College Football 2011 Predictions: Penn State and 10 Other Sleeping Giants
Penn State's 2010 season ended in disappointment with a mediocre record and a bowl game loss against Florida.
The youthful Nittany Lions are looking to rebound in 2011.
With the rest of the Big Ten entering a new era with division play Penn State fans are wondering if their team can make a run to the championship game.
Penn State is not alone in entering spring practices with high hopes for the next season. Here is a look at some of the teams who could be on the rise in 2011.
Penn State Nittany Lions
1 of 11
2010: 7-6 (4-4 Big Ten), lost Outback Bowl
Returning Starters: 8 offense, 8 defense
Why to be Optimistic: Penn State will lose some key players including running back Evan Royster and offensive linemen Stefen Wisniewski, Lou Eliades and Doug Klopacz. The good news is there should be some stable players stepping in. Sophomore Silas Redd already has people thinking about the next time the school's all-time rushing record is broken.
The quarterback situation still remains fuzzy and it is expected to be another open-competition this spring and summer to determine a starter. Matt McGloin ended the season with an abundance of interceptions in the Outback Bowl. His chances of continuing to start may depend on the spring performances of Rob Bolden or Paul Jones.
The defense was a letdown for Penn State last season, but rarely do the Nittany Lions trot out subpar defenses in consecutive seasons. Look for Tom Bradley to improve the overall play of the defense, starting with the linebackers and defensive line.
Toughest Challenge: The schedule. Penn State will play Alabama, Iowa and Nebraska at home this season but the Nittany Lions end the regular season on the road with games at Ohio State and Wisconsin, which follow the home finale against the Huskers.
Get through all of that on top of the Leaders Division,and Penn State could head to the first Big Ten championship game in conference history.
Oklahoma Sooners
2 of 11
2010: 12-2 (6-2 Big 12), Big 12 champions, won Fiesta Bowl
Returning Starters: 9 offense, 8 defense
Why to be Optimistic: With Oklahoma being the defending Big 12 champion and the Fiesta Bowl champions last season, it is hard to say that the Sooners have a whole lot further to go, but this could be a team to watch for in the BCS championship picture in 2011.
Landry Jones now has a full season as a starter under his belt and has proven he can win a big game. As a junior he will have three returning starters at wide receiver, with senior Ryan Broyles, one of the best in the conference, leading sophomores Kenny Stills and Trey Franks.
The running game will have to reload with the departure of DeMarco Murray but the Sooners have a knack for filling in at the position. Four of five starters on the offensive line return and the defense should be in good shape if they can fill in some holes in the safety positions.
Toughest Challenge: Avoiding letdown.
There is no question that Oklahoma has the talent and roster to pick up a second straight Big 12 championship, but Bob Stoops has a history of losing a big game in recent years.
There are three games to keep a close eye on for Oklahoma's BCS championship hopes.
On September 17 the Sooners travel to Florida State, a program that many expect to be a favorite in the ACC this season. October 8 is the date for the big game against Texas and the season wraps up in Stillwater against Oklahoma State. Fortunately, Nebraska is off the schedule, and the rest of the year shouldn't provide to much worry.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
3 of 11
2010: 8-5, won Sun Bowl
Returning Starters: 10 offense, 9 defense
Why to be Optimistic: The Fighting Irish return practically the entire roster from a season ago, losing only three starters.
But the most important player will be quarterback Dayne Crist, who had his 2010 season interrupted by injury. If he stays healthy, with a veteran offense surrounding him, then the Irish should be in good shape to score points.
The running game will be an area of concern (ranked 92nd in the nation in 2010) and Notre Dame's defense must get better in big games. But all of the ingredients for a double-digit win total appear to be in place for Brian Kelly in his second year in South Bend.
Toughest Challenge: Getting off to a fast start.
In 2010 the Golden Domers started their season with a 1-3 record with losses to Michigan, Michigan State and Stanford. Give the opponents credit, as Stanford went on to a 12-1 season and an Orange Bowl rout of Virginia Tech and Michigan State went 11-1 in the regular season.
This season could be even tougher.
After opening at home against an improving South Florida (coached by Skip Holtz, son of Notre Dame legendary coach Lou Holtz), Notre Dame travels to Michigan, hosts Michigan State and hits the road to play Pittsburgh and Purdue.
If Notre Dame takes two losses in the first few weeks of the season it may be difficult to convince voters that they are worthy of a BCS bowl invite at the end of the year.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Alabama Crimson Tide
4 of 11
2010: 10-3 (5-3 SEC), won Capital One Bowl
Returning Starters: 7 offense, 10 defense
Why to be Optimistic: It's hard to believe but Alabama only lost three games last season.
Perhaps it felt like more because Auburn was running wild and capturing the headlines on a weekly basis.
Alabama's three losses all came against Top 20 SEC teams (South Carolina, LSU and Auburn) and though they lose Greg Mcelroy, Mark Ingram and Julio Jones, the Tide should have some good talent to work with in 2011.
Alabama returns seven starters, but running back Trent Richardson saw enough playing time last season to ease some concerns about what is lost in the backfield. The only pressing concern will be the youth and inexperience of sophomore quarterback A.J. McCarron.
The Tide should be a beast on defense with four all-SEC caliber starters returning and just one spot to fill at linebacker in the 3-4 defense, so if McCarron can play it safe and avoid turning the ball over Alabama could be tough to beat every week this upcoming season.
Toughest Challenge: The rest of the SEC.
The good news for Alabama is that defending conference and BCS champion Auburn loses a lot of star power and is more than likely to take a few steps back in conference play this season.
Alabama still must play games at Penn State, at Florida and at home against the likes of LSU, Arkansas and Tennessee. By the end of the season Auburn could be back in good shape, so the road trip to their in-state rivals could be tricky as well.
Louisiana State Tigers
5 of 11
2010: 11-2 (6-2 SEC), won Cotton Bowl
Returning Starters: 9 offense, 7 defense
Why to be Optimistic: The timing seems right for LSU.
Auburn should fall back to Earth a bit after losing a wealth of talent to the NFL and Alabama and Arkansas could have their own quarterback issues. If LSU can manage to beat their SEC West rivals and reach the SEC championship game then LSU could make a run for the conference's sixth straight BCS championship game appearance.
That is, if they can get some help from an offense that is loaded with veteran receivers where no seniors are expected to start (watch out 2012?).
The defense will miss Patrick Johnson but is not without potential with Morris Claiborne leading the secondary in 2011 alongside returning starters Brandon Taylor and Karnell Hatcher.
Toughest Challenge: Passing offense. The starting quarterback job may be the biggest question mark heading in to the 2011 season, and there appear to be no clear solutions to the problem.
Last season the Tigers passing game ranked 107th in the nation with 155.6 passing yards per game. The job will likely go to either senior Jordan Jefferson, who led the team in passing with 1,411 yards and seven touchdowns, or senior Jarrett Lee.
Despite lacking a passing game in 2010 though the Tigers still managed to put together a top-ten worthy season, so who is to say they cannot improve on that in 2011?
Oregon Ducks
6 of 11
2010: 12-1 (9-0 Pac 10), lost BCS Championship
Returning Starters: 7 offense, 5 defense
Why to be Optimistic: Don't expect the high-scoring offense of the Oregon Ducks to slow down too much in 2011.
Darron Thomas at quarterback and LaMichael James at running back should once again produce a good number of highlight plays each Saturday this season.
The Pac 10 will add two new teams, but the Oregon offense should once again be able to run around every defense they face this season.
Oregon's defense has a couple of spots to fill in up front, but the secondary is all returning, including all-Pac 10 Cliff Harris. The Ducks allowed just 18.7 points per game last season and showed a defensive style that few teams in the Pac 10 have been able to match in recent years.
The schedule starts with tough games against LSU in Arlington, Texas and at home against Nevada, but there is no reason Oregon should not be able to win the Pac 10 crown for a third straight season.
Biggest Challenge: If Oregon can get by the first couple of games without taking a loss then look for Oregon to get to the last part of the season as a BCS Championship contender. Finishing strong will tougher this season with a road game at Stanford followed by home games against what could be an improved USC team and Civil War rival Oregon State.
Florida State Seminoles
7 of 11
2010: 10-4 (6-2 ACC), ACC Atlantic Champions, won Chick-fil-A Bowl
Returning Starters: 8 offense, 8 defense
Why to be Optimistic: Jimbo Fisher's plan is working.
Fisher wasted little time in transforming Florida State back to the kind of program it once was in Bobby Bowden's prime. The Seminoles may still be a year away from being a legitimate BCS championship contender, but the 2011 season could be a preview of what is to come.
With a pair of terrific recruiting classes breathing new life in to the program, and coming off an ACC Atlantic Division championship the bar has clearly been raised in Tallahassee. Taking a step back is not acceptable at this point.
Pretty much the entire offense is back except for a pair of offensive linemen and the starting quarterback. E.J. Manuel will be the new man in charge of the offense and he has the skills and athletic ability to make some plays for the Seminoles offense.
The defense, which allowed an average of 19.6 points per game last season, brings back most of the key members of the defensive line and the entire secondary, including Xavier Rhodes.
Toughest Challenge: E.J. Manuel is not Christian Ponder, yet.
The good news is that Manuel already has seen some decent playing time, starting the ACC championship and playing a significant role in the Chick-fil-A Bowl victory against South Carolina.
In his limited playing time Manuel has been pretty solid, but now he will take on the role of full-time starting quarterback and defenses will be game planning for him. How will he do with handling that kind of pressure? There is also a mild concern about the linebacker position after losing two starters at the key spot on the field.
Other than that Florida State will have to live up to the hype as they will be likely to be named a preseason favorite not just in the ACC Atlantic Division, but the entire ACC.
Texas Longhorns
8 of 11
2010: 5-7 (2-6 Big 12)
Returning Starters: 7 offense, 7 defense
Why to be Optimistic: The 2010 season was abysmal. A season after reaching the BCS championship game the Longhorns figured to take a step back. Instead they took a giant leap back and were left without a bowl trip.
Mack Brown is a good coach though and with a full off-season to let the bitterness from the 2010 season to settle, look for him to be ready to make the appropriate changes to restore the pride in the Longhorn program.
Having a defense led by linebackers like Emmanuel Acho and Keenan Robinson will give solid leadership on the field, and the offense will hope to perform better under junior Garrett Gilbert in his second full season as the starting quarterback.
Toughest Challenge: Running game. The Longhorns running game was practically a non-factor in 2010, but it did finish ranked 66th in the nation with 150.5 yards per game.
It just felt worse at times.
Texas will need Fozzy Whittaker or Cody Johnson to emerge as a go-to guy in the backfield behind an offensive line that must replace three starters from the end of last season. If the running game can become effective it will take some of the pressure off of Gilbert to do everything for an offense that ranked 88th in the nation with 23.8 points per game.
The Longhorns must also erase the sting of losing five of their last six games in the 2010 season and not making a bowl trip for the first time since 1997.
Cincinnati Bearcats
9 of 11
2010: 4-8 (2-5 Big East)
Returning Starters: 5 offense, 11 defense
Why to be Optimistic: Last year was a tough year of transition for Cincinnati.
Coming off a 12-1 season the year before, the team lost their head coach, Brian Kelly, to Notre Dame and seemed to lose their personality with him.
Cincinnati allowed more than 30 points to be scored against them six times last season. Things should be different this time around with Butch Jones now fully in charge of the program. When Cincinnati won back-to-back Big East titled in 2008 and 2009 they did so on the strength of their defense. That appears to be a strength once again in 2011.
The Bearcats will return their entire starting defense from 2010 and if some improvement can be made in scoring defense (68th, 28 ppg allowed in 2010) and the offense comes together faster than it did last year than look for Cincinnati to make a run back to the top of the Big East, which always appears to be wide open.
Cincinnati won't be a national title contender, but they could certainly be a team to watch out for in the Big East.
Toughest Challenge: Replenishing on offense. The good news for the Bearcats is they return some of the better skill position players in the Big East with quarterback Zach Collaros, running back Isaih Pead and wide receiver D.J. Wood.
But there are plenty of worrisome holes for Butch Jones and his staff. Cincinnati returns just two starters on the offensive line and Woods is the only returning starter set to catch the football, leaving plenty of question marks between now and the beginning of the regular season.
Southern California Trojans
10 of 11
2010: 8-5 (5-4 Pac 10)
Returning Starters: 7 offense, 7 defense
Why to be Optimistic: Can't lose attitude.
The Trojans will finish up their probation this season, which bans USC from playing in any postseason games. Because they cannot win the Pac 12 championship or go to a bowl game, look for Lane Kiffin to institute a spoiler role attitude in the Trojans.
The offense has just a couple holes to fill, and Matt Barkley will have experienced wide receivers to look for down field. When USC has experienced quarterbacks and receivers they tend to do pretty well in conference play. Having Robert Woods, who also is used on special teams, certainly helps.
USC can get off to a fast start with three home games against Minnesota, Utah and Syracuse before hitting the road. USC can't advance to the Pac 12 championship game, but they can play the spoiler role against schools like Stanford, Oregon and Utah.
Get through this season and USC can set their eyes on a return to greatness in 2012.
Toughest Challenge: Staying motivated.
A full season of hearing how there is nothing to play for can be tiring. How long can Kiffin get his players to play up to that message? Road games at Notre Dame and Oregon could get ugly unless USC can keep their heads held high through what amounts to another pointless season on the field.
Michigan Wolverines
11 of 11
2010: 7-6 (3-5 Big Ten)
Returning Starters: 10 offense, 8 defense
Why to be Optimistic: Brady Hoke.
The stain of the Rich Rodriguez Era will begin to be erased this season and Hoke will do everything he can to return Michigan to their roots in football.
It may be a tough transition season as Hoke needs to find the right players for his game plan. If he can find the right players to work with on the roster now then there is no reason to count Michigan out in the Big Ten Legends Division.
One play-maker is quarterback Denard Robinson, who will look to dazzle fans once again in 2011. His Heisman campaign ran out of steam in 2010, but if he is allowed to make use of his legs under Hoke then there should be some nightmares being had this season by defensive coordinators.
Hoke's focus will have to be the defense though and the good news is he is a defensive minded coach, but...
Toughest Challenge: Improving defense.
Michigan allowed 35.2 points per game last season, which ranked the Wolverines 108th in the nation. In six of their last seven games the Wolverines allowed at least 34 points, including 65 points in a triple overtime victory against Illinois.
Michigan returns eight starters on defense, but time will tell if Hoke decides to open up competition for starting jobs across the board, which may be a good move for now.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
