Houston has seen a dramatic increase in its programs’ production in recent years and is on the verge of being the first non-power five conference team to make the playoff.
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All eyes are Clemson and quarterback DeShaun Watson as the 2016 season gets ready to start. This definitely could be the Tide’s first undefeated regular season since 2010, though.
Dec: 31: The CFP semifinals will be played at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. The CFP has allowed the rest of the field a chance to compete for a title and gives fans what they want at the end of the season: additional meaningful football games. From showdowns like USC-Alabama and Florida State-Ole Miss to the glorified scrimmages between Michigan State-Furman and SE Louisiana-Oklahoma State, it is best to follow our advice: “don’t lose”.
Others receiving votes were Michigan, Tennessee, LSU, Notre Dame, Arkansas, Florida State, Oklahoma State, and Southern California.
Lastly, you go ahead and look at the Big 12 and the Pac 12.
Oklahoma returns All-American quarterback Baker Mayfield, All-Conference RB Samaje Perine and All-Conference WR Mark Andrews.
So far, three conferences out of what are considered the Power Five leagues – ACC, Big Ten and SEC – have sent their champions both seasons of the current system. They’d see it, too, if they’d just bother to look up. There couldn’t be a better way to get the season going than a win over 10th-ranked Notre Dame. I’m not anxious about the QB situation because I saw what Harbaugh has done in the past with mediocre QBs (Kaepernick, Rudock) and they have talent at the skill positions. There is still plenty for the Ole Miss fans to be excited about, starting with Chad Kelly, one of the best quarterbacks in the country, throwing to a bunch of speedy receivers.
I’m on the 2016 Washington bandwagon and for good reason: they return 15 starters including their starting QB. Houston’s high flying offense with head coach Tom Herman quickly rose into the national spotlight past year with their 13-1 record, finishing eighth in the final AP rankings. The preseason conventional wisdom expects the Pac-12 champ to have at least two losses. “Both schools were very gung-ho from the start”. But not this year, no sir. In this case, I think the Boilers will have to start from scratch again. But where a team starts the season, while important, is only part of the battle.
The ACC isn’t good, and that’s probably not going to change for a while. They come in ranked #2 in the country in defense, led by linebacker Vince Biegel and cornerback Sojourn Shelton.
That makes seven solid SEC opponents. Wisconsin’s biggest task will be stopping Fournette, but that will prove to be a task that is easier said than done.
Who’ll play in that game – and in the other semifinal in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. – won’t be known until December 4, when the playoff selection committee unveils the four-team field and the semifinal pairings. I think he is about to find out how wrong that statement is. Most people think it won’t make any difference, but how can you be so sure?
Why they will: opposing coaches state that they are “incredible on defense”. It’s not very bad, but they’re going to need to rely on their defense to win games.
New seasons bring with them new hope and expectations. The victor of this game reached the BCS title game or the playoff each of the past three seasons. They’re in the hunt every year.
Texas hosts the No. 10 Fighting Irish in a Sunday night game.
Alabama-USC: Everything’s bigger in Texas, and there are some big questions for this opener at Cowboys Stadium.
We got a bit of an appetizer Thursday night (hello, Vols!) and there are a few tasty games tonight (I guess Stanford-Kansas State would qualify as the salad in this meal analogy that is quickly falling apart).
The B1G champion, Michigan, sneaks in at #4. Instead, this team will come at you with a potent offense led by Kendall Anderson and DeVonte Dedmon. Just think about that.
Unless you attend Utah State, Texas A&M or New Mexico State, you have little to no clue what an Aggie actually is.
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Georgia Tech did itself a huge disservice last season with a schedule that opened with two patsies – winning by 60 over Alcorn State and 55 over Tulane. If anybody can weather a tough schedule like they have, it’s Stanford.
