Five College Football Teams That Could Surprise You in 2009

Every year there are a couple of teams that are just off the radar screen and manage to have a very surprising season.

Alabama, coming off a seven-win season in 2007, finished the regular season 12-0 and was ranked No. 1 heading into the SEC Championship.

Georgia Tech was predicted by some in the media to win as few as three games. The Yellow Jackets then went on to win nine games, contend for an ACC title, and beat the Georgia Bulldogs after seven straight losses to the Dawgs.

Read on to see which teams that I think could have a 2009 season as surprising as the Alabama and Georgia Tech teams from last year.

Clemson Tigers

Last year the Tigers were one of the country's most disappointing teams, and it resulted in the departure of head coach Tommy Bowden. Most people were not enamored with the hiring of Dabo Swinney, as he had zero head coaching experience.

Swinney managed to hold a season together that finished with four wins in their final five regular season games and a Gator Bowl appearance.

Why they might surprise

C.J. Spiller returns for his senior season. One of the fastest running backs in the country, Spiller will now be the feature back in Swinney's offense. Highly recruited running back Jamie Harper will be an excellent compliment for Spiller.

Clemson's offensive line should also be improved. Well, they couldn't be any worse than last season. Daquan Bowers and Rickey Sapp form one of the most athletic defensive end tandems in the ACC as well.

Looking at the Atlantic, who scares you?

BC has a new coach, Maryland lost their best offensive playmaker in Darrius Heyward-Bey, and Wake Forest lost several players to the NFL draft. NC State is better (but still rebuilding).

Clemson also gets Florida State at home. Clemson has talent and could be a dark horse Atlantic Division contender people aren't talking much about.

Auburn Tigers

Auburn went 5-7 last year, Tommy Tuberville is no longer head coach, and there was a 36-0 loss to rival Alabama.

Oh yeah, they also hired a head coach that has a 5-19 career record.

Why they might surprise

That head coach Auburn hired is Gene Chizik. Chizik had the 5-19 record at Iowa State.

That's like saying David Cutcliffe can't coach because he went 4-8 at Duke last season.

Maybe Chizik didn't do everything right, but Iowa State is one of the most difficult places in the country to win consistently. Chizik won the 2004 Frank Broyles award given to the nation's top assistant...so the guy can coach.

Last year the Tigers lost four games by five points or less. Outside of the Alabama game, Auburn was competitive in every game they played in. If Auburn can get by a West Virginia team that doesn't have Pat White anymore, the Tigers have a great chance to be 4-0 before going on the road to Tennessee.

Auburn will have to improve an offense that was awful last season, finishing 110th in scoring. Auburn can win eight or nine games if they show any consistency on offense.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

I'm honestly not that high on the Irish.

If they had played an actual team in a bowl game rather than a very mediocre Hawaii squad, they are looking at their second straight losing season. They lost four of their last five regular games. Included in those four losses was a loss to Syracuse.

Yes, that's right...Syracuse. Those Orangemen have been one of Division I's worst programs the last few years.

Why they might surprise

It's the schedule.

Notre Dame has gradually watered down their schedule over the last few years. Outside of USC, there really isn't a team that Notre Dame shouldn't be competitive with. If the Irish offensive line can keep quarterback Jimmy Clausen off his back, then the Irish should be able to take advantage of opening the season with seven of their first nine games at home.

Charlie Weis better hope Notre Dame is turning the corner because the natives are getting very restless.

Michigan Wolverines

Rich Rodriguez coached Michigan to its first losing season in over 30 years. A 3-9 record is simply not going to be accepted at Michigan. Throw in a loss to Toledo and a 42-7 whipping at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and Rich Rod was searching for answers all season.

Why they might surprise

Basically they can't be any worse than they were last year. They have to improve.

Paul Johnson made it look easy at Georgia Tech, employing a brand-new offense in one year. That is the exception though, and the Wolverines struggled to learn Rodriguez's version of the spread option offense. It was, after all, guys like Steven Threet running it and not Pat White, who Rodriguez had at West Virginia.

Michigan still has to settle on a starting quarterback, but for an offense that had 30 turnovers last year, it should get better.

Michigan also has a manageable schedule. They open the season with two directional Michigan schools, Indiana, and Notre Dame. They could be 4-0 going to Michigan State.

Early season prediction: The winner of the Notre Dame vs. Michigan game wins eight-plus games.

California Golden Bears

California went 9-4 last year, including an Emerald Bowl win over Miami. Jeff Tedford has made Cal one of the most consistent winners in the Pac-10 in recent years.

Of course, USC is still the class of the Pac-10, and Oregon and Oregon St. are getting a lot of attention, but what about Cal?

Why they might surprise

Most people still have Cal near the bottom end of the top 25 for the 2009 season, but there is a chance the season could be much more.

First, there is a mess going on at USC.

No one is quite is sure how the Reggie Bush saga is going to affect the USC Trojans this season, but there may be an opening for someone to step in and end the Trojans' stranglehold on the Pac-10.

The Bears may have the best pair of running backs on the West Coast in Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen. Best may in fact be the top running back in the country. The Bears get Oregon St. and USC at home, and except for a road game at Oregon, there doesn't look like much that can keep Cal from a 10-plus win season.