Predicting the Dark Horse Contender from Every BCS Conference

The college football season may have just ended this week, but that doesn't mean it's too early to make predictions for next season. In fact, it may be the perfect time because it gives us something to talk about for the next couple months. At least until things begin picking up again.

Don't you ever get tired of talking about the same teams all the time?

We know all about the major powerhouses that are national championship contenders every season. We know the teams that dominate the recruiting classes every season and beat up on the smaller teams every year. What about the dark horse teams that nobody is taking about?

Here is that team in each BCS conference that could surprise some people next season.

ACC: Miami Hurricanes

Picking a dark horse team in the ACC is kind of difficult because this conference is always up and down. You never really know what you're going to get out of the teams as they play with so much inconsistency; it's disappointing. 

But I'll go with the Miami Hurricanes. Even though they're likely losing their star running back in Lamar Miller and starting quarterback Jacory Harris (although I'm still not sure if losing Harris is a bad thing).

I can't be the only one that was impressed with Stephen Morris in limited action. Finding running backs in Miami isn't difficult as they seem to grow on trees down there.

The defense is going to lose a couple leaders like Sean Spence and JoJo Nicolas, but the Hurricanes have a few quality players to replace them with. They also have a very deep recruiting class coming in to help fill in a few spots on this team.

Overall you have to like what Al Golden is doing with this team; expect a much better season next year.

Big 12: Kansas Jayhawks

OK, this may be a long shot, but you have to like what Kansas is doing.

Although the recruiting class still stinks, the Wildcats did get Charlie Weis to become their head coach. They also landed Dayne Crist and Jake Heaps at quarterback. You give a team an offensive guru and two former 5-star quarterbacks and you have a chance to succeed.

Not to mention their top two running backs and receivers will be back next season. They're also in the Big 12, where a lot of teams are rebuilding as they lost a ton of star power.

I'm not quite sure how you fix a defense that was ranked dead last in points allowed, but I do know this team is moving in the right direction. And I wouldn't be surprised if they at least triple their win total from last season (which would only be six wins, but hey, baby steps).

Big East: South Florida

I really didn't have much to choose from in this conference as it seemed like every team couldn't wait to leave. Since I have to pick, I'm going with the South Florida Bulls, who always start off impressive and slowly fade away as the season goes on.

They really like to tease, I guess. 

Quarterback B.J. Daniels should return for his senior year and really improve on a impressive junior season. Sure, the numbers don't tell a lot, but he was making much better decisions with the football and has one of the strongest arms in the country.

If you look at the numbers, this team wasn't bad at all.

They were balanced on offense, scored points and played solid defense for the most part. How they lost seven of their last eight games, nobody will ever know.

The only key players this team will lose this year are left guard Jeremiah Warren and cornerback Quenton Washington. Other than that, this team should be in good shape to compete for a BCS bowl next season. If they can play with any type of consistency.

Big Ten: Purdue

Yuck. Picking a dark horse in this conference was extremely hard. It seems like every team in the Big Ten is about even. The good teams are about on the same level and then the bad teams are just really bad. There seems to be very little in between with this conference. 

The main reason I'm going with the Boilermakers is because they have majority of their offensive nucleus returning. Quarterback Caleb TerBush played well for his first season as a starter. Both of their leading rushers are also coming back, along with several receivers, including Antavian Edison. 

Purdue struggled on both sides of the ball this season, but with majority of its team returning, it can improve on some bright spots. Remember, the Boilermakers were competitive against Penn State and ended up beating Ohio State this year.

Pac-12: California

The California Golden Bears underachieved this season, which gives me the right to put them in here as a dark horse for next year. I love the talent that's on this team and believe they can compete for the Pac-12 title.

Starting quarterback Zach Maynard is returning for his senior year. Along with running back Isi Sofele, who is coming off a 1,000-yard rushing season. And receiver Keenan Allen who is also coming off a 1,000-yard receiving season. The Golden Bears also landed two top receiving prospects in Jordan Payton and Bryce Treggs. 

On the other side of the ball, California will lose a lot of starters, but the Bears play in the Pac-12. Who needs a defense in that conference? Score points and you'll be fine.

California has one of the top recruiting classes in the country this year and something tells me there will be another team competing along with Oregon and USC real soon.

SEC: South Carolina

Is there really such a thing as a dark horse in the SEC? You can take any team from this conference, put them anywhere else and it will do absolutely fine with the talent on its roster. With that said, I'm going with the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Connor Shaw should have played enough last season that he can do well enough to lead this team. He'll be fine heading into his first true year as a starter. And then you're getting running back Marcus Lattimore back from injury. With Trent Richardson likely gone, I believe he is the most talented back in the country. The Gamecocks will win a lot of games riding this workhorse.

Then you have that stifling defense. Sure, they're going to lose Melvin Ingram, but with players like Jadeveon Clowney, Devin Taylor and Byron Jerideau on that line, they'll still be able to rush the passer.

Let's also not forget that nine players had an interception on this team and six of them are eligible to return for one more season.

The SEC is a conference for the big boys and the Gamecocks appear to be ready to build on last year's success.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]