10 Bold Predictions for 1st Month of 2015 College Football Season
It’s almost here. We’re just a week away from the much-anticipated opening of the 2015 college football season, where coaches and players hope months of preparation and work will pay off with glory, victories and national acclaim. It’s the best time of the year because everyone is 0-0 and no one has absorbed a bad loss yet.
That’s about to change, of course. College football is wonderful because of its unpredictability. Who would have pegged Florida State or Ohio State as the last two national champions outside of Tallahassee or Columbus? And while the Buckeyes are the clear favorite to repeat as national champions, history tells us a challenger will come seemingly out of nowhere and emerge on the national scene.
We just don’t know who it is yet.
As we move into September, we’re sure to see surprises across college football, whether they take the form of teams thriving or struggling or an unexpected player emerging in a prominent role. Here are 10 bold predictions for the first month of the college football season.
Alabama's Alec Morris Will Run with Crimson Tide's Starting QB Role
1 of 10
Entering this month, Alec Morris looked like the odd man out in Alabama’s five-man quarterback competition. Senior Jake Coker was the favorite to win the job vacated by Blake Sims, and freshmen Blake Barnett and David Cornwell were far more highly regarded.
But as the countdown to the Sept. 5 season opener vs. Wisconsin in AT&T Stadium winds down, a funny thing has happened: Morris has emerged as the surprising leader in the competition, per AL.com’s Matt Zenitz.
The redshirt junior has been the most consistent quarterback, a concept that has eluded Coker, who was the early favorite to win the job in 2014 before being passed by Sims. Nick Saban praised him this week, per Zenitz:
"I think he does a really good job of understanding the offense. He helps the other players play better. And I think that he has probably shown command at the position, which I think is important. We've just got to continue to work on touch, accuracy, efficiency. But I've been really pleased with what Alec has done in this camp.
"
If Morris keeps it up, he’ll start against the Badgers, which is a tough opening test for a Crimson Tide team in transition. Alabama’s September isn’t easy, with Wisconsin followed by Middle Tennessee and a visit from an Ole Miss team that beat the Tide in Oxford last fall. But if he stays consistent, Morris will lock down the job before a tough October that begins with a road test at Georgia.
Auburn's Will Muschamp Will Lose His Cool on the Sideline
2 of 10
Will Muschamp is expected to make a big impact on Auburn’s defensive fortunes this fall, and there’s certainly room for improvement. Porous defense was a huge factor in the Tigers’ slide from national runner-up to 8-5 last fall, as Auburn allowed 26.7 points per game and yielded at least 31 points to each of its final seven FBS foes. That cost Ellis Johnson his job and opened the door for Muschamp as the new defensive coordinator.
Muschamp has a proven track record as a defensive coordinator at Auburn, LSU and Texas, and there’s little doubt he’ll turn this defense around. How quickly that happens is the question. Auburn returns six starters and adds defensive end Carl Lawson and highly regarded recruit Byron Cowart as impact pass-rushers. In addition, transfers Tray Matthews and Blake Countess will bolster the secondary.
But the process will have its share of ups and downs, which could test Muschamp’s volatile personality. Here’s betting that television sideline microphones will catch him cursing a blue streak (for better or worse) at some point in the season’s first month.
Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield Will Become a Star
3 of 10
There’s no question that Oklahoma needed a fresh start offensively. The Sooners went from preseason College Football Playoff contenders to 8-5 in 2014, and Bob Stoops’ hiring of East Carolina offensive coordinator and Air Raid guru Lincoln Riley was the right call. In that vein, the Sooners’ choice of Texas Tech transfer and Air Raid system quarterback Baker Mayfield over disappointing incumbent Trevor Knight was also the right call.
Mayfield won Texas Tech’s starting job in 2013 as a walk-on and was named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, throwing for 2,315 yards with 12 touchdowns against nine interceptions before transferring to OU. Per Mel Bracht of the Oklahoman, former Texas coach and ESPN analyst Mack Brown thinks Mayfield and Riley will be a great fit for OU.
Mayfield has a strong arm and is an excellent competitor, and he could be just what the Sooners offense needs. He will have a chance to prove himself to his new teammates in September, but the schedule is navigable: a home game against Akron, a tough road game at Tennessee and a home game against Tulsa. Expect Mayfield to reward his coaches’ faith and entrench himself as the starter with strong early play.
BYU WIll Make Noise on the National Scene
4 of 10
You’ve heard of having a November to remember? For BYU, making an impact right out of the gate is crucial. As an independent, the Cougars must work their schedule around other programs’ plans, which makes September an important month.
The Cougars begin with their biggest games of the season. They open at Nebraska, host Boise State, travel to UCLA and play on the road at Michigan. Starting the season 4-0 would be BYU’s only realistic hope of making a run at the College Football Playoff. As an independent, the Cougars aren’t eligible for the Group of Five spot in the New Year’s Day bowls, but they could be selected as an at-large team.
Nebraska is in transition under new coach Mike Riley, and Boise State, UCLA and Michigan will all be breaking in new starting quarterbacks.
Keep in mind that last fall, the Cougars were 4-0 before losing electric dual-threat quarterback Taysom Hill to a season-ending broken leg. Hill is healthy now, and he has a solid target in senior wide receiver Mitch Matthews. Here’s predicting that BYU makes some serious noise in September and finishes, at worst, 3-1, positioning itself for a special 2015 season.
Ohio State's Cardale Jones Will Lock Down the Buckeyes' Starting QB Role
5 of 10
In Columbus, one of the most fascinating quarterback competitions that anyone can recall is winding to a close. We’re just less than two weeks from Ohio State taking the field for its 2015 season opener at Virginia Tech, and the biggest question surrounding the Buckeyes remains unanswered: Who will lead the OSU offense onto the field for its first series at raucous Lane Stadium?
Coach Urban Meyer has offered no clues about whether it’ll be sophomore J.T. Barrett or junior Cardale Jones, both of whom made deserving cases in 2014.
Barrett threw for 2,834 yards with 34 touchdowns against 10 interceptions and rushed for 938 yards and 11 touchdowns last fall and led the Buckeyes into College Football Playoff contention before breaking his ankle in the regular-season finale against Michigan.
Jones took over and finished the job, throwing for 860 yards with seven touchdowns against two interceptions while adding 296 yards and a touchdown on the ground in the Buckeyes’ charge to their first national title since 2002.
Either would start at virtually any program in America, but the reality is that only one can start for the Buckeyes. Barrett is more of a traditional fit for the spread system that Meyer prefers, but Jones’ unique blend of deep passing and power running makes him an intriguing choice.
Here’s our prediction: Jones’ higher ceiling will make him the choice, and he’ll lock down the job with a dominant performance against Virginia Tech’s salty defense.
Clemson DT Christian Wilkins Will Prove He's a Star
6 of 10
The offseason hasn’t been pretty for Clemson’s defensive line. The unit was the foundation of the nation’s No. 1 total defense in 2014, keyed by NFL first-round draft pick and Clemson all-time sack leader Vic Beasley and underrated defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. But nearly the entire defensive line two-deep graduated, leaving only junior defensive end Shaq Lawson and senior defensive tackle D.J. Reader as the only two-deep returnees.
Lawson, a 2013 freshman All-American, should be effective in a pass-rushing role, but the line absorbed a huge blow Tuesday when Clemson announced that Reader would step away from the team indefinitely to deal with “personal issues,” per ESPN.com. He was one of the program’s most experienced players, and combined with reserve defensive end Ebenezer Ogundeko’s dismissal following financial fraud charges, it really saps already non-existent depth.
However, opportunity and talent breed success, and that will be the case for freshman defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. The 5-star Connecticut native surprised many when he chose Clemson, but he now has the perfect chance to establish himself as an immediate presence on the defensive line.
Clemson begins with easy home games against Wofford and Appalachian State before traveling to Louisville for a tough Thursday night game. By the end of the month, Wilkins will have established himself as a starter and a future star in the ACC.
Georgia's Greyson Lambert Will Earn the Bulldogs' Starting QB Role
7 of 10
At Virginia, Greyson Lambert looked like a forgotten man. Last fall, the junior started nine games for the Cavaliers, who finished just short of a postseason berth at 5-7. His stats weren’t spectacular (1,632 yards with 10 touchdowns against 11 interceptions), but he was solid. However, he fell out of favor with UVA coaches, who settled on fellow junior Matt Johns (Lambert’s 2014 backup) as their starting quarterback.
It was time for the Georgia native to get a fresh start, and he got it at Georgia. The Bulldogs are looking for a new starting quarterback following Hutson Mason’s graduation, and sophomore Brice Ramsey and junior Faton Bauta battled through spring practice without either gaining clear separation.
It was the perfect opportunity for Lambert, and he has taken full advantage as a graduate transfer. Per Seth Emerson of Dawg Nation, he is battling with Ramsey (Mason’s backup last fall) for the starting role. Both are starting off with a blank slate under new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, which gives Lambert an edge.
The Bulldogs’ September schedule is manageable: Louisiana-Monroe, at Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Southern. With Heisman Trophy candidate Nick Chubb beside him in the backfield, Lambert can lock down the job and show what he can do with a far more talented offense than he ever had at Virginia.
LSU RB Leonard Fournette Will Announce Himself as the Nation's Top Runner
8 of 10
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and Leonard Fournette didn’t really endear himself to LSU fans early on in 2014. The consensus top recruit in 2014, per 247Sports, had unreasonable hype piled on before his collegiate debut, and he started with a sputter: eight carries and 18 yards in a win over Wisconsin. It took Fournette five games to break the 100-yard mark with a 122-yard effort against New Mexico State.
But he finished with a major flourish, going for 143 yards and two touchdowns (adding a 100-yard kick-return score) in the Music City Bowl against Notre Dame and ended up with 1,034 yards rushing on the season. A year older, smarter and stronger, Fournette is poised to break out as the nation’s best tailback this fall.
He’ll have that chance in September. Following a warm-up against FCS foe McNeese State, LSU has a pair of SEC revenge games, traveling to Mississippi State before welcoming Auburn to Baton Rouge. Both are crucial games in the SEC West race, and both feature defenses that are reshuffling a bit to begin the season.
Look for Fournette to break out and trample both for big games before traveling to Syracuse and doing the same against the Orange’s front. He’ll establish himself as the nation’s top tailback and a strong Heisman Trophy candidate before October begins.
Oregon's Vernon Adams Will Emerge as the Ducks' QB
9 of 10
One of the biggest late-summer storylines in the Pacific Northwest was Vernon Adams’ quest to graduate from Eastern Washington University. That sounds odd on the surface, but that’s how important Adams is to Oregon’s 2015 season. With Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota in the NFL, the Ducks are looking for someone to make their offense go, and Adams could be that guy.
The two-time Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year threw for 10,438 yards and 110 touchdowns in three seasons at EWU and added 1,232 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. Paired with an impressive power rushing attack led by Royce Freeman, Adams can make sure the Ducks’ attack doesn’t miss a beat.
However, he faces a steep learning curve. He only joined the roster two weeks ago as a graduate transfer after finishing his EWU degree and must catch up with Jeff Lockie, who is entering his fourth year in the system.
Given the difficulty in learning so quickly, Lockie will likely begin the season as No. 1. But Adams’ dynamic athleticism will allow him to pass the junior by the end of September as Oregon’s unquestioned starter.
Texas' Jerrod Heard Will Grab the Longhorns' Starting QB Role
10 of 10
2014 wasn’t easy for Tyrone Swoopes. The sophomore wasn’t expected to be a front-line player for Texas’ offense, but he was thrown into the fire as the Longhorns’ starting quarterback after David Ash’s career ended following multiple concussions.
Swoopes lived up to his (lack of) billing and was decidedly mediocre, throwing for 2,409 yards with 13 touchdowns against 11 interceptions for a 6-7 team. Fellow dual-threat quarterback Jerrod Heard has pushed him hard through spring practice and preseason camp, but Texas coach Charlie Strong made it clear to reporters that Swoopes is likely to start a tough opener at Notre Dame, according to ESPN.com's Max Olson (h/t CBSSports.com's Jerry Hinnen).
However, Strong said both quarterbacks will play against the Fighting Irish, which means the competition is far from over. September isn’t easy for Texas, with Rice followed by an up-and-coming Cal team and an Oklahoma State team that showed significant improvement at the end of 2014.
Swoopes has little room for error. Expect Heard to pounce and establish himself as the starter by the end of the month.
Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
.png?w=600 "Ranking KD Trade Ideas, Landing Spots 📍")