College Football 2011: 5 Players Who Could Make or Break Their Team's Season
Some of the best teams in the country are able to withstand a lack of production from, or an injury to, a star player. Those teams usually have more than enough leadership, talent and depth to cover for the missing star.
However, other teams could be just one play or a couple bad games away from seeing it all go down in flames.
Just ask Dennis Dixon and Oregon circa 2007. Ask last year's prospective Heisman winner, No. 1 NFL draft pick Jake Locker, whose lack of production dropped him out of the running for either of those honors and barely got his Washington Huskies to a bowl game.
Here are the top five possibilities for 2011.
Quarterback Geno Smith, West Virginia
1 of 5
It's actually quite simple for Geno Smith. If he performs, West Virginia wins. If he doesn't, West Virginia loses.
In the Mountaineers' four losses last season, Smith threw four touchdowns against five interceptions. In the nine games West Virginia won, the sophomore threw only two interceptions.
West Virginia will go as far as Smith will take them.
Quarterback Robert Griffin, Baylor
2 of 5
Last year, Robert Griffin alone took Baylor from the Big 12 cellar to bowl eligibility. Griffin is a standout talent who threw for over 3,500 yards in 2010 while leading the Bears to the Texas Bowl.
It was 2009, however, when Griffin was supposed to have his coming-out party. He started well by completing 65 percent of his passes and throwing four touchdowns against zero interceptions in three games, two of which Baylor won. Griffin tore his ACL in that third game and Baylor proceeded to lose seven of their last nine games.
If Baylor wants to get back to a bowl game, Griffin will have to stay healthy.
Quarterback B.J. Daniels, South Florida
3 of 5
In South Florida's five losses, quarterback B.J. Daniels was way off his game. The junior-to-be threw one touchdown and 10 interceptions in those games while completing only 48 percent of his throws. In the Bulls' eight wins, Daniels completed 66 percent of his passes and threw seven more touchdowns than interceptions.
The Big East should be open for the taking again this season, but the highly-touted Daniels must develop some consistency before the Bulls can be considered a contender.
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Running Back Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina
4 of 5
The Gamecocks were destined to live or die based on the productivity of one player last season. If you asked any SEC fan which player that would be, they'd have told you that player is consistently inconsistent quarterback Stephen Garcia.
Turns out, it was their freshman phenom Marcus Lattimore at running back rather than the junior quarterback. The freshman was held to 63 yards on 25 attempts in two of the Gamecocks' four regular season losses. In the bowl loss to Florida State, Lattimore was injured early on and South Carolina never looked comfortable on offense afterward.
If it plans to win the SEC East again in 2011, Lattimore has to stay healthy and productive.
Quarterback Jacory Harris, Miami
5 of 5
Jacory Harris has enough talent to be the best quarterback in the ACC. Unfortunately for the 'Canes, he rarely lives up to the lofty expectations that have been placed on him.
Harris is an interception machine, throwing 10 interceptions in four of Miami's six losses. He didn't play in the other two losses.
The soon-to-be senior entered last season as a Heisman candidate. In 2011, he'll have to eliminate the interception problem to even hang on to the starting job.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
