College Football Teams on the Rise Heading to 2016 Season
The long college football offseason isn't even two weeks old yet, but the hype trains have already left the station for several high-rising teams across the country.
This time of the year is the perfect time for writers and fans alike to analyze the projected depth charts, take stock of the incoming talent and dissect the fall schedules.
When that happens, a number of preseason darlings are sure to pop up. Teams such as Louisville and Tennessee stand out for their huge number of returning starters, while others such as Houston and Michigan are permanently fixed into the spotlight because of the success of their still relatively new coaches.
Here are 10 of those programs that will have plenty of buzz heading into the 2016 regular season. All of these teams on the rise had strong seasons in 2015 and have the pieces to go even higher in 2016—whether it's be in their respective conference title races or even the national championship picture.
Sound off on these 10 programs and tell us who else you think is on the rise in college football heading into next season.
Houston
1 of 10
In just one season, Houston went from decent Group of Five school with good potential for the future to one of the highest-rising names in all of college football. What does head coach Tom Herman and Co. have planned for a follow-up to last year's 13-1 campaign?
The Cougars will have to replace a few key pieces from 2015's AAC championship squad—mostly on the defensive side of the ball—but they can still rely on the electric talents of quarterback Greg Ward Jr. He had the fifth-most rushing touchdowns of anyone in college football last season and the ninth-best completion percentage.
After another offseason of development with Herman, who has established a reputation as being a fantastic "quarterback whisperer," Ward should be a dark-horse contender for the Heisman Trophy. He'll have most of his offensive line intact and his No. 2 through No. 5 receivers back.
Houston will need new playmakers in skill positions and on defense to replace some NFL-bound talent, but the Cougars currently have 2016 commitments from the nation's No. 6 player (defensive tackle Ed Oliver) and the No. 2 wide receiver (Tyrie Cleveland). B.J. Singleton and Steven Taylor will be the cornerstones of a retooled defense.
Houston opens the season at NRG Stadium against national title contender Oklahoma and faces a late-season rematch with Louisville at home. If Herman's fast-paced Cougars can pull off the early home upset and run the table in the AAC again, another New Year's Six bowl berth will just be the starting point of what they're capable of in 2016.
Louisville
2 of 10
Louisville didn't have a better record in 2015 than it did in 2014, but the way the Cardinals finished last season's campaign showed that they're on the rise in a tough ACC Atlantic Division.
After dropping four of its first six games of 2015—including three straight losses to open the slate—Louisville went on a late-season tear, winning six of its last seven contests. It was an incredible rebound effort from a young team that could have easily folded, and the returning talent from that resilient bunch will make the Cardinals an ACC dark horse in 2016.
Louisville returns nearly every key player on what coach Bobby Petrino called "a confident team...a team that will work extremely hard in the offseason," per Annie Moore of the Louisville Cardinal. The star of the show will be rising sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson, who came on strong in 2015 to post more games of 100 passing yards and 100 rushing yards than Michael Vick had in his entire college career.
Jackson will only have one new starter next to him on offense, and the defense is bringing back nearly everyone as well. Top tackler Keith Kelsey and pass-rusher Devonte Fields, who was third nationally in tackles for loss last season, anchor a defense that finished 16th in yards per play.
The schedule won't be easy, with trips to Clemson, Houston and a sneaky-good Marshall on the docket for 2016. But with all that experience and momentum carrying over from a strong finish to 2015, Louisville should take a huge leap forward in 2016.
Miami (Florida)
3 of 10
Even before Mark Richt came to town, things were already starting to look up for the future of Miami football. After a 58-0 beatdown at the hands of Clemson and the firing of Al Golden, the Hurricanes won four of their final six games under interim coach Larry Scott—and one of those losses came in a snowstorm.
And now Richt is back at his alma mater, looking to push the Hurricanes higher and back into national relevancy. The former Miami quarterback will be able to build around the talents of junior quarterback Brad Kaaya, who will have the one-two rushing punch of Joe Yearby and Mark Walton, along with everyone who played a snap along the offensive line in 2015.
On defense, Richt and his new staff inherit talented cornerback Corn Elder as a centerpiece of a rebuilding secondary and several experienced players along the front seven. Top pass-rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad will also be back for the Hurricanes in 2016.
"The arrival of Mark Richt inspires hope that Miami will play up to its potential," Paul Myerberg of USA Today wrote. "That was an issue under Richt’s predecessor, Al Golden, but look for the former Georgia coach to find immediate success at his alma mater."
Miami could be a Top 25 team from the opening kickoff of the season and a strong contender for the ACC Coastal title if it can stay solid in the new-look secondary. The Hurricanes get their toughest conference opponents at home and have three winnable nonconference games in addition to a road trip to Notre Dame.
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Michigan
4 of 10
Nothing is stopping the Michigan hype train from barreling down the tracks after what Jim Harbaugh has been able to do so far in Ann Arbor. From recruiting to preseason projections, everything is coming up Wolverines right now.
In his first season back at his alma mater, the Wolverines won 10 games, with two of their three losses coming by just one possession. While the home blowout loss to rival Ohio State was ugly, Michigan's defense still finished in the top five nationally in nearly every major defensive category, and the offense improved by 11 points and 66 yards per game.
Harbaugh will have to find a new starting quarterback to lead his team in 2016, but the former signal-caller has plenty of options to choose from in Ann Arbor. Whoever takes over will play alongside a senior-laden group of running backs, receivers (Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson make up one of the nation's top receiver duos) and offensive linemen.
Michigan's defense needs new linebackers, but the return of a strong defensive line and a star-studded secondary will help tremendously. Jourdan Lewis and Jabrill Peppers are both incredible playmakers, and Chris Wormley had several monster games in opponents' backfields last season.
The Wolverines went from sleeping giant to preseason Big Ten title contender in the span of a year under Harbaugh. While three road games at Michigan State, Iowa and Ohio State will be tough, this Michigan team has the experience to cash in on the hype Harbaugh has built this offseason.
North Carolina
5 of 10
North Carolina football had declined by one fewer win in coach Larry Fedora's second and third seasons in Chapel Hill. But his fourth was quite impressive as the Tar Heels won 11 games and took Clemson down to the wire in the ACC Championship Game.
Now, the question is if UNC's resurgence in 2015 was for real or just a one-hit wonder. Mitch Trubisky has shown promise in his chances behind departed quarterback Marquise Williams, and David Hale of ESPN.com predicts he'll be the ACC's most prolific passer this fall.
Trubisky will be able to rely on almost every skill player and offensive lineman coming back from the nation's No. 1 offense in yards per play. Elijah Hood was one of the nation's best big-play running backs last season in an uptempo offense that torched nearly every defense it faced.
While Gene Chizik's revamped defense cooled off late in the season, it returns a lot of talent that now has experience at being successful in ACC play. That includes the majority of one of college football's most-improved secondaries, including All-ACC cornerback M.J. Stewart.
North Carolina starts the season with a strong Georgia team in transition, and it will have to travel to Florida State later in the year. But the Tar Heels have enough firepower coming back to make a return to the ACC Championship Game and try to finish what they started in 2015.
Southern Miss
6 of 10
Perhaps the most impressive turnaround at the Group of Five level last season came from Southern Miss, which went from four wins in coach Todd Monken's first two seasons to nine wins and a division title in 2015.
And that doesn't look like it's going to be the peak in Hattiesburg for the Golden Eagles. They return several veteran faces from their Top 15-ranked offense, including top rusher Ito Smith, three interior linemen and a star quarterback who lit up the Conference USA last season.
"The main reason for optimism in 2016 will be the return of quarterback Nick Mullens for his senior campaign," Patrick Magee of the Sun Herald wrote. "He established himself as one of the best quarterbacks among the Group of Five conferences this season by completing 63.5 percent of his passes for 4,476 yards, 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions."
The Golden Eagles improved quite a bit on defense in 2015, and they'll return most of their experienced depth on the defensive line and in the secondary. At one point in the season, USM allowed no more than 13 points in four straight conference victories.
Southern Miss will get a crack at Kentucky and later LSU in hopes of snatching a program-defining upset. The Golden Eagles will be favorites in the Conference USA this fall, and they have a great shot of getting in double-digit-win territory behind Monken and a prolific offense.
Tennessee
7 of 10
Tennessee has gone from five wins in 2013 to seven wins in 2014 and nine wins in 2015 under the program-changing direction of coach Butch Jones. This upcoming season, the Volunteers have all the pieces to rise by two wins yet again and take home an SEC title.
"Tennessee should be picked to win the division at media days this July, and anything short of a trip to Atlanta in early December should be considered a disappointment," Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee wrote earlier this month. "There are simply no excuses."
Just look at the pieces Jones has in place for Tennessee in 2016. Joshua Dobbs is an experienced and deadly dual-threat quarterback who will be boosted by the return of both Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara—the "Chain Moving Gang"—to the backfield. Four starting offensive linemen will be back for 2016, too.
On defense, Jones went out and picked up what Sallee called a "home run" hire at defensive coordinator in Bob Shoop, who had the Big Ten's best defense at Penn State last season. He'll inherit stars such as Derek Barnett, Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Cameron Sutton and look to get them to their full potential on Rocky Top.
The hype was there for Tennessee in 2015, and even though it didn't make it all the way to Atlanta, Jones' team continued to rise in the college football world with an improved record and a bowl-game blowout win. The Vols will be one of the more heavily hyped teams of the offseason and for good reason.
USF
8 of 10
Willie Taggart was firmly on the hot seat heading into the 2015 season at USF, where he had back-to-back losing seasons in his first two years. But the Bulls doubled their win total from 2014 to 2015, taking home eight victories and generating great momentum for the future in Tampa.
USF won seven of its last nine games of the regular season and nearly took home the AAC East Division after upsetting Temple at home. Taggart has a couple of 4-stars in his 2016 recruiting class and is returning several star players from last season.
The Bulls will welcome back the backfield pairing of quarterback Quinton Flowers and running back Marlon Mack. Flowers threw for 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season while adding 991 rushing yards and 12 scores to Mack's 1,381-yard campaign. Top wide receiver Rodney Adams will also be back after breaking several school single-season records in 2015.
Defensively, USF has some pieces to replace—most notably defensive coordinator Tom Allen, who engineered an impressive turnaround in his one and only season with the Bulls. According to Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel, Allen's 4-2-5 scheme utilized USF's speed and athleticism well, and promoted linebackers coach Raymond Woodie will look to keep that going in 2016.
USF avoids Houston in what appears to be a favorable AAC schedule and has a few winnable nonconference games. The Bulls have a great opportunity to rise even higher this fall and challenge for a conference championship.
Washington
9 of 10
Like Louisville, Washington didn't finish 2015 with a better overall record than what it had in the previous season, but the way it finished the campaign has plenty of people talking up the Huskies for 2016.
"Every year, there's an offseason Power Five team du jour that pundits/hacks think will make big strides the following season," Bleacher Report's Ben Kercheval wrote. "Typically, this team has a lot of returning starters, a dash of potential and a solid head coach on the sidelines. The Washington Huskies fit that bill."
Chris Petersen had a young 2015 team that only lost one of its six defeats by more than 11 points. The Huskies hit their stride late in the year, beating Oregon State, Washington State (which was ranked at the time) and Southern Miss by a combined score of 141-48.
The freshman tandem of quarterback Jake Browning and running back Myles Gaskin came on strong late, and they'll lead an offense that returns all but two starters in 2016. On defense, the secondary led by Budda Baker and Sidney Jones looks nasty, and the front seven has some strong returning pieces.
Looking ahead to the fall, the Huskies could easily sweep their nonconference competition, and they'll host both Stanford and USC in Pac-12 play. Washington should make some serious noise in the race for the Pac-12 title this season after how its young squad finished 2015.
Western Michigan
10 of 10
All that boat-rowing has paid off in Kalamazoo, where Western Michigan is coming off its first bowl victory in program history and back-to-back eight-win campaigns under the endlessly energetic P.J. Fleck. Now, the Broncos have a great chance to navigate their way to the MAC title game in 2016.
Western Michigan returns experienced gunner Zach Terrell at quarterback, a rushing attack that morphed into a three-headed monster last season and one of the nation's most prolific receivers in Corey Davis. After taking some early losses against the likes of Michigan State and Ohio State, WMU won its first five conference games and later knocked off Toledo on the road.
Defensively, WMU took a step back in 2015 but gave some opportunities to young players against higher-quality competition. Several top names return across the front seven, and the secondary duo of Asantay Brown and Darius Phillips proved last season they can make big plays happen.
"Getting to the MAC Championship will require at least seven wins, which is within reason given the Broncos' rise in recent years and their stability in the offense and defense, coupled with an easier schedule than years' past," Brandon Fitzsimons of SB Nation's Hustle Belt wrote. "Next year should be the Broncos' year."
Western Michigan will get early chances to stun a Big Ten school or two and then head into a MAC schedule in which it gets its two toughest opponents—Toledo and Northern Illinois—at home. Look for the high-scoring Broncos to take it to the next level in 2016.
Recruit rankings courtesy of 247Sports.
Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
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