College Football: 10 Teams That Will Gain Steam Late

This is a list of 10 teams in the FBS universe that will gain some momentum heading toward the end of the season.

80 percent of these teams are undefeated but the season is still young.

Most of them will be bowl teams and that late season momentum might be enough to propel them to better bowl games and solid performances in said games.

It's been proven, season after season that a late loss seems to hurt teams more than an early season loss.

It's simply because teams that lose early in the season have time to make adjustments and fix those shortcomings that were significant in their losses.

Conversely, a late season loss usually knocks the wind out of a team's sails, and leaves them with no time to impress voters in the polls or snatch back their mojo.

These teams, who will all suffer at least one loss this season, have the potential to make a great run at the end of the season.

No. 10: Arizona Wildcats

It's as if the Widcats are eager to be pummeled every week for the next four.  There is not a tougher schedule in the country, not in the SEC, the Big Ten or anywhere else.

The 'Cats face Oklahoma State on the road then host Oregon and Stanford in back-to-back weeks.  They finish it up with a trip to the Coliseum to face USC.

The bad news is that they will be lucky to emerge from that slate with one win.  The good news is that it gets somewhat easier from there.

A trip to Oregon State might be tougher than it looks on paper.  Arizona State will be no picnic but the Wildcats could very well end the season winning six of their last seven contests.

Whether the revamped offensive line can block against a decent FBS foe is yet to be determined, so don't go out and bet the farm on them.

No. 9: Clemson Tigers

At this point, the chances of Clemson beating South Carolina in their rivalry game are about as slim as the chances that I care what LeBron James thinks about a college football team's uniforms.

They are slim.

But new quarterback Tajh Boyd and company are very athletic.  By the end of the season they should develop the discipline needed to perform effectively.

The Tigers will win four out of their last five, the only loss in Columbia to the Gamecocks.  Clemson fans might wish to trade those four wins for a victory over SC, but its not going to happen.

No. 8: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Talk about a let down.

If you are an Irish fan, or one of the many of us that were dumb enough to buy into the preseason hype, you were let down by the Irish in a big way last week.

If they don't get their issues solved, the Irish are in for a rough season.  But don't write them off just yet.

Once they get by USC on October 22, they face Maryland, Navy, Wake Forest, Boston College and Stanford.

Wins in all of those games would give them a huge amount of momentum heading into season's end.

While they are likely to slip up against either Maryland or Stanford, some of the quarterback concerns should be ironed out by this point, and if the defense continues to improve, it's feasible to imagine they may finish their last few games without a blemish.

No. 7: UConn Huskies

UConn is coming off of a Big East Championship and a banner year for the football program.

But when a team loses it's leading rusher, passer and the coach that developed the program, it's almost destined to struggle in the following season.

Be that as it may, UConn has a shot at ending this season on a tear.  They host three off their final four games, none of which are against teams that are likely to be ranked.

By that point in the season, they should have made adjustments and young guys with limited experience should have made significant strides.

While they won't win the conference, UConn has an opportunity to cement their bowl eligibility status, maybe improving it in the last four weeks of the season.

No. 6: West Virginia Mountaineers

While gaining steam usually means winning consecutive games, for WVU it means much more.

The Mountaineers have some difficult battles ahead of them against Maryland and LSU.  Then things get fairly easy until the last two weeks of the season.

Should they manage to split the games between LSU and Maryland, the schedule looks really good for WVU.

They face Syracuse, UConn, Bowling Green, Rutgers, Louisville and Cincinnati before getting to host Pitt.  Then they travel to South Florida for the Big East game of the year.

Expect the Mountaineers to finish as one of the hottest teams in the country going into a BCS berth.

5. Maryland Terrapins

Insert comments about Maryland's uniforms here:

Love them or hate them, it was a slick marketing move by the university.  The Terps got off to a great start as well, knocking off Miami to open ACC play.

They are likely to slip up at least once or twice throughout the course of the season but don't be shocked if they lose to Florida State on October 22, then finish the season on a tear.

The squad is loaded with talent, from linebacker Kenny Tate to running back Davin Meggett and quarterback Danny O'Brien.

They are not getting much hype and have some youth to deal with but will likely pull it together by the end of the season.

No. 4: Texas A&M Aggies

The Aggies are going to have a great final season as part of the Big 12 conference.  However, they have some tough contests en route to a potential Big 12 Championship.

It's likely they lose to Oklahoma in Norman and will find themselves in a dogfight with Oklahoma State, even at Kyle Field.  A bout with Arkansas is a stout barrier through which to break.

The reality remains, however, that their last three games of the season are manageable.  If they protect their home turf, they are looking at a likely 7-1 finish if they lose to Arkansas.

By the way, the fact that Baylor is causing trouble for A&M is ridiculous, given how they ended up joining the Big 12.

No. 3: Air Force Falcons

Air Force could be on the verge of one of the best seasons in its history.

The Falcons boast the usual unstoppable running game, but have a quarterback in Tim Jefferson Jr. who is capable of hurting opponents with his arm as well.

After seeing TCU's performance on defense against Baylor last week, the Falcons should be salivating over the prospect of getting a crack at the Horned Frogs this weekend.

While the Falcons must face Boise State, San Diego State and Notre Dame in consecutive weeks, the road gets considerably smoother after that.

It's a "who's who" of hapless football programs, including UNLV, Colorado State, Army, New Mexico and Wyoming.

The Falcons could finish the season extremely hot and end up with as many as nine wins.

No. 2: Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern has as good a shot at making the Big Ten title game as any other squad in the conference not wearing red uniforms.  Their toughest game of the season will be on the road against Nebraska. 

But with games against Rice, Minnesota and Michigan State to close the season, the Wildcats could really build momentum at the end of the season.

Rice and Minnesota should be wins and the Wildcats have given MSU fits in recent meetings.

If Dan Persa can stay on the field and out of the hospital, the Wildcats will find themselves in a solid bowl game.

No. 1: Georgia Bulldogs

Yeah, Mark Richt's seat is smoking hot right now.

It's likely to get even hotter this weekend after the Dawgs host rival South Carolina, whose defensive line is even more dominant the Boise crew that wrecked the Bulldogs last week.

That said, Richt's squad will have the opportunity to right the ship and try to get headed back in the direction of a BCS game.

They face only two more ranked teams for the entire season, 16th ranked Mississippi State and 18th ranked Florida.

While neither of those squads should be overlooked, they are both very winnable game.

If the Dawgs can make some adjustments and improve line play on both sides of the ball, don't be surprised when they run the table after this week.