Which Fallen College Football Blue Bloods Will Return to Glory in 2016?
College football has gone through a significant shift within the last few seasons, with new championship contenders moving past the game's traditional names.
For every Baylor, Michigan State or Oregon that finds itself in the thick of a title race, there's a fallen powerhouse frustrated with its lack of high-level success. The power balance isn't what it used to be.
But that doesn't mean the game's old money won't return to glory. Former championship programs took some major steps toward returns to the national title picture in 2015, while others have the pieces to get back to prime-time prominence after disappointing seasons last fall.
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Here are four college football "blue bloods"—programs that have won multiple national championships and hold high rankings in all-time winning percentage—who have a great chance at competing for a long-awaited conference title in 2016.
By competing for a championship in a Power Five league, these teams would theoretically be in great shape for a spot in the new-school College Football Playoff system.
Some are naturally more set up for national title pushes than others, but all have an opportunity to get back to where they feel they belong in the college football landscape.
Michigan
Michigan football returned to some of its former glory in 2015, the first season under successful alumnus Jim Harbaugh.
But with the momentum building in what has been a headline-making offseason for Harbaugh and the amount of talent returning to the Wolverines, 2016 has the chance to be the year when Michigan gets all of that glory back with a run at a College Football Playoff berth.
The Wolverines will return an estimated 15 starters from a team that improved by five wins in 2015 to finish 10-3. That returning experience, combined with the wholesale losses of starters at rivals Michigan State and Ohio State, should make Michigan the team to beat in the Big Ten.
Michigan will be stacked at several key position groups across the field this fall. Offensively, it returns top rusher De'Veon Smith, top three receivers (Jehu Chesson, Amara Darboh and tight end Jake Butt) and four of five starters on the offensive line.
Its defense, which ranked fifth nationally in yards per play last season, will be led by one of the nation's best lines—an experienced unit that received a huge shot in the arm on national signing day when consensus No. 1 recruit Rashan Gary announced he would join the Wolverines.
The defensive tackle was the crown jewel of the nation's No. 5 recruiting class, and his impressive all-around skill set will make him immediately push for plenty of playing time in Ann Arbor.
"When you watch Gary's tape, taking stock of his developed skills and athletic possibilities, you see he's the rare athlete who's not a tweener," Ian A. Boyd of SB Nation wrote. "He's not trapped between college positions without a firm command of the skills needed to excel in either. He is instead legitimately versatile enough to project as a dominant player in many roles."
The likes of Gary and Chris Wormley should torment opposing offenses that also have to deal with Jourdan Lewis and Jabrill Peppers in the secondary.
The holes on the depth chart are obvious for Harbaugh and his team, as they'll have to replace quarterback Jake Rudock and the entire linebacking corps. The signal-caller spot shouldn't loom too large, as early favorite and former Houston star John O'Korn has had a year to prepare in Ann Arbor following his transfer.
Fortunately for Michigan, the 2016 schedule sets up extremely well for a title contender that will have to settle in new starters at quarterback, center and linebacker. The Wolverines' first five games are at home, with the opening three coming against nonconference opponents who combined for a 7-31 record last year.
The back half of the schedule, however, contains road games at Michigan State, Iowa and Ohio State—three Big Ten foes that played in the College Football Playoff or New Year's Six bowls last season.
But if these veteran Wolverines can keep the momentum rolling from a 10-win season and a standout recruiting cycle, there's no reason why they shouldn't be in the hunt for their first Big Ten and national titles since the Lloyd Carr era.
Tennessee
With six national championships and 16 conference titles all-time, Tennessee is another one of the great blue bloods of college football that has fallen off in the last decade. The Volunteers haven't won a title since 1998 and haven't played for an SEC crown since 2007.
But this year should be different for Tennessee, which has improved by two wins in each of the last two seasons under Butch Jones.
And even though the Volunteers received plenty of hype last season—not the last several seasons, as Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee has repeatedly told fans this winter—this year sets up even better for them.
Tennessee returns dual-threat quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who scored 27 total touchdowns last season and only threw five interceptions. He'll be one of the SEC's best quarterbacks, leading an offense that returns the "Chain-Moving Gang" of backs Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara and four starting linemen.
On the defensive side of the ball, Tennessee made what looks to be a top-notch hire with former Penn State assistant Bob Shoop.
"It became evident to me that [Jones] is building a great program, a program on the rise and certainly one that will compete for an SEC championship," Shoop said last month on his decision to leave Penn State for Tennessee, via Sallee.
The new defensive coordinator had the nation's No. 3 and No. 15 defense, respectively, in his two seasons with the Nittany Lions and brings experience in the SEC East from his time at Vanderbilt.
What's even better for Tennessee is that Shoop will inherit eight returning starters from a defense that finished 39th last season in total yards per play.
Defensive end Derek Barnett and linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin are supreme stat-stuffers, and cornerback Cameron Sutton's return to school will boost a secondary that has to replace a pair of starters. Projected starting safety Evan Berry and Sutton also combined for the nation's most dangerous special team duo last season.
The Volunteers will take all that returning talent into a schedule that sets up well for a run to the SEC Championship Game. They won't play a game outside Tennessee—their neutral-site game against Virginia Tech is at Bristol Motor Speedway—until the first weekend of October, when they visit a new-look Georgia program.
Tennessee gets defending SEC divisional champions Florida and Alabama both at home, and its final five games of the season doesn't contain a single team that went to a bowl game in 2015. (One of those is FCS team Tennessee Tech, which went 4-7.)
The Volunteers need to start strong and avoid early disappointments this fall. Getting to the back half of that schedule in control of their SEC East fate should lead to a trip to Atlanta—and that could just be the beginning.
Nebraska
Nebraska's 2015 season was the quintessential "be careful what you wish for" scenario.
After consistently winning nine or 10 games a season with Bo Pelini, the Huskers went 5-7 in the regular season under first-year coach Mike Riley. While Nebraska was looking to get over the hump and back into title contention when it dismissed Pelini, last year's campaign was a far cry from the high standards this blue blood has for itself.
But there is reason for optimism again in Lincoln, starting with this second season under Riley.
Nebraska returns 15 starters from a team that saw all but one of its losses come by one possession. The Huskers knocked off eventual Big Ten champion Michigan State and beat UCLA in a bowl game.
On offense, Nebraska returns most of its skill talent, which should thrive if a rebuilding line holds up in the second season in Riley's scheme.
As Bleacher Report's Brian Leigh noted last month, electrifying receiver De'Mornay Pierson-El could be a huge difference-maker after missing most of 2015 with injuries. He was one of the nation's top punt returners as a freshman in 2014 and averaged 14 yards per catch.
"If Pierson-El returns, he'll join a loaded group of receivers alongside Jordan Westerkamp, Brandon Reilly and Stanley Morgan," Leigh wrote. "If ever senior quarterback Tommy Armstrong, whose best days look as good as his worst days look bad, were to post a consistent season, now would be the time."
The Nebraska defense returns several of its top edge-rushers and the core of a secondary that is led by tackle and interception leader Nate Gerry, a truly underrated defensive back on a national level.
But perhaps the best aspect working in Nebraska's favor for a huge charge in 2016 is its division. The Big Ten West is one of the weaker groups in college football, and Iowa was able to make a huge undefeated run thanks to its schedule in 2015.
This year, the Hawkeyes will have a tougher slate of games, while Nebraska has the chance to have a strong start with a front half loaded with home contests.
The Huskers only draw one tough challenge in cross-divisional play—a road game against Ohio State—and won't be overmatched in trips to Wisconsin and Iowa.
Even with the downturn in record during the 2015 season, Nebraska nailed down the best recruiting class in the Big Ten West last week.
The Huskers will be able to add some talented faces to an experienced setup this fall, but they shouldn't have to wait a couple years before making a return to the Big Ten title game. The pieces are in place for a second-year surge under Riley.
Miami
It's probably too early to put high expectations on Miami this season, as it will be its first under new coach Mark Richt.
But it's hard to ignore all that's working in the Hurricanes' favor for a return to conference championship contention in 2016.
When Clemson destroyed Miami by a score of 58-0 last year, it was a new low point at home for a once-proud program that won five national championships in the span of two decades. The Hurricanes haven't won a conference title since taking home a Big East crown in 2003.
However, the team rebounded in a huge way after the firing of Al Golden. Interim coach Larry Scott led Miami to four wins in its final six games, with one of its only losses coming in a snowstorm at the Sun Bowl.
Now Richt, who was fired from Georgia despite plenty of 10-win seasons in the ultra-competitive SEC, will bring stability and head coaching success at the power-conference level for a program that hasn't had either in recent years.
Richt inherits a team that returns almost every starter on offense, which is led by experienced quarterback Brad Kaaya, who has thrown for 41 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in the last two seasons.
Every offensive lineman that played a meaningful snap in 2015 will be back for the Hurricanes. Joseph Yearby and Mark Walton also provide a powerful one-two punch at running back.
The defense has to replace some key figures, but most of the front seven stays intact for 2016. Corn Elder is one of the nation's best corners and will be a leader for a secondary that needs some young talent to step into important roles this fall.
Miami has momentum from the way it finished the 2015 campaign and the hiring of Richt. It also has the advantage of playing in a traditionally wide-open ACC Coastal division with a schedule that looks favorable.
The Hurricanes draw defending division champion North Carolina at home as well as cross-divisional rival Florida State. Notre Dame will be a tough nonconference foe, but the others look like victories. They avoid both Clemson and an experienced Louisville team out of the Atlantic.
Miami arguably has as good of a chance as anyone else in the rapidly improving Coastal division to take home the title and play in the ACC Championship Game.
That would be a huge step forward for a talent-rich program that has a great chance to return to its former glory under Richt.
Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
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