CFB Six Pack: The Teams You Don't Want To Sleep On In 2010

The eve of the 2010 college football season is dawning before us. Each year, some school comes out of the woodwork to whack another school that was much more highly regarded than the latter.

There will be an abundance of these "whackings" in 2010.

Texas A&M is not expected to compete for a BCS bowl game any time soon, but with quarterback Jerrod Johnson at the helm, the Aggies have the potential to scare some of the big dogs in the Big XII.

The Aggies lead a list of six teams which could hand a heavy blow to some unsuspecting school this fall.

What are you waiting for? Dive right in and indulge yourself into this madness.

Texas A&M Aggies

Despite a trip to the Independence Bowl, the Texas A&M Aggies had an inconsistent 2009 where they finished with a 6-7 record.

Led by quarterback Jerrod Johnson, this team finished with the fifth-best offense in the country, averaging 465.8 yards per game.

They might not get the credit the deserve but the teams on their schedule are now served notice: Don't sleep on the Aggies.

With 10 starters returning on defense, the Aggies should be much better than last year when they ranked 105th nationally in scoring and total defense.

Led by sack master Von Miller, the Aggies will look to apply pressure on the quarterback and allow their now experienced secondary to handle the rest.

N.C. State Wolfpack

Head coach Tom O'Brien has been in Raleigh for three years now but he will be throwing his most experienced and talented squad onto the gridiron in 2010.

Led by possible Heisman dark horse quarterback Russell Wilson, the Wolfpack have the ability to sucker-punch some of their opponents this year.

The offense was not given as much credit as it should have received but a lot of that may be due to the lack of the running game.

Running back Curtis Underwood is expected to split carries with James Washington. This could lead to the best rushing attack they have had since T.A. McLendon was doing his thing.

On the other hand, the passer Wilson has yet to receive the national attention that he should be getting. Despite being a mobile passer, Wilson finished fourth in the nation in passing touchdowns.

The defense will be questionable with a lot of youth in the secondary and some underachieving starters within the front seven.

If defensive end David Akinniyi can live up to what he has shown in spring practices from prior years, the Wolfpack will surprise many people in the ACC and finally return to a bowl game.

Navy Midshipmen

Despite completing just 56 passes a year ago, Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs is one of the biggest threats in college football since Charlie Ward at Florida State.

His 1,203 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns gave him some recognition as Navy finished with a 10-4 record, including a blowout victory over Missouri in the Texas Bowl.

Last year, Navy took on Ohio State, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame. This year, Ohio State and Pitt is off of their schedule and replaced by the likes of Maryland and Duke.

To hint at Navy winning 12 games is no misnomer. It is very likely.

The Middies had the 15th-best turnover ratio in the country. They also had the 34th best total defense, better than the likes of Oregon, Georgia Tech, and Arkansas.

Any team that sleeps on Navy will forever take a dirt-nap. The only school on their schedule from which the lost too is Temple and I guarantee that Navy will get their revenge this year.

A Bowl Championship Series appearance is not out of the question either but Navy would have to go undefeated to clinch. That is not out of the question, either.

Auburn Tigers

In a conference that boasts Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, and the trendy pick in Arkansas, no wonder Auburn is not getting any respect within the mainstream media.

Despite going 8-5 last year with a win in the Outback Bowl over Northwestern, nobody is saying what I am thinking. Auburn could challenge for the SEC West crown.

They return on offense with eight starters from 2009. Last year, they finished with the 16th best total offense and 17th best scoring offense in the country.

The offense does have question marks surrounding the quarterback position but Cameron Newton is set to handle the job.

Defensively, the Tigers return eight starters as well. The defense was rather pedestrian, but three of their five losses last year were by a touchdown or less.

Slight improvements on defense could push Auburn back into the mix for a BCS bowl appearance from the SEC.

Stanford Cardinal

The talk about Stanford revolves around quarterback Andrew Luck and his NFL prospects.

With no doubt about it, Luck is one of the top NFL prospects in college football but pundits need to focus on the overall abilities of this football program.

With eight starters returning on offense, including wide receiver Chris Owusu, look for the Cardinal to pick up where they left off last year, when they finished 11th in the country in scoring offense.

Most of those points stemmed from the running attack led by former Cardinal Toby Gerhart but this year we will see a more balanced attack on offense thanks to Luck and Owusu.

Defensively the Carindal struggled stopping the pass. Head coach Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will look to depend on one of the best freshman defensive backs to come out of high school to quell those problems in the secondary: Terrence Brown.

Defensively the whole paradigm has shifted as the Cardinal will not scheme with the 3-4. Nose tackle Sione Fua will be one of the best in the country.

More importantly, three linebackers who started last year return and inside linebacker Shayne Skov might be the best in the Pac-10.

Connecticut Huskies

The Big East will not be decided until after Thanksgiving like always but, we may see a new face atop of the league: UConn.

With a plethora of experience returning from a team that went 8-5 last year, I would be really surprised if they did not muster up enough offense to surpass Pitt and West Virginia.

With 16 starters returning, including eight on offense, quarterback Zach Frazer might be one of the best unknowns in college football.

Frazer is not asked to do a whole lot but he is one of the best game managers to touch down on the field of play on Saturdays.

Defensively, six starters from the front seven return. Outside linebacker Lawrence Wilson is cat-quick and the defensive tackles should be much better against the run this year.

The secondary has a couple of holes but if the front seven is as good as advertised than the secondary won't have to do much but not blow their coverage.

The Huskies are a school on the rise. With a growing budget and better recruits, they are in the mix now when we speak of the Big East and the Bowl Championship Series.