Gridiron Thursdays with Keith Egan: Power Five College Football Preview

Date: July 20, 2017

By: Keith Egan

After looking at the NFL in past weeks, the NCAA season is creeping up as well in what is sure to be another exciting season. Here's a preview of the Power Five conferences and who can come out of each one:

SEC:

The Southeastern conference is likely to run through the state of Alabama, however it will not be easy for Alabama and Auburn to stand their ground. In the west division, LSU is likely to be their biggest competition. With QB Danny Etling and RB Derrius Guice returning, the Tiger offense will have experience in the backfield, but with five of their six top receivers gone, they may have trouble against the SEC defenses. In the east, Georgia looks to be the early front-runner with a loaded defense, returning 14 of their top 15 tacklers and 28 of their 29 leading sack-getters. If their offensive line can redeem themselves from last year, they will be powerful offensively as well. Florida is confident they can compete in the east, however with questions all over the field, including having the 116th ranked offense a year ago, a lot of improvement is needed all around.

Tennessee will be a team to watch upset some of the top teams with their dangerous offense. They lacked consistency and found themselves lucky to get out of a few games with wins, but with a better defensive year, The Vols can certainly compete for the east. Whoever comes out of the east, is very likely to be underdogs to Alabama in the SEC championship.

 

BIG Ten:

For the BIG Ten conference, Ohio State is the favorite. With J.T. Barrett back to chase a championship once again and a devastating pass rush with the Buckeyes' top five sackers returning, Columbus will be buzzing yet again. Penn State and Michigan, however, will have something to say about that. Despite losing WR Chris Goodwin, the Nittany Lions passing game should be effective with all their other receivers returning, and RB Saquon Barkley. For the Wolverines of Michigan, it will all begin with QB Wilton Speight, who lacked consistency in big moments last season, but upon his decision to return to school will be able to lead their new young core. Michigan's defense will be the most interesting part of their year, after losing 11 of their top 13 tacklers.

Although the competition in the east is prominent, Wisconsin of the west division is the biggest threat to Ohio State until proven otherwise. The Badgers' offense will need to improve from 89th last season, but with eight starters returning, they are hopeful to do so. Defensively, Wisconsin is expected to be dominant despite losing key players T.J. Watt and Vince Biegel. It is also worth noting that the Iowa Hawkeyes' offensive line has the ability to give the Ohio State trouble up front, however the Buckeyes are the favorite to represent the BIG Ten in the College Football Playoff.

 

ACC:

The ACC has proven itself as a dominant football conference in the past few years, and this year will be another chance to prove that with numerous powerhouse teams. The Florida State Seminoles are back to being championship contenders with skill at every single position on the field. Their defense is led by quite possibly the best defensive backfield in the nation, while the offense has the mix of skill and power up front to compete with anyone in the nation. Additionally, the Miami Hurricanes are a team to look out for in the ACC. There are certainly questions offensively, but with some solid skill players like RB Mark Walton, Jr., the Hurricanes will fare well. What is dangerous about them is their ten starters returning from last season's 20th ranked defense.

Of course, one cannot forget about the defending champions. Clemson is not expected to have much of a drop off although losing stars of the team QB Deshaun Watson and WR Mike Williams. Their young talent is exceptional and can surely measure up to the competition, but it will be hard to compete with the teams that improved greatly barring a young star breaking out. This is all just the beginning of the stacked ACC. The defending Heisman trophy winner Lamar Jackson will look to improve the offense as the defense hopes to also, while NC State's defensive line is nothing short of scary. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech have power at their skill positions to be a threat to all the top teams. Long story short, the ACC will be entertaining.

 

Big 12:

The Big 12 has a lot to prove in 2017 to show they can compete with the other power conferences. This responsibility will be put mostly on the shoulders of Oklahoma and Texas. The Sooners of Oklahoma have the offense to do it with Baker Mayfield in an all or nothing year. While they will need to replace RBs Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine, their offensive line should not miss a beat, making it possible for a young back to come in and be successful. As for most teams in the Big 12, defense is the Sooners' problem. Their offense may put them over the other teams in their conference, but will not compete if they have to face a good and balanced team.

The Texas defense was no more impressive in the 2016 season, however their experience may put them ahead of other teams in the conference. The Longhorn offense is going to struggle after losing some key weapons, but if they can find their way against some of the weaker defenses, they will be okay down the road. Oklahoma State will be a threat with their passing attack, while TCU is expected to have one of the best defenses in the conference, which will be an advantage for them. In the end, it will be survive and advance for whatever team makes it out of the Big 12 shootouts.

 

PAC 12:

After Washington's superb season landing them in the playoff last season, they will have the opportunity to defend their crown out west. QB Jake Browning will be back and hopeful to build off last year when the Huskies ranked fifth in the nation in passing efficiency and eighth in scoring. Although Browning will lose some deep threats, RB Myles Gaskin is back, and so is the dominant defense that made them as good as they were in 2016. Down the coast a bit, USC looks to prove they are the dominant force of the conference and carry their momentum from last year's Rose Bowl victory. It all starts with the possible first pick in the 2018 NFL draft, QB Sam Darnold. Other than that, the Trojan offense will need to fill some spots with only five starters returning. On defense, USC has weapons that can make plays all over the field, and if the unit can come together and play at their best, they will have their shot at the PAC 12 title.

Stanford has their questions at the quarterback position among other places on the field, however they're the biggest threat in the north division to Washington, along with Oregon who looks to rebound from their unusual disappointing season last year. In the end, a USC vs. Washington championship game is very possible, although the Huskies have the tougher path.

 

Keith Egan can be reached at keith.egan@student.shu.edu.

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