the Mormons reading this). It starts with having to face 9 straight bowl teams from last season. A highly anticipated renewal of the Holy War is circled in red by BYU from a bitter 35-28 loss to Utah in the Las Vegas bowl last year, a game in which the Utes led 35-0 in the first quarter. Decorated returning QBs Taysom Hill and Tanner Mangum lead a deeply experienced squad bolstered by 65 returning lettermen, including 5 OL with starting experience. With former Heisman Trophy winning QB Ty Detmer the new OC, the Cougars anxiously await a devilish schedule in 2016.

Stat You Will Like: The Cougars are 8-0 ATS as road dogs versus greater-than .750 opponents.

PLAY ON: at Utah (9/10) - *KEY

NOTRE DAME (Offense – *5/2, Defense – 5/2, 43 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: U GOT THE LOOK

Like the final two losses to conclude the season last year, the Irish were hit hard by the NFL draft this year, losing 7 players – all in the first 4 rounds. That was the same as Alabama... and 6 more than were drafted last year. The good news is starting QBs Deshone Kizer and Malik Zaire each return, as do 4 other Irishmen that were projected to be starters last year before season-ending injuries curtailed their participation. Thus, the 5 returning starters showing on both sides of the ball will be deeper than the numbers suggest. Meanwhile, head coach Brian Kelly’s 149 wins since 2001 makes him the 3rd winningest active FBS coach since 2001, trailing only Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and Ohio State’s Urban Meyer. Our recommendation: Don’t mess with Touchdown Jesus.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Kelly is 21-5-2 ATS as a dog of 12 or fewer points versus sub .900 opponents.

PLAY ON: vs. Stanford (10/15)

UMASS (Offense – 4/3, Defense – 6/2, 36 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: SO LONG MAC

According to SB Nation, the Minutemen return less of last year’s production than any team in the country. So it’s a good thing head coach Mark Whipple has made the largest improvement recruiting the last five years combined, as reported by Rivals/247. One of those recruits, SO RB Marquis Young, was one of only 5 backs in the nation last year with at least 150 carries and a 6.0 YPR average. JUCO QB Andrew Ford, former 3-star recruit with Virginia Tech, who is expected to replace Blake Frohnapfel, will join Ford in the backfield. Three senior OL who started every game last season are also back. It all makes this transition out of the MAC an interesting year.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Minutemen are 1-9 SU in one-possession games under Mark Whipple.

PASS

2016 Mid-American Preview
By Marc Lawrence
Playbook.com

The West Is Best

Entering its 70th year of gridiron competition, the MAC welcomes 12 teams when it returns to a balanced format in 2016 as UMass has exited the conference.

Northern Illinois has won six consecutive West Division championships but will need to hold back a rising Western Michigan squad and an always-troublesome Toledo team. And we’re not discounting Central Michigan, either. The Chippewas tied for the West Division title last Year.

The East Division appears up for grabs with Akron, Bowling Green and Ohio U the logical contenders. The Bobcats have not suffered a losing season since 2008 but it must find a quarterback. Ditto for Miami Ohio who looks to field its best team since 2010.

Looking Outside the Conference

As lightweight a reputation as the MAC has they have surprisingly managed to hold their own when installed as favorites outside the conference, especially as invaders.

That’s confirmed by the MAC’s sterling 30-8 SU and 24-14 ATS mark as non-conference road chalk – including 13-2 SU and 12-3 ATS from Game Four out (10-0 SU/ATS since 2004).

Bowl Fodder

And speaking of non-conference opposition, the MAC has been little more than forage for opponents in bowl games dating back to 2007, as they are just 14-32 SU and 15-30-1 ATS in post season play in that span.

Worse, when facing a bowl opponent off a season ending loss, the MAC lacks any kind of attack going a paltry 3-19 SU and 4-18 ATS in these games. It should be noted, though, they have picked up the slack of late, managing to go 3-2 SUATS in these same games the past two seasons.

Note: Numbers following team name represent the amount of returning starters on offense and defense, along with the number of returning linemen, with an asterisk (*) designating a returning quarterback.

2016 MAC EAST PREVIEW

AKRON (Offense - *3/0, Defense - 4/2, 51 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO

After a disappointing 0-2 start last season, SO QB Thomas Woodson took over in Week Three and immediately ignited the Zips. He tossed for 2,202 yards and rushed for 677, connecting on 19 TDs as Akron went on to record its first 8-win season since becoming an FBS team in 1987. It culminated with a 23-21 upset win over Utah State in the Idaho Potato Bowl, the Zips’ first FBS bowl victory. Woodson returns as the team’s leading rusher and passer. He’ll benefit from the arrival of Utah State transfer JoJo Natson, who caught 108 passes and rushed for 612 yards at USU in 2013-14. The problem? Both lines were peeled mighty thin in the off-season, thus a bounce could be in order. The saving grace would be DE Jamal Marcus, the Ohio State transfer who tallied 30 tackles, 12.5 for a loss, and 5.5 sacks last season in leading the Zips to the 3rd best defense in the nation against the run in 2015.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Zips’ seniors made a total of 188 starts last season, tied for the most in the nation with Stanford.

PLAY ON: at Ohio U (11/22)

BOWLING GREEN (Offense - 5/3, Defense - 7/1, 43 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: HI JINKS ERA STARTS

Former Texas Tech associate head coach Mike Jinks begins his first season as Bowling Green’s head coach in 2016. Prior to joining the Red Raiders, Jinks was a National Coach of the Year finalist while at San Antonio powerhouse, Steele High School. He inherits a team that ran the table for the third straight season against all MAC East opponents on their schedule, winning two MAC championships the past three seasons. Bowling Green has now won 17 straight games over MAC East foes. The Falcons outscored and outyarded conference foes, 24.6 PPG and 169 YPG, best in the MAC last year. Victorious in 36 games the past four seasons, a new era of winning starts in 2016.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Falcons went 33-2 SU in games in which they won the stats, and 3-16 SU in games in which they lost the stats over the last four years.

PLAY ON: at Memphis (9/24)

BUFFALO (Offense - 5/3, Defense - 8/4, 49 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: BULL RUSH

Head coach Lance Leipold came to Buffalo as the fastest coach to win 100 games in NCAA history – and he continued to make history in his first season with the Bulls when he became the first UB head coach in nearly 50 years to win five games in his first season. Unlike last year, though, the roster is filled with many new faces. Gone is QB Joe Licata, the Bulls’ all-time leading passer who started 40 consecutive games, along with All-MAC performers RB Anthone Taylor, WR Ron Willoughby and TE Matt Weiser (arguably the best in UB history). Former Iowa State QB Grant Rohach has transferred in to replace Licata. Thankfully, the DL is the most experienced unit on the squad.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Since joining the MAC in 1999, the Bulls are 6-54 SU and 21-38-1 ATS versus winning opponents.

PLAY ON: at Nevada (9/17)

KENT STATE (Offense - *10/4, Defense - 8/3, 51 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: 127 AND COUNTING

A ranking assessment on what did not go right for the Flashes last season: No. 127 (last) in fewest first downs. No. 127 in 3rd-down conversion percentage. No. 127 in passing yards per completion. No. 127 scoring offense. No. 127 rated recruiting class. You get the drift. It’s because of porous play like this that KSU has been to only ONE bowl game since 1972. It could all change this year, though, in a heartbeat. For openers, an abundance of returning starters are back in 2016, due largely to an injury-laden offense last season that was forced to play a bevy of freshmen. Coupled with 41 bowl games up for grabs, the Flashes are all-in.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Golden Flashes seniors made 51 combined starts last season, the 5th fewest in the nation.

PLAY ON: at Bowling Green (11/15)

MIAMI, OHIO (Offense - *10/4, Defense - 6/2, 46 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: BREAK ON THROUGH

To quote the late great Jim Morrison of the Doors, the Redhawks seem ready to “break on through to the other side.” After two tough ground-laying years in which nearly half of their 19 losses were by a touchdown or less, head coach Chuck Martin has inked top recruiting classes in the MAC the past 2 seasons, including 29 three-star recruits. He also welcomes 10 starters back on offense from a team that was the 4th youngest in the nation last year – one that played without its leading passer, rusher, receiver and 3 OL. Filling in were 2 freshmen QB’s, 4 freshmen running backs and a handful of underclassmen WRs that latched onto 105 passes. And to top it off, this announcement recently came across our desk… Miami has signed 6’4”, 304 LB OL Jordan Diamond, a fifth year transfer from Auburn. Because Diamond has graduated he is eligible to play this season. Forewarned is forearmed.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Redhawks are 1-21 SU versus winning opponents the last five years, including 15 losses in a row.

PLAY ON: as a dog vs. Kent State (10/15)

OHIO U (Offense - 6/2, Defense - 7/2, 49 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: TIME AFTER TIME

After playing through a rash of injuries in 2014, last year’s Bobcats benefited mightily from the force-feeding of young replacements when they won 8 games and a berth in the Camellia Bowl. In the process, veteran coach Frank Solich’s youngsters held two foes to under 200 yards of offense while improving the defense 19 YPG. The same defense dominated in the spring game in April when it routed the offense 62-18. The question is: was it a case of rapid improvement, or a serious lack of offense? We do know that the Bobcats have not had a losing season since 2006 and Solich is the winningest active coach in the MAC. And with it, time marches on.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Frank Solich is 6-0 ATS home off a SU underdog win in his college career.

PLAY ON: vs. Buffalo (11/3)

2016 MAC WEST PREVIEW

BALL STATE (Offense - *6/2, Defense - 9/3, 37 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: IN WITH THE NEU

After being the only team in the nation to have upped its season win totals every year from 2010 to 2013 – and re-signing Pete Lembo to a new 5-year deal that made him the highest paid coach in the MAC – the Cardinals lost flight the last two years, going 5-7 and 3-9. Lembo surprisingly threw in the towel to become an assistant coach at Maryland, taking a six-figure-per-year pay cut to become Maryland's special teams coordinator and assistant head coach. Mike Neu, former quarterback with the Cardinals and most recently QB coach with the New Orleans Saints, takes over. Neu earned Coach of the Year honors in the Arena League in 2000 and the AFL in 2004. And to help keep it ‘neu’ the Cardinals are debuting new “Stars and Stripes” helmets, which look absolutely glorious.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Cardinals were outgained by 172 YPG in conference play last season, worst in the MAC.

PASS

CENTRAL MICHIGAN (Offense - *8/3, Defense - 8/2, 42 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: BIG JOHN

Head coach John Bonamego, the former Detroit Lions special teams coordinator, was up against it last year. For openers, he had to replace an 1,100-yard rusher, 3 of the top 5 wide receivers, 2 starting linebackers and 4 of the top 7 players from the secondary. Then, his best defensive lineman got injured and missed most of the season. To top it off, he was diagnosed with tonsil cancer just prior to the start of the season (the good news is the cancer was caught early and is treatable). Somehow the Chippewas came within 2 points of winning the MAC West, while battling mighty Michigan State and Oklahoma State right down to the wire. Still, the Chippewas somehow came within 2 points of winning the MAC West, while battling mighty Michigan State and Oklahoma State right down to the wire. We’re big Bonamego fans. And so is QB Cooper Rush who tossed for 25 TDs and 3,848 yards while completing 66 percent of his passes last season. With four wide receivers back who gathered in over 500 passing years apiece in 2015, look for Rush to be in league MVP talks this campaign.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Chippewas are 11-2 SU and 12-1 ATS away from Game Six out the last four years.

PLAY ON: vs. Western Michigan (10/1)

EASTERN MICHIGAN (Offense - *8/5, Defense - 8/3, 46 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: E-NOUGH IS E-NOUGH

When he was hired two years ago, EMU set out to become ‘E Tough’ under head coach Chris Creighton. According to Creighton, ‘E Tough’ means coming ready to roll up their sleeves and to never give in or let up. "Our colors are green and white but our collars are blue," said Creighton. But after being outscored by 21.4 PPG in conference play, worst in the MAC last season, their balls pretty much matched their collars. Behind a sudden wealth of experience led by high-ceiling QB Brogan Roback and explosive RB Shaq Vann, plus an entire cast of returning linemen on both sides of the ball (7 of the top 8 LBs return), the EMU’s do indeed look ‘E Tough’.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Rynearson Stadium, aka “The Factory”, will feature the FBS’s first gray FieldTurf playing surface this season.

PLAY ON: vs. Toledo (10/8.)

NORTHERN ILLINOIS (Offense - *6/3, Defense - 6/2, 56 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: QB4

With 6 MAC West titles in a row, the Huskies have learned to win games by guile. Last year was a classic example with cluster QB injuries to starter Drew Hare (Achilles), backup Anthony Maddie (back), and 3rd-string freshman Ryan Graham (leg). By the time Tommy Fiedler was forced to take the field, head coach Rod Carey was into the championship game of the MAC – where his team got roasted by Bowling Green, and then annihilated by Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl. Even so, NIU has a winning pedigree and with all 4 signal-callers back, along with its top 1,000-yard RB and 1,000-yard WR, we won’t step in front of that. Not with CB Shawun Lurry patrolling the secondary. Lurry lead the nation in interceptions last season and will be a Jim Thorpe award contender in 2016.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Huskies are 24-4 SU and 21-6-1 ATS in their last 28 road games.

PLAY ON: vs. Central Michigan (10/15)

TOLEDO (Offense - 8/4, Defense - 4/2, 48 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: CANDLE BURNS BRIGHT

Fueled by 28 winning seasons in the last 35 years, the Rockets have gone 6-2 or better in conference clashes 5 of the last 6 years. However, despite winning 7 or more games in each of those years, they haven’t played in a MAC title game in 12 years. Brutal losses to Northern Illinois (outscored 16-3 to close out the game) and Western Michigan denied them once again. Enter former OC and new head coach Jason Candle, who beat Temple in his debut in last year’s Boca Raton Bowl. He’ll welcome back former starting quarterback Logan Woodside (redshirted last year), along with 4 of the 5 starting O-linemen and a pair of 900-yard running backs who scored 19 TDs. Remember, this team beat two FBS foes last season (Arkansas and Iowa State) and has a stud in RB Kareem Hunt who has rushed for over 100 yards 21 times in his career.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Toledo’s 6-0 road record in 2015 marks the first time since 1971 the Rockets went undefeated and untied away from the Glass Bowl.

PLAY ON: vs. Northern Illinois (11/9) - *KEY

WESTERN MICHIGAN (Offense - *8/4, Defense - 5/2, 48 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: FLECKERING HOPES

We lauded the hiring of P.J. Fleck by the Broncos three years ago and he hasn’t let us down. Hauling in the best recruiting classes in the MAC over the last 2 years, a pair of 8-win bowl seasons the last 2 years – including their first bowl win in school history last year – has the wild horses kicking their heels. SR QB Zach Terrell (3,500 passing yards with 29 TDs and 9 INTs last year) and his top target, WR Corey Davis (1,400 passing yards), each return. FYI: it’s been said that Davis, the FBS’ active leading receiver with 33 career receiving TDs, could end up being one of the best to ever play the position in the MAC. Coupled with the return of its top 3 running backs (2,220 rushing yards), last year’s record-setting offense is primed and ready. They’ll be serious contenders for title honors if the defense comes around.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Broncos have not won a MAC championship in 26 years, and it’s been 15 years since WMU last appeared in a title game.

PLAY ON: vs. Northern Illinois (10/8.) - *KEY as a dog

2016 Mountain West Preview
By Marc Lawrence
Playbook.com

We’re Back, Again

For the ninth consecutive year, the Mountain West sent at least five teams into postseason bowl games when eight participants hit the alleys last season. The MWC has earned 77 bowl bids since 1999 and holds a 42-35 (.546) all-time record in those contests.

However, its been five seasons since the Mountain West finished ending the bowls with a winning campaign as they stand just 13-18 in that span.

With a 3-4 mark in postseason play last season, marking the fourth year in a row the league failed to post a winning bowl record (9-14 last four seasons).

Newbies

The Mountain West has welcomed 26 new head coaches over the last 17 seasons, eleven of which played in a bowl game in their rookie year.

Former BYU head coach Gary Crowton in 2001, and Boise State boss Bryan Harsin in 2014, posted the most wins with 12 victories in their inaugural year.

Harsin also joined Utah State’s Matt Wells when he became the second coach to conclude his inaugural season by leading his team to the Mountain West Championship Game and a bowl appearance.

Two new head coaches debut this season: Nick Rolovich at Hawaii, and Tim Cramsey at Nevada.

Way Up There

The Mountain West Conference is appropriately named with no less than 8 of the twelve schools located more than 2,000 feet above sea level, including all 6 in the MWC Mountain Division.

Wyoming’s War Memorial stadium scales the highest at 7,215 feet, with Air Force’s Falcon Stadium also better than a mile high at 6,621 feet.

Note: Numbers following team name represent the amount of returning starters on offense and defense, along with the number of returning linemen, with an asterisk (*) designating a returning quarterback.

2016 MWC MOUNTAIN PREVIEW

AIR FORCE (Offense – *5/2, Defense – 8/2, 65 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: SUNNY SKIES

With 18 wins the last two seasons – including a Mountain Division title – after posting just 2 wins in 2013, it’s safe to say the skies have brightened for the Flyboys. Despite the loss of QB Nate Romine in the 2nd game of the season last year, AFA still managed to improve 32 YPG on offense and 41 YPG on defense. The good news is Romine is back in 2016 with a unit that allowed the fewest sacks last season. Even better, an aggressive defense returns 8 starters from a vastly improved unit. And for comparison sake: the Falcons faced Michigan State in their primary FBS non-con game in 2015. They will face Georgia State this year.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Falcons are 2-10 ATS in games after facing Army and Navy since 2010.

PLAY AGAINST: at Wyoming (10/8 )

BOISE STATE (Offense – *8/4, Defense – 5/0, 45 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: ZIG ZAG

ESPN’s Darren Rovell probably put it best when he stated, “Boise State is college football’s Gonzaga. Their name says they’re the little guys. They can play with the best.” The Broncos proved it’s practically impossible to improve on a 12-win season when they limped home with 9 wins last year despite improving their stats on both sides of the ball, marking only the 4th time in the last 17 years they failed to wins 10 games or more. FYI: in the 4 seasons following a non-10 win campaign, Boise went 47-6. The good news, though, is blue-chip SO QB Brett Rypien, the MWC Freshman of the Year and Poinsettia Bowl MVP with 3,350 yards and 20 TDs), returns along with five of last year’s top seven wide receivers. Go Zags... err Broncos.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Broncos are 19-2 SU and 13-6 ATS In games where they outyard opponents under head coach Bryan Harsin.

PLAY ON: at New Mexico (10/7)

COLORADO STATE (Offense – *6/4, Defense – 4/2, 45 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: PRO BOBO

It was mission accomplished last season for new head coach Mike Bobo when he led his Rams to a 3rd straight bowl game. Bobo’s no-huddle, hurry-up attack preaches balance with a heavy emphasis on running the ball. "We want to run our offense and still be pro-style, not being in the shotgun all the time,” insists Bobo. And well balanced they were, with nearly 50% of their yards last year coming on the ground. This will mark the final season at Hughes Stadium for CSU, the Rams’ home since 1968, as they move into a new $220M complex next year. Bobo’s mission this season, should he decide to accept it: a Mountain West Conference championship for the first time since 2002.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Rams are 0-18 SU all-time versus ranked opponents.

PLAY ON: vs. Colorado (9/2)

NEW MEXICO (Offense – *5/2, Defense – 10/4, 48 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: HOUND DOGS

The free fall appears over. As we proclaimed on this page last year, the Lobos’ 8-year bowl drought came to an end when Bob Davie’s troops won 7 games thanks largely in part to a defense that improved 8 points and 80 yards per game in 2015. It seems like yesterday that New Mexico was mired in a drought when they won just 3 games over a three-year span (2009-11). The good news is the same defense returns 10 starters, making them bowl fodder once again this season. With both starting QBs and star RB Teriyon Gipson back, if the defense holds serve, the Lobos could be party hounds once again during the holidays this year.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Lobos have been outscored 4.8 PPG under Davie. They had been outscored 26.0 PPG the three seasons prior to his arrival.

PLAY AGAINST: at Utah State (11/12)

UTAH STATE (Offense – *10/4, Defense – 3/1, 40 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: MISSION BOUND

It’s safe to say that for a team that averaged 10 wins per season from 2012-2014, and then slumped to 6 victories last year, the Aggies will be a team on a mission in 2016. They field one of the most even breakdowns of players by class on the roster with 27 seniors, 25 juniors, 21 sophomores and 28 freshmen. Believe it or not, QB Chuckie Keeton is not listed among the breakdown as he has finally departed. Is it us, or does it seem like Chuckie was here during the entire Obama administration? Utah State is also tasked with having to replace both offensive and defensive coordinators for the 2nd straight year. So what else is new?

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Aggies are 43-24 since 2011, with only 9 losses by more than 7 points.

PLAY ON: as a dog vs. San Diego State (10/28)

WYOMING (Offense – 9/4, Defense – 8/1, 50 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: BAPTIZED BY FIRE

The makeup of the 2016 Cowboy roster, while still relatively young, is much different than the Cowboy team from a year ago that returned only 10 starters and 33 letter winners. The 2016 Cowboy roster will feature 20 seniors, half of who have been regular starters during their careers. “We have a lot of returning players,” said head coach Craig Bohl. “I think we are going to have a more seasoned, more mature football team this coming season than what we had last year when we played a high number (26) of freshmen.” Of those 26 freshmen that played, 15 started at least one game and 11 started multiple games in 2015. Color the Cowboys dangerous in 2016.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The last time the Cowboys suffered four losing seasons in a row was in 2003. They won the Las Vegas Bowl the following season.

PLAY ON: at New Mexico (11/26) - *Key

2016 MWC WEST PREVIEW

FRESNO STATE (Offense – *7/2, Defense – 5/1, 36 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: DERUYTER ON DE HOT SEAT

On the heels of a disappointing 3-win effort last season, Fresno has now tasted back-to-back losing campaigns. And with it, the natives are growing restless. That’s because after a 19-4 start under head coach Tim DeRuyter, the Bulldogs are just 10-19 since. In an effort to shake things up, DeRuyter brings in new offensive and defensive coordinators. Cycling through 4 QB’s last year (you know the saying: when you have 4 QB’s, you have none), including a freshman signal caller and two freshmen wide receivers – along with a defense ravaged by injuries – means the benefits should be plenty this season after Fresno was force-fed rebuilding in 2015. Let’s hope it helps gets the Bulldogs back to where they were, sooner than later.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Bulldogs were the worst team in the nation in tackles allowed for a loss last season.

PLAY ON: at Colorado State (11/5)

HAWAII (Offense – *9/4, Defense – 6/2, 52 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN

After 11 wins in four seasons, the Norm Chow era is over in Hawaii. Just when it appeared improvement was in the making under Chow – the Warriors’ losses in 2013-14 were by 11.4 PPG, as opposed to 31.1 PPG in his first year – UH went postal with 10 defeats coming by 26.4 PPG last season. Enter new head coach Nick Rolovich, a former UH quarterback. Three games in the first four weeks versus Power 5 foes in Australia, Michigan and Arizona will certainly put an experienced OL to the test, one that featured 11 different combinations last year due to injuries. Thus, its no wonder Hawaii was the worst team in the land in time of possession last year. With the offense in good hands with nine starters returning, the defense will rely heavily on DE Kennedy Tulimasealii – the MWC leader in tackles for a loss last year (18.5) - provided he’s on the roster. Tulimasealii was arrested two times in two weeks in April and is facing six criminal charges at press time. He is expected to miss UH’s season-opener on Aug. 27 in Australia. The Warriors depart on Aug. 20, four days ahead of his sentencing hearing. Stay tuned.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Rainbow Warriors will have flown 10,000 miles before playing their first home game this season.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. New Mexico (10/29)

NEVADA (Offense – *9/5, Defense – 5/1, 39 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: CRAM SESSION

After coping with an offense in decline during each of his three years with the program, Nevada head coach Brian Polian decided a shakeup was in order. New OC Tim Cramsey arrives in Reno after a wildly successful run at Montana State, where he engineered a juggernaut offense that scored 41.9 points per game and ranked third in FCS, averaging nearly 520 yards of total offense. Cramsey, who played and coached under Chip Kelly at New Hampshire, will welcome Penn State transfer RB Akeel Lynch, who teams with James Butler (1,346 yards on 6.4 YPR) to form a powerful tandem. With the top 4 wide receivers returning for QB Skyler Stewart, the Wolf Pack attack should be on the improve.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Wolf Pack face only three opponents that owned a winning record last season.

PLAY ON: at UNLV (11/26)

SAN DIEGO STATE (Offense – 7/3, Defense – 7/1, 42 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: BLUE SKIES IN SAN DIEGO

The Aztecs captured the MWC championship when they outscored and outyarded conference foes, +22.4 and +176 YPG, respectively last season. In the process, the defense allowed the 2nd fewest plays per game (61.7), and led the nation in turnover margin (+1.57) last year. The formula for success is simple, according to assistant and former UNLV coach Bobby Hauck. “You’ve got to come and go to work here to play on this team. You have to have a bit of a blue-collar mentality.” With 6 first-team All-Mountain West selections back from the only group in the nation that won every regular season conference game by double-digits in 2015, including RB Donnel Pumphrey – the reigning MWC Offensive Player of the Year - sights are set on a New Year’s Six bowl berth this season.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Under Long, the Aztecs are 9-11 SU and 5-10 ATS in their first 4 games of the season, and 17-3 SU and 13-5-2 ATS in their final 4 games.

PLAY AGAINST: at Northern Illinois (9/17)

SAN JOSE STATE (Offense – *8/4, Defense – 7/3, 37 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: CONCRETE BLOCKS

The building blocks continue to grow under head coach Ron Caragher as another solid recruiting class yielded 11 more 3-star recruits. That comes on the heels of a Top 60 class in 2015 that landed a whopping 22 3-star recruits, 11 of which are DBs. Back this year is starting QB Kenny Potter, along with his top two WRs, leading RB and four OL who have made 74 starts. In addition, star TE Billy Freeman, a four-year starter who led the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns in 2015, makes everyone’s job on offense a lot easier. Meanwhile, new DC Ron English, former Eastern Michigan mentor, replaces Al Borges. English is in charge of patching a defense that has allowed more than 5 yards per rush each of the last three seasons. If he does, another bowl game could be in the offing.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Spartans are 8-1 ATS versus opponents off a SU underdog win, including 5-0 SUATS the last 5.

PLAY ON: vs. Nevada (10/15)

UNLV (Offense – 6/3, Defense – 7/2, 48 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: WHAT HAPPENS HERE STAYS HERE

After a tumultuous 29-81 run from 2005-2014, much welcomed second-year coach Tony Sanchez has UNLV trending in the right direction. The Rebels, who showed on-field progress while improving their stats on both sides of the ball, inked former Nebraska quarterback Johnny Stanton, who tossed for 3,471 yards and 27 TDs as a JUCO last season. With former Nebraska assistant coach Barney Cotton now UNLV’s OC, Stanton should fit like a glove. And so should a bevy of returning talent. Don’t tell anyone but 5 OL with starting experience, the top 3 RBs, 3 of the top four WRs, 4 of the top five DL, 3 of the top four LBs, and 5 of the top seven DBs are back.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Rebels have enjoyed just one winning season the last 15 years.

PLAY AGAINST: as a favorite at Hawaii (10/15)

2016 Pac-12 Preview
By Marc Lawrence
Playbook.com

Quarterback Checklist

Like most football conferences, the Pac-12 is a quarterback driven league. And 2016 will be no different, with UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Washington State’s Luke Falk leading the charge.

In their first years as starters at the FBS level, Rosen tossed for 3,669 yards and 23 TDs as a true freshman, while Falk annihilated opposing defenses when he threw for 4,561 yards as 38 TDs, completing over 69% of his passes.

And speaking of first year performers, Washington’s Jake Browning started 12 games as a freshman last season when he aired it out for 2,955 yards and 16 TDs.

Returning quarterbacks looking to replicate stirring numbers they put up in 2014 include Arizona’s Anu Soloman (3,793 yards and 28 TDs in ’14) and Colorado’s Sefo Liufau (3,200 yards and 28 TD’s in ’14).

Keep a vigilant eye on newcomers Davis Webb of California, a graduate transfer from Texas Tech where he tossed for 5,557 yards and 46 strikes, and Dakota Prukop of Oregon, an FCS transfer who accounted for nearly 4,000 yards and 39 overall scores at Montana State.

By the time the final dust settles backers of these teams will have air miles aplenty.

Draft Dodgers

Thirty-two Pac-12 players were selected in this year’s NFL draft, bring the total to 133 alums being selected in the draft over the past four years – 4th best of all Power 5 conferences.

However, the he 32 Pac-12 selections pales in comparison with the SEC as the king of all conferences had 51 players selected this year and now stands at 217 total players taken since 2013.

The ACC comes in at No.2 overall since 2013 with 176, followed by the Big Ten at 134 and the Big 12 bring up the rear with 96.

Note: Numbers following team name represent the amount of returning starters on offense and defense, along with the number of returning linemen, with an asterisk (*) designating a returning quarterback.

2016 PAC-12 NORTH PREVIEW

CALIFORNIA (Offense – 5/4, Defense – 5/3, 65 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: NEW-FANGLED BEARS

An 8-win season, led by new Los Angeles Rams QB Jared Goff, brought Sonny Dykes his first winning season in Berkeley last year. While great on paper, Cal actually underachieved as they were expected to challenge for the Pac-12 North championship. Instead they finished 4th at 4-5. With Goff and OC Tony Franklin gone, Jake Spavital takes over the keys to the offense. Spavital produced stellar quarterback recruits at Texas A&M as the Aggies’ OC. A mind-boggling 18 receivers were on the roster for the spring game, with Melquise Stovall leading the way with 128 yards and two touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, Cal improved 58 YPG defensively last season, but were ranked No. 109 overall. The Bears had better not go into early hibernation as they close out the campaign against six straight bowl teams.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Under Dykes, the Bears are 0-12 SU and 2-10 ATS versus Oregon, Stanford, UCLA and USC, losing by an average of nearly 21 PPG.

PASS

OREGON (Offense – 6/2, Defense – 4/1, 49 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: NOT SO DUCKY

It’s hard to fathom but last year’s 9-4 season tied for the program’s poorest showing since 2007. Making matters worse? Try a collapse of monumental proportions in January’s Alamo Bowl. The 47-41 loss in triple overtime came after blowing a 31-0 halftime lead to TCU, and leaves them scratching their noggins heading into the 2016 campaign. For the 2nd year in a row, the Ducks will start a new quarterback – another FCS transfer – in Montana State import Dakota Prukop, who flourished operating the same Chip Kelly system that Oregon runs. Meanwhile, new DC Brady Hoke will look to plug a defense that allowed 37.5 PPG in 2015. On the slippery slope they now ride, the Quack Attack looks to be on thin ice.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Ducks owned the 4th worst overall defense (485.3 YPG) of all Power 5 teams last season.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. Stanford (11/12)

OREGON STATE (Offense – *8/3, Defense – 6/1, 49 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: GNAWED OFF

When Gary Andersen shocked the world and opted to leave Wisconsin, little did he realize the cupboard in Corvallis had been cleared out. After a 2-1 opening, the Beavers were chewed up and spit out like a tin of Skoal Bandits as they dropped 9 straight games to conclude the season. Through it all, the Beavers were beaten to a pulp: outscored and outyarded by conference foes by 24.6 PPG and 208 YPG, worst in the Pac-12 last season. Making matters even grimmer, two QBs and the team’s top LB have transferred out. Thus, Oregon State will lean heavily on former Utah State QB Darell Garretson, who was recruited by Andersen when he was the head coach of the Aggies.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Beavers will face 10 opponents that played in bowl games last season, including each of their final 8 games.

PLAY ON: at Colorado (10/1)

STANFORD (Offense – 6/2, Defense – 6/1, 71 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: SENIOR MOMENT

Coming off their third Pac-12 title in 4 years – where they bested conference foes by 16.8 PPG and 69 YPG – the Cardinal is indeed the loop’s current kingpin. The return of Heisman Trophy runner-up RB Christian McCaffrey will help to maintain the status quo. But he’ll need to acquaint himself with a new cast of playmates as a bevy of seniors have departed, including 4-year starting QB Kevin Hogan and a trio of offensive linemen. The good news for McCaffrey is FB Daniel Marx is a short yardage specialist in the Cardinal’s “ogre” package. “This is a guy who will be playing on Sundays,” insists HC David Shaw. And then there’s the defense, one that has racked up a whopping 124 sacks the past 3 seasons. The problem is a majority of those came from players now playing on Sundays. With their first 6 games coming against bowlers, Shaw will have to earn his stripes in 2016.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Cardinal seniors made a total of 188 starts last season, tied for the most in the nation with Akron.

PLAY AGAINST: at UCLA (9/24)

WASHINGTON (Offense – *9/4, Defense – 7/3, 51 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: YOUNG AS HELL AND BACK FOR MORE

The Huskies went with a youth movement on offense last season and as a result, head coach Chris Petersen should enjoy plenty of dividends in 2016. Freshman QB Jake Browning started 12 of 13 games last year, finishing with 2,955 yards and 16 TDs. Freshman RB Myles Gaskin rushed for 1,302 yards while finding the end zone 14 times – despite starting only six games. In addition, 4 starting O-linemen return. On the other side of the ball, the secondary had more interceptions than TD passes allowed in 2015. It doesn’t hurt that Petersen has averaged 10.7 wins per season as a head coach, 3rd highest of all active coaches. With 5 of the Huskies’ first 7 games at home this season, the Iditarod is on as U-Dub is poised for a breakout season in 2016.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Huskies’ underclassmen made a total of 156 starts last season, the most of any team in the nation.

PLAY ON: at Utah (10/29)

WASHINGTON STATE (Offense – *8/3, Defense – 6/1, 47 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: AIRBORNE AGAIN

After garnering 10 bowl bids in 10 seasons at Texas Tech, Mike Leach brought his air-raid attack to Pullman where after 3 wobbly years the Cougars finally clawed their way to an 8-win bowl season last year. As an assistant under Hal Mumme, the tandem set 196 school records in 7 years. He also directed an Oklahoma offense that went from 101st in the nation to 11th in just one year under Bob Stoops. Yes, the man can coach. And this year’s Cougars squad is hands-down his best at WSU. The top passing team in the land last year returns QB Luke Falk (38 TDs and 8 INTs) and just about the entire wide receiving corps, including Gabe Marks who had 104 receptions for 1,192 yards and 15 TD’s. Yikes.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Cougars were the No. 3 ranked team in the nation in red-zone offense (.925) last season.

PLAY ON: at Stanford (10/8 ) - *KEY

2016 PAC-12 SOUTH PREVIEW

ARIZONA (Offense – *7/3, Defense – 7/2, 47 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: ANU YEAR

After winning 10 games in 2014 for the first time since 1998, the injury bug bit the Wildcats hard in 2015. Because of a plethora of injuries, 22 different players started on defense last year. However, in spite of playing musical chairs, the Wildcats managed to beat a Top 10 team for the 4th year in a row under HC Rich Rodriguez. And in the process they also managed a 4th consecutive winning season for the first time since 1992-95. Promising QB Anu Solomon, who was whispered in Heisman talk during his freshman year in 2014 before an injury-plagued campaign flared up last season, joins explosive RB Nick Wilson – one of 4 running backs what went down in 2015 – to form a lethal 1-2 punch. If LB DeAndre’ Miller is healed up, the defense can take a major forward step.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Wildcats are 2-17 ATS as favorites during the regular season from Game Ten out.

PLAY ON: at Washington State (11/5)

ARIZONA STATE (Offense – 4/1, Defense – 6/3, 63 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: HURRY UP ALREADY

After 2014’s team featured 25 freshmen and sophomores on the final two-deep roster, with 23 players having made their first Division-1 career starts (2nd most in the nation), a lot was expected – but not delivered – from the Sun Devils last season. A bitter 0-3 record in one-possession games contributed greatly. But as we’ve come to learn, experienced pimply-faces make strong cases for turning losers into winners. New OC Chip Lindsey inherits one of the best running back tandems in the Pac-12 with Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage, but must replace star QB Mike Berkovici. Lots of potential here provided the top priority becomes mending a defense that has slipped dramatically each of the last 3 years.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Sun Devils allowed 4,392 passing yards, the worst of all FBS teams last season.

PLAY ON: vs. California (9/24)

COLORADO (Offense – *9/4, Defense – 9/3, 62 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: BUFFALO BASHING

Poor Mike MacIntyre. As if going 2-25 in Pac-12 play during his first three seasons with the Buffaloes isn’t bad enough, his herd must roam to Michigan and Oregon in the last two weeks of September to open the 2016 season. In addition, they will also take on no less than 10 bowl teams from last season, including 7 in a row to end the campaign, making the task challenging as well. All of which means MacIntyre – like his team’s namesake – could be extinct by season’s end. To his credit, though, Colorado’s defense has improved each and every year under MacIntyre despite owning the weakest recruiting classes in the conference the last two years.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Buffaloes are 1-19 of late in Pac-12 play, including a winless conference record two years ago for the first time since 1898.

PLAY ON: vs. UCLA (11/3)

UCLA (Offense – *5/2, Defense – 9/2, 44 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: PUSHING THE RE-START BUTTON

After winning 9 games three straight years for the first time in school history, head coach Jim Mora’s troops ran out of gas in 2015, losing 3 of their final four games to finish the season with 8 wins. Nonetheless, 8 players were taken in this year’s NFL Draft, the third most behind Ohio State (12) and Clemson (9). FR RB Soso Jamabo, the No. 1 running back in last season’s recruiting class, played second fiddle and backed up Paul Perkins (NYG) last year. Jamabo excelled in his supporting role to Perkins, averaging 6.1 yards per carry on 66 attempts. He forms a super sophomore duo with young phenom quarterback Josh “Chosen” Rosen... and that’s a good start. Meanwhile, FR LB Mique Juarez has the potential to make everyone quickly forget about Myles Jack.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Bruins have not won a Pac-12 championship since 1998.

PLAY ON: at Washington State (10/15) - *KEY as a dog

USC (Offense – *7/5, Defense – 7/2, 49 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: OMG

Talk about murderous schedules! Not only do the Trojans open with defending national champion Alabama and end with rival Notre Dame, they will take on a total of 11 opponents that played in a bowl game last season. And both of their most challenging Pac-12 North division battles will be on the road at Stanford and Washington. A 2-man battle to replace QB Cody Kessler remains between strong-armed Max Browne and 6’ 4 play-making Sam Darnold. The good news is USC's entire starting offensive line (2 seniors and 3 juniors) returns with a wealth of experience behind it. SO RB Dominic “The Flash” Davis runs a 4.3 in the 40 and is said to be a defensive lineman’s last glimpse. Defensively, a young and inexperienced front 7, decimated by injuries this spring, likely holds the key to their success in 2016.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Trojans have played for five different head coaches over the last 37 games.

PLAY ON: vs. Notre Dame (11/26) - *KEY as a dog

UTAH (Offense - 6/4, Defense – 8/4, 60 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: HOLLOWED OUT

The loss of star RB Devontae Booker and QB Travis Wilson could equal a descent into a bottomless cavern for the Utes. The last time Utah opened a season without Travis Wilson behind center was 2013. Wilson, who played in 46 games (starting 39 times), finished his career with 8,627 total yards and 75 total TDs (54 passing and 21 rushing) for the Utes. JUCO QB Troy Williams looks to replace Wilson. Williams, formerly with the Washington Huskies, threw for 2,750 yards and 31 TDs in only one season at junior college level. In addition, the offensive line returns well stocked with plenty of experience. Kyle Whittingham returns as the longest tenured coach in the Pac-12. With a 32-16 SU mark at Utah in one-possession games, we understand why.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Whittingham owns the best bowl winning percentage (.900) of any coach in NCAA history.

PLAY AGAINST: at California (10/1)

2016 SEC Preview
By Marc Lawrence
Playbook.com

Rolling With The Tide

When Alabama captured last year’s College Football Playoffs it marked the eighth time in the last 10 years that an SEC school claimed the National Championship.

Speaking of the Tide, for the 2nd time in the last 5 years, Alabama had 5 players selected in the Top 50 of this year’s NFL draft. In fact, looking back at the over the last 5 years the top 10 picks in the NFL draft has seen the following conference breakdown: SEC 20, Big 12 10, Pac-12 8, ACC 7, MAC 2, AAC/Big Ten/Independent 1 each.

Take Your Choice

In Las Vegas, Alabama and LSU lead the 2016 SEC win totals brigade at 10 apiece, followed by Tennessee at 9.5. Next in line are Georgia and Ole Miss at 8.5 wins, followed by Arkansas and Florida at 7.5. Auburn, Mississippi State and Texas A&M are next in line with 6.5 wins, with Texas A&M right on their heels with 6.

If the oddsmakers are correct – and they usually are - that would mean 10 teams from the nation’s most powerful league would earn bowl berths.

On the outside looking in are Missouri with 5.5, with Kentucky, South Carolina and Vanderbilt rounding things out with 5 victories.

Coordinate This

According to TigerBait.com, for the second year in a row there have been football coordinator shifts at a majority of the Southeastern Conference schools.

Four teams made no changes – Arkansas, Florida, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. All four of those teams increased their victory total in 2015.

Two head coaches fired offensive coordinators – Mark Stoops dismissed Shannon Dawson at Kentucky and Kevin Sumlin replaced Jake Spavital at Texas A&M. One head coach fired a defensive coordinator – Butch Jones dismissed John Jancek at Tennessee.

Alabama and Auburn will have new defensive coordinators after Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp became the head coaches at Georgia and South Carolina, respectively. LSU and Mississippi State had their defensive coordinators make lateral moves – Kevin Steele to Auburn and Manny Diaz to Miami. Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze is the only head coach who will have the same coordinators for a third straight season.

Note: Numbers following team name represent the amount of returning starters on offense and defense, along with the number of returning linemen, with an asterisk (*) designating a returning quarterback.

2016 SEC EAST PREVIEW

FLORIDA (Offense – *6/3, Defense – 6/2, 48 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: SLIP SLIDING

Somehow, despite an offense that slipped 7 points and 34 yards per game last season, the Gators slid into a 10-win campaign to begin the Jim McElwain era. Year Two finds two new quarterbacks battling for starting honors with redshirt sophomore Luke Del Rio holding a slight edge over Purdue transfer Austin Appleby. The real strength of the team, though is its defense, led by Caleb Brantley and a 10-deep defensive line loaded with 5 and 4-star talent. In addition, Eddy Pineiro, the No. 1 JUCO kicker in the land, brings a long-range leg to the program. After being deeply gutted last year, underclassmen made a total of 134 starts in 2015, the 5th most in the land.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Gators tied with lowly Kansas for the 3rd worst red zone offense last season.

PLAY AGAINST: at Tennessee (9/24)

GEORGIA (Offense – *8/3, Defense – 6/1, 43 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: SMART MOVE

A new era begins in Athens where new HC Kirby Smart now walks in legendary Mark Richt’s shoes after the Bulldogs let a malcontent Richt go – despite compiling a 146-51 mark in 15 years between the hedges. QB Greyson Lambert started 12 of 13 games last season while setting the NCAA record for completion percentage in a game when he connected on 24-of-25 passes against South Carolina. RBs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel complete a powerful punch in the backfield. The Dawgs led the SEC in pass defense last season and all 4 starters return. Speaking of which, Smart started at safety for Georgia from 1995-98 and was Alabama’s DC the past 9 seasons. He looks to be a keen hire, indeed.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Thirty-one of the Bulldogs’ 51 losses under Mark Richt were by 7 points or less.

PASS

KENTUCKY (Offense - 9/4, Defense – 6/2, 43 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: ON THE CLOCK

The critical 4th year of the Mark Stoops era in Lexington kicks off with plenty of promise. Behind a defense that’s made solid gains each of the past 2 seasons, the Wildcats turn to a favorable schedule which features 7 home games, with no back-to-back road games. JR RB Boom Williams, who set a single-season school record by averaging 7.1 yards per carry last year, leads a deep rushing corps with 1,341 yards and 11 TDs on 195 carries. Still, it’s been 6 straight losing seasons as the wear and tear of facing the nation’s 5th most difficult schedule in 2015 buried the Cats when they went 0-7 to close out the campaign. The clock is ticking for Stoops’ troops.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: After completing a $120M “reimagining” of Commonwealth Stadium last year, Kentucky debuts a new $45M practice complex this season.

PLAY ON: vs. Vanderbilt (10/8 )

MISSOURI (Offense – *5/1, Defense – 8/4, 45 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: TIGER BLOOD

To say it was a tough year for the Tigers last season is an understatement of major proportions. Gary Pinkel, the winningest coach in program history, announced his retirement following a diagnosis with lymphoma. One-day prior, the team successfully protested an on-campus racial incident that led to the university president’s resignation. And former starting QB Maty Mauk was tossed from the team for violating team policies. In the end, Mizzou went from 11 wins to 5, putting a merciful end to a calamitous season. It’s 2016 and former DC Barry Odom takes over as head coach hoping new OC Josh Heupel (BYU) can instill a ray of life into a program desperately in need of a transfusion.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Tigers are 23-1 SU and 17-5 ATS the last 3 years in games where they outgain their opponent.

PASS

SOUTH CAROLINA (Offense – *4/2, Defense – 6/2, 44 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: LONG AND ROCKY ROAD

We agree that new head coach Will Muschamp didn’t walk into a great situation. The Gamecocks’ 1st-year coach acknowledged his team has a shocking lack of talent. “We need to have more playmakers. We don’t have too much depth. On defense, the secondary is a concern just for coverage ability down the field.” It’s not like a lot of injuries caused USC’s 3-9 slide last year and all those players are healthy now. The Gamecocks’ systematic failure in recruiting since the middle of a 33-6 3-year run has left them well behind what they’re about to face this season. “It means we’ve got some good walk-ons here,” said Muschamp. As in “Good enough to play over guys we put on scholarship." Gulp.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Gamecocks were outscored by 10.2 PPG and outyarded by 109 YPG versus conference foes, worst in the SEC last season.

PASS

TENNESSEE (Offense – *9/4, Defense – 8/3, 57 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: ORANGE SWARM

Head coach Butch Jones has improved the Vols’ win total by 2 games each of the last two years. That’s an improvement of leaps and bounds for a team that was stuck on 5 wins for three years running after he took the reins in 2013. The surge started in 2014 after Tennessee played 23 true freshmen – the most in the nation – the year prior, and then followed it up with 240 total returning starts in 2015. UT is loaded with returning starters this year, including SR QB Joshua Dobbs (14-5 over his last 19 starts) and a group of underclassmen that made 143 starts last season (2nd most in the nation). Once again, beware of the Vols.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Vols’ combined margin of defeat of 17 points was the fewest of any FBS program that finished with 3 or more losses last season.

PASS

VANDERBILT (Offense – *8/3, Defense – 7/2, 58 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: A WHOLE NEW SPIN ON THE MASON JAR

After 26 players made their first FBS start for Derek Mason’s fledgling team in 2014, a total of 123 overall starts were made by underclassmen last season. Vanderbilt’s youth movement paid off in 2015, as it was one of the nation's most improved defenses under Mason’s direction. He’ll continue to handle the defensive coordinator chores for the second straight year in 2016, welcoming back 5 of his top 6 tacklers. Expect 6 new coaches on the staff this year to stress ball protection and takeaways. In their recent 3-year bowl run, the 'Dores were a combined +8 in turnover margin. They own a jarring -24 in turnover margin the last 2 years under Mason.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Commodores are 0-15 SU and 2-13 ATS in Game Six of the season the last 15 years.

PLAY ON: at Western Kentucky (9/24)

2016 SEC WEST PREVIEW

ALABAMA (Offense – 6/3, Defense – 5/1, 48 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: THREE’S COMPANY

As has become the rule, the Tide was hit hard with graduation losses and NFL defections once again this year. But before shedding a tear, it’s a well-known fact that Alabama has significantly out-recruited teams each of the last 5 years – meaning all they do is re-load. It’s easy to do when your coach is 110-18, with 4 conference and 4 national championships, at the school. And your team has made an NCAA record 63 bowl appearances. Beware: Alabama freshmen started a combined 57 games last season, meaning the losses they incurred will be filled in like magic putty, making the Tide’s primary goal this season to win a 3rd straight SEC title for the first time since 1977-79.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Tide was the first team to win back-to-back SEC titles last year since 1997-98 Tennessee.

PLAY ON: at Mississippi (9/17)

ARKANSAS (Offense – 5/2, Defense – 9/3, 52 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: HARD-TRYING HOGS

A 6-2 finish squashed a dismal 2-4 start last season, sending the Hogs to a 3rd straight bowl game under HC Bret Beilema. Behind a stripped-down offense, the Razorbacks will rely on a defense that could be tremendous up front. If new defensive assistant Paul Rhoads (a former defensive coordinator and head coach at Iowa State the past 8 seasons) can make a difference, it could make the Razorbacks a force on that side of the ball. But replacing all-SEC QB Brandon Allen (3,340 yards, 30 TDs and 8 INTs) and all SEC RB Alex Collins (1,577 yards, 20 TDs) on offense will be a daunting task. Tackling 10 foes with winning records last year makes it even more problematical.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Razorbacks tied with South Carolina for the fewest fumbles lost (3) last season.

PLAY ON: vs. Texas A&M (9/24)

AUBURN (Offense – *6/3, Defense – 6/3, 53 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: DON’T FUSS WITH GUS

Arguably the most disappointing team in college football last season, the Tigers (picked to win the conference title and make the College Football Playoff by many respected scribes) look to reverse their misfortune with a helping hand from the schedule maker. Opening the season with 5 consecutive home games while having no back-to-back road games, Auburn will take to the highway a mere 4 times this campaign. Granted, 7 of its first 8 games come against bowl teams, but 4 of them are SEC revengers. New DC Kevin Steele comes over from LSU looking to patch a defense that has surrendered 408 YPG under Malzahn’s tenure. Expect 2016 to be the year of the Tiger in the SEC.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Tigers are 29-0 SU at home in non-conference games since 2007.

PLAY ON: as a dog at Georgia (11/12)

LSU (Offense – *9/3, Defense – 9/4, 49 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: EYE OF THE TIGER

He’s back… although he never left. And for what seems like the umpteenth time, head coach Les Miles’ threat to leave LSU last year once again never took place. Thus, the Mad Hatter welcomes back a powerful class loaded with experience, and RB Leonard Fournette, who is a frontrunner in the Heisman Trophy race. Unlike Miles’ threats that never seem to materialize, the Tigers finally reversed a bad trend last year that had seen them regress each of the previous three years in the SEC West standings. Now, behind a team that won its first 7 contests last year, and with no back-to-back road games in sight this season, the Bengals have the distinct look of a tiger possessed.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Tigers’ seniors started a combined 34 games last season, the fewest in the nation.

PLAY ON: vs. Mississippi (10/22)

MISSISSIPPI (Offense – *3/0, Defense – 5/2, 61 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: FREEZER BURN

QB Chad Kelly, nephew of Buffalo Bills’ great Jim Kelly, and the SEC Newcomer of the Year and All-SEC second team selection last year, returns. Kelly broke or tied 14 single-season school records while leading the SEC in passing, total offense and TD passes. Meanwhile, head coach Hugh Freeze is the first Ole Miss coach to lead his teams to bowl appearances in each of his first 4 seasons at the helm. He’s also led the Rebels to back-to-back 9-win seasons for the first time since 1962. Unfortunately, the team was not only heavily burned by graduation losses and NFL player defections – the biggest being DT Robert Nkemdiche – but they must also take on 10 bowl teams.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Freeze is 28-4 SU and 21-6 ATS in games versus .500 or less opponents, including 11-0 ATS vs. non-conference foes.

PASS

MISSISSIPPI STATE (Offense – 6/3, Defense – 7/2, 43 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: NICE WHILE IT LASTED

After losing a quarterback that put up some of the most impressive numbers in SEC history, Mississippi State is in a pinch – in more ways than one. QB Dak Prescott has started for the Bulldogs each of the last 3 seasons, setting 28 school records, including total offensive yards, touchdowns, passing yards, passing touchdowns, passing efficiency, and on and on. Head coach Dan Mullen must also replace his rushing leader from last season – that also being Prescott. Worse, DC Manny Diaz left after one year to join Mark Richt at Miami. In addition, their leading tackler and best interior linemen have moved onto the NFL. Road games at Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss ensure a sizable step back in 2016.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Bulldogs were the worst team in the nation in fewest fumbles recovered (1) last season – 14 fewer than the top team.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. Auburn (10/8 )

TEXAS A&M (Offense – 6/2, Defense – 6/2, 50 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: OFFENSIVE MUSICAL MAKEOVER

Oklahoma graduate transfer Trevor Knight assumes the quarterback reins in 2016. Knight, who was beaten out by Baker Mayfield last year, was a 2-year starter and led the Sooners to a Sugar Bowl victory against Alabama as a redshirt freshman in 2013. The Aggies lost previous blue chip starting signal callers Kyle Allen (who transferred to Houston) and Kyler Murray (Oklahoma) earlier this offseason. Kevin Sumlin’s 2nd-highest-paid coaching staff has added new OC Noel Mazzone, who worked wonders with Brett Hundley and Josh Rosen at UCLA. Meanwhile, prized former LSU DC John Chavis helped tighten things up defensively in 2015 as the Aggies improved 71 YPG – despite taking on the 10th toughest schedule in the land.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The overall stats winner has won SU in each of the last 16 Aggies’ games.

PLAY ON: at Alabama (10/22)

2016 Sun Belt Preview
By Marc Lawrence
Playbook.com

We’re Getting There

The Sun Belt Conference will hold its first ever football championship game beginning in 2018.

“This championship will be a first-class experience – and we look forward to it being a launching-pad for a team to reach the College Football Playoff’s ‘New Year’s Six’ bowl games,” said Commissioner Karl Benson.

Details regarding how the two participants will be selected will be available at a later date.

Four No More

After four consecutive seasons with no less than nine victories - including four straight New Orleans Bowl wins in four years under head coach Mark Hudspeth – Louisiana Lafayette’s Ragin’ Cajuns saw the tables turn on them in 2015 when they won just four games.

And speaking of four-of-a-kind, Arkansas State saw its four straight GoDaddy Bowl games streak come to a halt. Obviously bummed to the max, the Red Wolves closed out the campaign with a 19-point loss to Louisiana Tech in the New Orleans bowl.

More Than Holding Our Own

After a rocky 1-5 start in bowl games from 2001-05, the Sun Belt has gone toe-to-toe with other bowl teams since, sporting a respectable 14-12 SU and 13-12-1 ATS winning record in the post season since 2006.

The fun in the sun guys have been especially profitable for backers when taking more than 3 points in bowl games, going 6-1 ATS. More impressive, they also managed to win six of the seven games in SU fashion, including Georgia Southern’s impressive 58-27 romp over Bowling Green as 5-point dogs in last year’s Go Daddy Bowl.

Note: Numbers following team name represent the amount of returning starters on offense and defense, along with the number of returning linemen, with an asterisk (*) designating a returning quarterback.

APPALACHIAN STATE (Offense -*6/3, Defense - 9/2 47 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: UPLOAD THE APP

Behind returning QB Taylor Lamb with 2,387 passing and 524 rushing yards for 34 combined touchdowns, and RB Marcus Cox with 1,481 rushing and 160 passing yards for 11 combined touchdowns last year), the boys from Boone outyarded conference foes by 144 YPG, best in the Sun Belt, last season. And that in only ASU’s 2nd year with FBS credentials. Looking back, the Mountaineers have suffered only ONE losing season since 1993 (in part to an injury-riddled 2013 campaign). And just like last year when they won 10 games while tackling a schedule dotted with only 4 winning opponents, this year’s schedule is a mirror-comparison to last – only with no back-to-back away games. Here we go again.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Mountaineers are 5-2 SUATS versus winning foes since becoming an FBS squad.

PASS

ARKANSAS STATE (Offense - 6/4, Defense - 7/2, 49 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: HALLELUJAH

Like a good evening prayer before bedtime, Blake Anderson’s return to Jonesboro for a third successive season is comforting for Red Wolves fans. It’s safe to say that after taking the field with 5 different head coaches in as many years, ASU has finally found tranquility. They also found life in the Sun Belt Conference to their liking last season, going 8-0 en route to an SBC title. In the process the Wolves scored 8 defensive TDs (tops in the nation), intercepted 26 passes (most in the nation), and finished tied for the 2nd most turnovers gained (34). However, 4 road games in the final 5 contests of the campaign will certainly put our STAT YOU WILL LIKE below to the test.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Red Wolves are 31-8 SU and 27-12 ATS from Game Six out the last five years.

PLAY AGAINST: at UL-Lafayette (11/26)

GEORGIA SOUTHERN (Offense -*6/3, Defense - 6/4, 43 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: OFF THE FRITZ

How impressive was Ga Southern’s season last year? Consider: All 3 of the Eagles’ FBS non-conference opponents in 2015 – West Virginia, Western Michigan and Georgia – played in, and won, their respective bowl games. The 4th non-conference team, The Citadel, advanced to the 2nd round of the FCS Playoffs. New head coach Tyson Summers, a former defensive coordinator at Colorado State and UCF, brings in a staff that has been a part of 4 NCAA national championships, 19 NCAA conference championships, and 51 NCAA postseason victories. Summers also welcomes the top recruiting class in SBC this year to a team that has recorded 109 rushing TDs and 9,292 rushing yards – the most in the FBS over the past 2 seasons. Whew!

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Eagles have gone 10-1 SU at home the last two years, with an average win margin of 30.8 PPG.

PLAY ON: at Georgia Tech (10/15)

GEORGIA STATE (Offense -*7/2, Defense - 9/3, 43 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: AS THE WORM TURNS

Until last season, Georgia State was -29 in net turnovers in 2 seasons under head coach Trent Miles. The Panthers whittled that number down to a respectable -3 last season and, in the process, went from a 1-23 FBS team under Miles to a bowl squad in 2015 – a dramatic turn of events. They closed like a freight train in the process, winning and covering in each of their final 4 games of the season by a whopping 95.5 points ATS, including a stunning 34-7 win over SBC powerhouse Georgia Southern as 20-point dogs! Sixteen returning starters, including Sun Belt Freshman of the Year WR Penny Hart (71 receptions and 1,099 yards last season) are anxious to resume where they ended but the question is: have the linemakers been alerted? Stay tuned.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Panthers ranked No. 127 (worst) in 4th down conversion percentage (.111) last season.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. Georgia Southern (11/19)

IDAHO (Offense -*7/3, Defense - 6/2, 41 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: FCS VISION

It was understandable learning of Idaho’s decision to head back to the FCS in 2018. The Vandals’ recruiting class ranks No. 128 (last) among FBS teams the last five years. And the results of such are indicated on the playing field. In twenty seasons at the FBS level, Idaho is 67-162 – a .293 winning percentage. Since 2000, the Vandals have had just one winning season. During 18 years playing at the FCS level, Idaho went 134-79 for a .629 winning percentage. The Vandals had 15 winning seasons and went to the postseason 11 times. Heck, you’d make the move, too, if given a choice. Note, though: To Paul Petrino’s credit, they’ve managed to improve the offense each and every year.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Vandals have lost 30 of their last 32 away games, including 24 losses in a row, until a win at Troy last season.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. Troy (10/1)

NEW MEXICO STATE (Offense -*7/3, Defense - 7/3, 38 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: WHERE TO TURN

Riding a 17-game losing skid, the Aggies broke their cherry in a dramatic 55-48 overtime victory against Idaho last season. In the process, they erased a 23-point deficit while also triggering the first 3-game win streak for NMSU since 2004. Unfortunately, the program suffered its biggest loss during the offseason with the Sun Belt opting to end its partnership with the school in 2017. The Aggies must decide whether to operate as an independent team or follow Idaho’s lead and move down to the FCS level. Meanwhile, star RB Larry Rose III returns after rumbling for 1,651 yards and 14 TDs last season, his second consecutive 1,000-yard season. Expect the Aggies to send a signal to the Sun Belt this season.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Aggies have allowed 20 of 36 foes season-high yardage under Doug Martin.

PLAY ON: at UTEP (9/3)

SOUTH ALABAMA (Offense -6/3, Defense - 6/2, 43 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: NO SLEIGHT OF HAND

After bowling for the first time in school history in 2014, last year’s laundry list of missing returnees looked mighty worrisome: gone were the starting quarterback, 2 leading rushers, 2 leading wide receivers, 3 multiple-year starting O-linemen, 3 top tacklers on the DL, 3 leading tacklers at linebacker, and 3 of 5 leading tacklers in the secondary. Through it all, head coach Joey Jones’ troops ended the season just one win away from being bowl-eligible for a second straight year, with a signature win at San Diego State as 17.5-point underdogs. Jones has built this program from the ground up since its inception in 2007 and his coaching prowess has put his signature on his this program.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: For the second consecutive season, 10 Jaguars earned all-conference honors last year.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. San Diego State (10/1)

TEXAS STATE (Offense -*4/3, Defense - 6/2, 44 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: START YOUR ENGINES

The Dennis Franchione era is officially over. After leading the Bobcats to a 17-19 record in their first three years of existence as an FBS program, he hands the reins over to Everett Withers, who in three years as a head coach guided the last two James Madison teams to NCAA Division I FCS Playoff appearances, and North Carolina to the 2011 Independence Bowl. His coaching background also includes working under Urban Meyer, Mack Brown and Jeff Fisher. Withers had one of the top offenses in the nation in 2015, ranking second in scoring and total offense with 44.3 points and 528.8 yards per game. The spring game resulted in an offensive blitzkrieg with the offense defeating the defense, 71-70.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Head coach Everett Withers’ James Madison Dukes led the FCS in 3rd-down conversions with 54 percent last season.

PLAY ON: at Georgia State (10/8 )

TROY (Offense -*8/5, Defense - 8/3, 46 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: SECURE FOUNDATION

Neal Brown, formerly an assistant at Troy and also at Kentucky under Hal Mumme, won at least 8 games each year he was on the sidelines with the Trojans. And while it appeared 4 wins last year was a major disappointment, rest assured it was not. The Trojans improved 60 YPG on defense while outgaining 5 of their final 7 foes. In addition, the second-half improvement was especially noticeable as Troy averaged 36 PPG as opposed to just less than 20 PPG in the first six ‘getting to know Brown’ stage of the season. With 16 starters back, look for the surge to continue in Year Two of the makeover.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Trojans are 0-6 SU in their last six one-possession games.

PLAY ON: vs. Appalachian State (11/12)

UL-LAFAYETTE (Offense - 7/3, Defense - 6/3, 46 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: MISSION PROBABLE

After a run of 4 consecutive 9-4 seasons, and behind a rash of senior starter losses, the Ragin’ Cajuns ran out of creole last year, suffering their first losing season in the Mark Hudspeth era. With Hudspeth back along with 13 starters, ULL becomes a “mission team” in 2016 – and we’re not about to argue. With 50 of the 95 players on the roster hailing from the state of Louisiana, there is a genuine Cajun flavor to this squad. Interestingly, under Hudspeth, ULL is 28-3 SU in games when leading after the 1Q, 31-2 when leading at the half, and 35-1 when leading after the 3Q. In-game players would serve themselves well saving those numbers.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: Hudspeth is 11-2 ATS as a dog versus winning opponents, and 10-2 SUATS as a dog of 6 or less points.

PLAY AGAINST: as a favorite vs. UL-Monroe (12/3)

UL-MONROE (Offense -*9/4, Defense - 3/0, 36 Lettermen)

TEAM THEME: BACK UP OFF THE MATT

When your team ends the season outscored 20.8 points and outyarded 157 yards per game – the worst in the conference – it generally leads to coaches looking for new jobs, as Todd Berry is doing these days. Hired in his place was highly acclaimed Matt Viator, former 10-year mentor at McNeese State, where he led the Cowboys to a 78-33 record (the only coach in the Southland conference to make such a claim), including 5 appearances in the FCS playoffs. The first matter of attention will be addressing an offense that has been in serious decline each of the past 3 seasons. A new 4-2-5 defense completes the makeover. Seven away games, though, ensures an uphill battle.

STAT YOU WILL LIKE: The Warhawks have been shut out in at least one game in 6 of the last 7 seasons – all versus Power Five conferences.

PLAY AGAINST: at Auburn (10/1)