Virginia and College Football's 10 Most Overachieving Teams of 2011

Virginia coach Mike London was recently rewarded with the ACC's Coach of the Year award for the Cavaliers' breakout season in 2011.

While Virginia's eight-win season is impressive, the Cavaliers are not alone in overachieving this fall.

There are at least nine other college football programs that far exceeded expectations for this year, and they have given their fanbases something to look forward to in the future.

Now the key for each one is to keep the momentum moving forward in 2012.

Kansas State (9-2)

Kansas State won't play in a BCS bowl this year, but the Wildcats could finish in a three-way tie with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State for the Big 12 title.

It's amazing to see Bill Snyder do his work with Kansas State.

Collin Klein has taken a pounding this season, but he's still been one of the nation's best dual-threat quarterbacks. Klein has rushed for 1,013 yards and 25 touchdowns to go with 1,587 passing yards and 11 touchdowns.

This is definitely a far cry from the Ron Prince days.

Wake Forest (6-6)

Jim Grobe's team may be a .500 team, but Wake Forest went 3-9 last year and won just one ACC game.

This year, the Demon Deacons upset Florida State and went 5-3 in league play.

Wake did go a disappointing 2-5 to end the season, but Grobe has his quarterback of the future in Tanner Price. Price threw for 2,803 yards and 20 touchdowns.

It would be a big boost to Wake if it could win its bowl game.

Cincinnati (8-3)

After winning back-to-back Big East championships, Cincinnati was expected to compete for the crown again in 2010.

However, coach Butch Jones' first season with the Bearcats was a letdown.

Cincinnati and Jones rebounded this year. With a win over Connecticut on Saturday, the Bearcats will claim a share of the Big East championship.

Running back Isaiah Pead has rushed for more than 1,000 yards, and Munchie Legaux has stepped in well for the injured Zach Collaros.

Brigham Young (8-3)

BYU attacked the independent world and has come up a winner—sort of.

The Cougars have won eight games, but they really haven't beaten any of the serious opponents.

Brigham Young lost to Texas (17-16), Utah (54-10) and TCU (38-28).

Bronco Mendenhall's team did go on the road to beat Ole Miss (14-13) and Oregon State (38-28).

Now the Cougars get a chance to earn their ninth win at Hawaii Saturday.

Wyoming (7-4)

In the competitive Mountain West Conference, Wyoming has a chance to finish in third place.

This comes one season after finishing 3-9 overall and 1-7 in the MWC.

The only real bad loss was a 63-19 crushing at the hands of Utah State.

With a victory over Colorado State Saturday, the Cowboys will finish 8-4 and 5-2 in league play.

Georgia (10-2)

Georgia started the season ranked in the Top 25, but almost every pundit had Mark Richt on the hot seat.

After opening the season 0-2, the Bulldogs rebounded to win 10 straight and reach the SEC championship game.

Yep, Georgia nabbed South Carolina's spot in the big game.

The Bulldogs are a huge underdog against LSU, but Georgia has made some serious strides since last year's 6-7 campaign.

Baylor (8-3)

Baylor and Robert Griffin III started the season by exciting the college football world with a 50-48 upset of TCU.

Now Griffin and the Bears could close the season with another big win over Texas and possibly get Griffin the Heisman Trophy.

Griffin has been the catalyst to Baylor's unbelievable season. He has completed 252 of 347 passes for 3,678 yards and 34 touchdowns.

Baylor has also enjoyed big wins over Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas Tech.

Western Kentucky (7-5)

Western Kentucky's first two seasons in the Sun Belt Conference were much more than a struggle.

But since the Hilltoppers hired Willie Taggart, everything has been going in the right direction.

This year, the Hilltoppers had their first winning season and could get a bowl bid.

Running back Bobby Rainey has rushed for 1,695 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Marshall (6-6)

Marshall played a brutal schedule but earned six victories to become bowl eligible.

The Thundering Herd even knocked off Louisville and Southern Mississippi.

The future is bright in Huntington, as Doc Holliday has been playing a lot of young players. Marshall could compete for the Conference USA title soon.

Rakeem Cato is an exciting quarterback who threw for 1,833 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Virginia (8-4)

Virginia's regular season ended with a thud, but Mike London's second season in Charlottesville was a major success.

The Cavaliers are coming off a 4-8 season, and they were picked to finish 10th in the ACC.

Virginia is bowl-eligible for the first time since 2007, and the Cavaliers have beaten both Florida State and Miami this fall.

Now we'll see if London can recruit the talent and depth to be a real rival for Virginia Tech.