Every Top 25 College Football Team's Holiday Wish List
They have the best players, have had the best seasons and are in position to finish 2016 on a high note. The top teams in college football have it all, right?
Almost. There's no such thing as perfection in this sport—though Alabama is coming pretty close to it—and that means there's something each team wishes they could have to help make their fortunes a little better. And that's where we come in.
Using the final regular-season Associated Press Top 25 as a guide, we've picked out something each of the top teams in the country would love to find under the tree this holiday season.
No. 25 South Florida
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Quinton Flowers and Marlon Mack come back for 2017
It's not just bowl season, it's also the time of year when draft-eligible non-seniors have to decide whether they want to leave school to get a jump start on a pro career or stick around a little longer. The deadline to declare for the NFL draft is Jan. 16 and between now and then you'll hear daily announcements from top juniors and redshirt sophomores.
South Florida, among many schools, that will be anxiously awaiting word from its best players about their future plans. With Flowers and Mack, in particular, if they returned the Bulls would be one of the top contenders in the American Athletic Conference and provide new coach Charlie Strong with some much-needed firepower for his first season.
No. 24 Nebraska
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A tie with Tennessee
Nebraska is 26-26 all time in bowls, tied with Florida State for eighth-most in FBS history. A win in the Music City Bowl would actually lift the Cornhuskers into a seventh-place tie with the team they're facing, Tennessee.
The 'Huskers' illustrious bowl history has included many games in which national titles were at stake, but one thing they've never done is play in Nashville. The closest they came was in 1977 when they beat North Carolina in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, but the vast majority of their bowl appearances have been in Florida and Texas.
This marks the 10th consecutive season Nebraska has played in a bowl game, a streak kept alive last year when it earned a bid to the Foster Farms Bowl (and beat UCLA) despite having a 5-7 record. That's far from its best run, having gone 35 years in a row from 1969-2003 for the FBS record which Florida State tied this season.
No. 23 Temple
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An on-campus stadium
With consecutive 10-win seasons, including an American Athletic Conference title, Temple can start being considered as one of college football's top programs even though it's not in a power league. What would help further that image would be having a stadium to play in that isn't half-empty for nearly every game.
The Owls averaged just over 27,000 fans for its seven games this season at 69,176-seat Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles. Their biggest crowd of 2016, a little more than 34,000 fans, was for the opener when they hosted (and lost to) Army.
Temple is looking to build a stadium on its campus, a projected $130 million facility that would have 35,000 seats and would be similar to ones recently built for AAC teams like Houston and Tulane. The project is still in its infancy, but it figures to be one of the most necessary steps this program would need to take to maintain success and not be a place known as a steppingstone, as is the case when its last three coaches—Al Golden, Steve Addazio and Matt Rhule—have ended up leaving for jobs at power-conference schools.
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No. 22 Pittsburgh
4 of 25A copyright on Matt Canada's playbook
Anyone who predicted how potent Pittsburgh's offense was going to be this season either has a future as a psychic or isn't telling the truth. The Panthers were 68th nationally in scoring in 2015 at 28.2 points per game and had a first-year coordinator in Matt Canada who had been let go by North Carolina State.
Under Canada the Panthers jumped to 11th in FBS, at 42.3 points per game, their 6.67 yards per play nearly a yard better than in 2015. They had at least 36 points in 10 of 12 games including 76 in the regular-season finale win over Syracuse (in which they allowed 61, but that's a story for another time).
LSU recognized what Canada did and hired him to be its offensive coordinator for next season, which puts Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi in a bind to find someone as good to replace him. Canada will still coach the Panthers against Northwestern in the Pinstripe Bowl, at which time someone might want to find a way to prevent him from taking some of his best plays to Baton Rouge.
No. 21 Iowa
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A bowl win
When Iowa plays Florida in the Outback Bowl, it will mark the program's 30th bowl appearance dating back to its first when it won the 1957 Rose Bowl over Oregon State. The Hawkeyes have been downright average in these games, going 14-14-1 all time, yet recently the trend hasn't been as middle-of-the-road.
Last year's 45-16 loss to Stanford in the Rose Bowl was Iowa's fourth consecutive bowl defeat. Its last win came in the 2010 Insight Bowl over Missouri, and since then they've lost games to Oklahoma, LSU, Tennessee (in the 2015 Outback Bowl) and Stanford by a combined score of 142-72.
Another loss would tie Iowa with Michigan for the third-longest bowl losing streak.
No. 20 Florida
6 of 25
A rushing touchdown
Points on offense have been few and far between for Florida of late, particularly on plays that don't involve kicking or throwing the ball. The Gators, who average 23.4 points per game, have scored 11 rushing touchdowns but none since the late-October win over Georgia.
That's a span of five games, three of them losses, and in those three defeats they've managed just 70 yards on 73 carries including zero (on 30 carries) in the SEC title game against Alabama.
Florida plays Iowa in the Outback Bowl and will be facing a team that has only yielded 10 rushing TDs, tied for 10th-fewest in the country. And since giving up 359 rushing yards and three TDs to Penn State in early November, the Hawkeyes have allowed 83 yards per game and one score over the last three.
No. 19 LSU
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A franchise quarterback
LSU will have Danny Etling on the field when it takes on Louisville in the Citrus Bowl, his 10th start since transferring from Purdue. He's a junior and has another year of eligibility but may not be the answer to what the Tigers will want to do next year under new coordinator Matt Canada.
So where does LSU look? It could go the transfer route again, pulling in a graduate student from elsewhere who could compete with Etling and ultimately win the job or hope a younger player can rise to be the starter in 2017.
The Tigers want it to be the latter, particularly in the form of 4-star prospect Myles Brennan. He's been committed there since April and according to Bleacher Reprot's Tyler Donohue, he reaffirmed that commitment since Canada was hired by Ed Orgeron this month. Now all that's left is for Brennan to live up to expectations, preferably sooner than later.
No. 18 Virginia Tech
8 of 25
Extra-sticky gloves
Justin Fuente's first season succeeding legendary coach Frank Beamer has gone as well as anyone could have hoped, with Virginia Tech playing in its first ACC title game since 2011. The Hokies might have done even better had they managed to hang on to the ball a little more.
Virginia Tech fumbled 30 times this season, tied with Army for most in the country, and lost 17 of those. Only Louisville (21) lost more fumbles, and those giveaways contributed to a minus-3 turnover margin with at least two turnovers in eight of 13 games including the last four. Not surprisingly, the Hokies were minus-9 in their losses with 13 of their 24 turnovers and eight of their lost fumbles.
Quarterback Jerod Evans has been the biggest culprit, his six lost fumbles tied with passers from Boston College and Hawaii for most in the country. Evans has made up for those miscues with his 3,309 passing yards and 27 touchdowns along with 759 rushing yards and 10 scores.
No. 17 Auburn
9 of 25
A fully healthy backfield
Auburn's run game and defense have been the main catalysts to a season that went from uncertain early on to rather successful overall. The Tigers rank sixth in FBS in rushing at 278.5 yards per game and fifth in scoring defense, allowing 15.6 points per game.
But while Auburn has been fortunate to not have had many injuries on defense, the same can't be said for its running back corps. Of its top four-yard gainers this season, only one (backup quarterback John Franklin III) played in all 12 games.
Sophomore Kamryn Pettway, who has 1,123 yards and seven touchdowns, has missed three games including two straight in November. Sophomore Kerryon Johnson, with 862 yards and a team-high 11 TDs, had to sit out a game in October, and various other players have missed time because of assorted bumps and bruises.
The time off between the Tigers' regular-season finale and the Jan. 2 Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma will hopefully be enough time to heal most ailments, and they'll have a complete assortment of options to run the ball.
No. 16 Stanford
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Good conditions for Bryce Love's coming-out party
Since running back Christian McCaffrey announced Monday he was skipping the Sun Bowl to focus on preparing for the NFL draft, he's been the source of countless takes (both for and against) on what his decision means for bowl games and various other topics. Combined with LSU's Leonard Fournette making the same choice earlier this month, it's become the biggest talking point in college football.
What hasn't been mentioned in all of this is the opportunity it provides McCaffrey's successor. Love, a sophomore, was Stanford's second-leading rusher this season with 664 yards on just 90 carries. He had two 100-yard games, including 129 yards on 23 carries at Notre Dame in a game McCaffrey sat out because of injury.
Love figures to get plenty of touches against North Carolina, which ranks 113th in rushing defense, and the Cardinal would prefer he has solid footing to run on. That wasn't the case in last year's Sun Bowl, which saw Miami (Florida) and Washington State play in a snowstorm.
No. 15 Louisville
11 of 25
No post-Heisman hangover for Lamar Jackson
Jackson was the runaway winner of this year's Heisman Trophy, the youngest winner in award history named on 90.5 percent of ballots and winning all six voting regions (per Heisman historian Chris Huston). It was a no-brainer of a pick for just the second player in FBS history with 3,000 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards who accounted for 51 touchdowns this season.
Now comes the hard part: improving on that performance during his remaining time at Louisville, starting with the Citrus Bowl Dec. 30 against LSU. That means getting motivated for what's technically a meaningless game since it's not part of the playoffs.
Recent Heisman winners such as Derrick Henry, Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, Cam Newton and Mark Ingram were playing for national titles in the games following their wins and didn't lack for incentive. That wasn't the case for Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel in 2012 and Baylor's Robert Griffin III in 2011, but each still had a big game in their first post-Heisman outing.
Manziel had 516 yards of total offense with four total touchdowns including a career-high 229 rushing yards against Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl, while Griffin led Baylor to a 67-56 win over Washington in the Alamo Bowl in his Bears' finale.
No. 14 West Virginia
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A Red Bull sponsorship for Dana Holgorsen
Holgorsen is wrapping up the best season of his six-year tenure at West Virginia with the chance to get the Mountaineers to 11 wins for the first time since 2007. The Mountaineers play Miami (Florida) in the Russell Athletic Bowl on Dec. 28, which comes 25 days after they beat Baylor in the regular-season finale.
In that time span, Holgorsen has probably consumed enough Red Bull, his beverage of choice, to hydrate and energize an entire football team. The fact he isn't an official spokesperson for that energy drink is one of the great mysteries of this world.
Evidence of his love for Red Bull can be found all over the internet, such as his excitement at getting some free cans at the 2015 Big 12 Conference Media Days, his own personal Red Bull mini-fridge on West Virginia's sideline and the use of a can as one of the symbols on a card used to signal plays to his team.
Do the right thing, Red Bull. Sign this man to a lucrative deal and get him into commercials ASAP.
No. 13 Oklahoma State
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Clarity from the NFL draft evaluations
Count Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy among the many college football coaches wishing the NFL's process for evaluating draft prospects was pushed back to after the college season officially ended. He told reporters that four of his non-seniors have requested such draft evaluations and it's unclear how those players will handle the time waiting for those evaluations to come back.
Any such distractions in the lead up to the Alamo Bowl against Colorado could have a negative impact on how that game goes. Thankfully, three of the Cowboys' top juniors appear poised to come back for their senior year.
The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson has reported quarterback Mason Rudolph, receiver James Washington and linebacker Chad Whitener are all expected to return to school while defensive tackle Vincent Taylor remains undecided. That could change if any of those players gets a favorable draft evaluation.
No. 12 Western Michigan
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No resumption of the coaching carousel
Throughout Western Michigan's magical 2016 season, which has seen it win a pair of games at Big Ten schools en route to going unbeaten and claiming its first Mid-American title since the 1980s, the prevailing thought has been that coach P.J. Fleck wasn't going to be around much longer. The Broncos' massive success under his watch made him a prime candidate to land a bigger job, not a matter of if that would happen, but when.
Yet a little more than a week before Western Michigan plays the biggest game in program history, Jan. 2 against Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl, Fleck is still its coach. And with all other FBS coaching positions filled, it doesn't look like he's going to get hired away anytime soon.
But never say never. The NFL regular season hasn't ended yet, and the typically large number of firings that happen in that league immediately after its season ends will undoubtedly result in some college coaches' names being mentioned for openings. Fleck isn't in that category, but he could be in play for any FBS openings that occur as a result of this.
Assuming that happens, Western Michigan can only hope schools searching for a new coach don't zero in on Fleck and his 30-21 record that includes 29 wins the past three seasons.
No. 11 Colorado
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A Jim Leavitt type of defensive coordinator
Colorado was 4-9 last season and picked to finish last in the Pac-12 South Division in 2016. Instead, it won the South and takes a 10-3 record into the Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma State. The Buffaloes will be playing that game without Leavitt, whose masterful work on defense was key to this season's performance.
Leavitt, who was at Colorado the last two years, was hired by new Oregon coach Willie Taggart to be his defensive coordinator. The Ducks need a boost on that side after allowing 41.4 points per game in 2016, and Leavitt has already shown he can have an impact because Colorado gave up 39 points per game in 2014 and yielded just 20.5 per game this fall.
Safeties coach Joe Tumpkin will serve as Colorado's defensive coordinator against OK State, but who runs the defense next season is to be determined. Whether it's Tumpkin or someone else, Buffaloes coach Mike MacIntyre has a tough task to find someone who can be as effective as Leavitt.
No. 10 Florida State
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A fifth bucket of oranges
The Orange Bowl will be Florida State's 45th all-time bowl appearance and marks the 35th consecutive time the Seminoles have gone bowling, tying Nebraska's FBS record from 1969-2003. Overall they're 26-16-2 in those games, including 24-9-1 during their current run.
That includes all four of their Orange Bowl victories, most recently in 2013 against Northern Illinois. The 'Noles have played in this game nine other times, most of any bowl in their history, and the four Orange Bowl wins are tied for their second-most behind a 6-0-1 record in the Gator Bowl (which is no longer considered a higher-tier game like it was in the past).
FSU's 9-3 record and third-place finish in the ACC's Atlantic Division may be considered letdowns for a program that expects to contend for conference and national titles each year, but the Orange Bowl still represents a major bowl and one where the winner will earn great praise, not to mention some commemorative vitamin C.
No. 9 USC
17 of 25More Adoree' Jackson acrobatics
In all fairness to Michigan's Jabrill Peppers and other multi-way players, there's no one in college football more exciting to watch than Jackson. The junior cornerback has been stellar all over the field in 2016 and has both the statistics and hardware to show for it, as he won the Thorpe Award for the nation's top defensive back.
That's where Jackson does most of his work, where he had four interceptions and 11 pass breakups along with 51 tackles, though this season his biggest highlights have come on offense and special teams. He's gained 101 yards on six offensive touches, including a 52-yard touchdown catch, and he scored a pair of TDs apiece on punt and kickoff returns.
He had punt, kickoff and receiving scores against Notre Dame in USC's most recent game, and another such effort against Penn State in the Rose Bowl could be what tips the scales in the Trojans' favor.
No. 8 Wisconsin
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Motivation
Wisconsin's last game was the Big Ten championship, a contest it led for much of the night before falling to Penn State in the fourth quarter. Had the Badgers won, they might have been considered for the playoffs but at the very least would have earned a trip to the Rose Bowl, where they last played in 2013 as part of three consecutive trips to Pasadena.
Instead, Wisconsin is playing the equivalent of a consolation bracket contest against a non-power conference team that's played on the same day as the Rose Bowl but will draw far fewer eyeballs. It doesn't matter that opponent is Western Michigan, an unbeaten team that has wins over two other Big Ten schools and which earned its spot in the Cotton Bowl by being the highest-rated non-power team in FBS; none of that means anything to Wisconsin.
Badgers coach Paul Chryst has no doubt spent a good deal of time since Dec. 4, when the Cotton Bowl pairing was announced, making sure his players have the proper mindset in preparing for this game. While the contest means so much more for Western Michigan than for Wisconsin, there should still be a level of pride that gets tapped into.
No. 7 Oklahoma
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Calming music for Mike Stoops' coaching box
When he was head coach at Arizona from 2004-11, it became a regular practice for TV networks broadcasting Mike Stoops' games to keep a camera trained on him on the sidelines at all times. His tendency to blow up and react in an animated manner to things on the field, particularly of the negative variety, became must-see viewing.
This is still the case since he's returned to Oklahoma, where he was defensive coordinator for brother Bob Stoops from 1999-2003 and again since 2012, though he spends his time during games up in a coaching box above the field. Yet when the Sooners give up a big play on defense or are struggling to make stops, those TV cameras are quick to check in on how Stoops is doing.
There could be several moments of angst for Stoops when Oklahoma faces Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. The Tigers average 278.5 rushing yards per game, sixth-best in FBS, and in Oklahoma's last three games it has yielded 817 rushing yards at a 6.81 yards-per-carry clip.
No. 6 Michigan
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No need to use Jabrill Peppers on offense
It helped make him a Heisman finalist and improved his draft stock while providing a boost to his team in times of need, but in reality, needing to use Jabrill Peppers on offense was an indication that Michigan's standard setup wasn't able to get the job done. The Wolverines averaged 41 points per game, and most of that didn't occur when Peppers lined up in the backfield but in some of their biggest games late in the season, he was called on more often to prop up an attack that was struggling.
Officially, the redshirt sophomore only played 53 snaps on offense this season (per Kyle Rowland of the Toledo Blade) compared to 726 on defense and 154 on special teams. Those 53 snaps included 27 carries for 187 yards and three touchdowns as well as two receptions. Ten of those carries came in Michigan's final three games, when it averaged 20 points per game and 3.86 yards per play compared to 6.06 for the season.
In a perfect world, any use of Peppers on offense in the Orange Bowl against Florida State will be by choice instead of necessity. Ideally the Wolverines would be in a better situation if their regular offensive starters can take care of things on their own.
No. 5 Penn State
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A strong first half
Penn State has won its last 10 games to earn its first bid to the Rose Bowl since 2009, a run that included a victory over Ohio State and in the Big Ten championship game against Wisconsin. And both of those games saw the Nittany Lions rally in the second half after falling behind early.
The Lions have outscored opponents 304-108 in the second half and overtime compared to being outscored 196-173 before halftime. It's not just a points thing for PSU, as it has averaged 3.71 yards per carry in the first half and 5.02 in the second half while also having a higher completion rate and better yards per attempt with its passing after halftime.
Being able to make those comebacks is great, but not ideal. Penn State would be better served to get off to a solid start against USC in order to negate needing to make such a late rally. That may not be easy, though, since only 10 of the 33 offensive touchdowns the Trojans have allowed this season came in the first and second quarters.
No. 4 Washington
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A strong fan turnout
Washington averaged more than 64,000 fans for its seven home games, more than the average crowd for any of its six contests not played in Seattle this season. But for the Peach Bowl national semifinal game, the Huskies only received 13,000 tickets for the game in 74,000-seat Georgia Dome. Alabama was allotted the same number but figures to have far more than that number of fans in attendance since its fan base is much closer than Washington's.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the Peach Bowl sold out in July, the earliest any playoff semifinal has sold out since this format began in 2014. Many of those tickets will end up on the secondary market.
It stands to reason that Alabama fans have been scooping up those tickets throughout the season in anticipation of the defending national champions getting to play in Peach Bowl. Washington didn't know for certain where it would be headed for the postseason until the final playoff standings were announced on Dec. 4, thus putting its fans at a disadvantage in terms of getting tickets.
Every person wearing purple and gold beyond the 13,000 allotment given to the school would be a major boost to Washington in their quest to upset Alabama and end its 25-game win streak.
No. 3 Clemson
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A better outcome in the desert
Clemson's playoff fate will once again come down to how it fares on a retractable grass field in a dome in Arizona. The Tigers lost to Alabama at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale in January in the national championship game, and that's the site of their semifinal against Ohio State for the Fiesta Bowl.
Ironically, it's the same stadium where Ohio State played its final game of last season, beating Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, though the stakes were much lower in that contest.
Clemson had a fair number of fans who made the trek west for January's title game but may not be as well-represented this time around. With the national championship game in Tampa, Florida closer to South Carolina, some fans might be saving their money for that potential trip. The Tigers will have to play a mistake-free game (20 of their 24 turnovers have come in games decided by one score) to make that gamble pay off.
No. 2 Ohio State
24 of 25More highlight-reel interceptions
Throwing the ball against Ohio State this season hasn't been the wisest choice for opponents. Of the 364 passes the Buckeyes have had against them, only 47.3 percent have been completed while 19 have been intercepted. Seven of those picks resulted in touchdowns, including a few that started with the OSU player making an acrobatic play just to get his hands on the ball.
This trend actually began in April when sophomore linebacker Jerome Baker soared through the air to pull down a one-handed interception during OSU's spring game. It's continued during the season, with Baker one of five players to score on a pick six.
Sophomore defensive back Malik Hooker has three of those, one coming in the season-ending win over Michigan, and in September against Bowling Green he had two picks including a one-handed grab.
Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson is mistake-prone, with 15 interceptions this season, so the opportunity for OSU's secondary to make some plays in the Fiesta Bowl is there.
No. 1 Alabama
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Another batch of juniors returns
When Alabama won the national title last January, it had all the making of a storybook ending for an incredible junior class that was the foundation of that championship run. The natural next step was for players like defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, linebacker Reuben Foster and tight end O.J. Howard to forgo their senior year and enter the NFL draft.
Instead, those players opted to return to Alabama and the rest is history. The Crimson Tide have won 25 consecutive games and are back in the playoffs, considered heavy favorites over Washington in the Peach Bowl and a strong favorite to repeat as champs. And in addition to those returning seniors, another crop of NFL-ready juniors have been integral to this success.
When this season is over and draft-decision time comes for eligible players like defensive back Tony Brown, linebacker Rashaan Evans, defensive back Marlon Humphrey, offensive tackle Cam Robinson and receiver ArDarius Stewart, it would make coach Nick Saban's day if a few of them chose to return for another season. It won't be a major deal if most or none do so, since Alabama is so loaded with talent and is set to bring in another strong recruiting class, but it certainly would be nice for consistency's sake.
All recruiting information courtesy of Scout.com, unless otherwise noted. All statistics provided by CFBStats, unless otherwise noted.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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