2021 Surprise Teams By Conference

OldDevilDawg

OldDevilDawg

'21 Co-PotY
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Big12

West Virginia returns 9 starters on a defense that was one of the best in the nation last season. They get Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Texas at home. On the road at Norman versus the Sooners in game 4 could be the catalyst that propels them to the Big12 CCG.

ACC

It's time for UNC to put up or shut up. Sam Howell returns with plans to show why he could be the #1 QB taken in the 2022 draft. UNC returns 20 of 22 players that started in the Orange Bowl against Texas A&M. They also had 12 early enrollees from their 2020 recruiting class that ranked 14th nationally while only signing 16 players. With Florida State and Miami at home, the Tar Heels look to potentially be undefeated when they go to South Bend Oct 30th. Can they unseat Clemson in the CCG?
 
SEC

Kentucky has LSU, Florida, Mizzou, and Tennessee at home. Stoops has done a great job building something in Lexington and this could be a special year. They return 7 starters on offense and 6 on defense, but the transfer portal brought them good news. The addition of Liam Coen at OC and Nebraska transfer Wan’Dale Robinson are huge. While Beau Allen fits Coen's offense a little better, don't underestimate the addition of transfer, Joey Gatewood. He was a high 4-star in the class of '18 and ranked the #1 ATH by 247. I expect Kentucky to win at home against both LSU and Florida and be undefeated when they go to Athens Oct 16th to face UGA. Pull the upset there and the Wildcats have a chance to shock the CFB world. Just saying.....Stoops been doing serious work. This year has some serious potential for Big Blue.
 
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Duckboy33 said:
My pick for the PAC 12 is UCLA. Bruins were very close to being a contender last year. Chip Kelly finally seems to have things going. I expect a breakout year for the Bruins and a top 20 finish.
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I almost went with UCLA. They have ASU, Oregon, Colorado, and USC at home. Kelly needs to shore up his defense. He has potential with 10 players returning with significant starts. Returning all 5 starters on the offensive line will help improve a pedestrian offense that only produced 24.6 points per game last year. That's almost embarrassing for a Chip Kelly offense.
 
BIG TEN

Wisconsin has PennSt, Michigan, Iowa, Northwestern, and Nebraska at Camp Randall. They have 8 returning starters on a defense that was among the top 10 in the nation last year. 8 returning starters on the offense should help fix last season's ridiculous inconsistency.
 
On a side note, Arkansas returns 10 seniors and 20 starters from last season. Sam Pittman's first season as a head coach produced 3 wins in the SEC after losing 19 conference games in a row. Were it not for a controversial call versus Auburn, Pittman would have had 4 conference wins in his first EVER season as a head coach. They also had a 2 point loss to Mizzou and a 3 point loss to LSU.

With that much returning production Pittman and the Razorbacks have the potential to make some waves in the SEC West but road games versus Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss, LSU, and Alabama could make a good team look really bad.
 
OldDevilDawg said:
On a side note, Arkansas returns 10 seniors and 20 starters from last season. Sam Pittman's first season as a head coach produced 3 wins in the SEC after losing 19 conference games in a row. Were it not for a controversial call versus Auburn, Pittman would have had 4 conference wins in his first EVER season as a head coach. They also had a 2 point loss to Mizzou and a 3 point loss to LSU.

With that much returning production Pittman and the Razorbacks have the potential to make some waves in the SEC West but road games versus Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss, LSU, and Alabama could make a good team look really bad.
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I fully expect the hogs to get somebody they’re not expected to this season! I just hope it’s not Bama LOL!
 
RTR...USN (ret) said:
I fully expect the hogs to get somebody they’re not expected to this season! I just hope it’s not Bama LOL!
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I love Pittman. That he went home to Arkansas to finish his coaching career is truly a special thing. He's old and wise, just like Saban. I honestly expect him to win 1-2 of those tough road games. I also think he beats Texas. He's got an upper class heavy experienced team this season. His second year with 2 VERY good coordinators in Briles and Odom can be special, but if you look down the list, Pittman did an incredible job of surrounding himself with very good people. He's got quality talent on his entire coaching staff.

On a side note, I have plans to be in Fayetteville when Georgia Southern visits on Sept 18th. GO EAGLES!!!
 
OldDevilDawg said:
I love Pittman. That he went home to Arkansas to finish his coaching career is truly a special thing. He's old and wise, just like Saban. I honestly expect him to win 1-2 of those tough road games. I also think he beats Texas. He's got an upper class heavy experienced team this season. His second year with 2 VERY good coordinators in Briles and Odom can be special, but if you look down the list, Pittman did an incredible job of surrounding himself with very good people. He's got quality talent on his entire coaching staff.
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The final score doesn’t reflect it, but his team played Bama tough. The cover 3 scheme, keeping everything in front of them was effective and the stats were reflective of that. He’s an excellent coach.
 
RTR...USN (ret) said:
The final score doesn’t reflect it, but his team played Bama tough. The cover 3 scheme, keeping everything in front of them was effective and the stats were reflective of that. He’s an excellent coach.
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He was absolutely the best hire that Arkansas has made in decades. I said that when I found out that he took the job and was leaving UGA. He has the potential to take them back to the success of the Broyles, Holtz, Hatfield era.
 
OldDevilDawg said:
I almost went with UCLA. They have ASU, Oregon, Colorado, and USC at home. Kelly needs to shore up his defense. He has potential with 10 players returning with significant starts. Returning all 5 starters on the offensive line will help improve a pedestrian offense that only produced 24.6 points per game last year. That's almost embarrassing for a Chip Kelly offense.
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I think the 24.6 number is from 2019. UCLA scored 25 points or more in every game in 2020.
 
I really enjoy seeing Kentucky getting back to playing good football. TBH, I was hoping that we would at least try to steal Stoops from them. Not that I am unhappy with our new coach, just that I have a ton of respect for Stoops and the program he runs. Stoops and Pittman are doing things in places where other SEC coaches not named Saban would struggle mightily.
 
batchaps4me said:
I really enjoy seeing Kentucky getting back to playing good football. TBH, I was hoping that we would at least try to steal Stoops from them. Not that I am unhappy with our new coach, just that I have a ton of respect for Stoops and the program he runs. Stoops and Pittman are doing things in places where other SEC coaches not named Saban would struggle mightily.
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Kentucky isn't far off. They just need a QB that can be consistent and move the chains.
 
FQLouisiana said:
I pick Texas State to be the surprise team of the Sun Belt. They were much better than their record indicated last season. They will surprise some teams this fall.
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I have to go with Georgia Southern. They too were better than their record last year. They lost by 1 on the road at Navy on the last play of the game on a failed 2 point conversion going for the win. They also lost on the last play of the game on the road versus Louisiana when the Ragin Cajuns' kicker made a 53 yard field goal. It was by far his longest in a sub-par 10 of 15 season.

They get BYU, Coastal Carolina, Louisiana, and Arkansas State at home in Paulson. Their toughest game will be on the road in Boone versus AppSt. For what it's worth, last time they were in Boone, the Eagles won.
 
All very good points. I guess I just didn't consider them a surprise team in my mind because I knew how close the Cajuns came to losing that game. Also, they had a winning record overall 8-5 and beat the crap out of LaTech in their bowl game. So to me them have a great season would not be as big a surprise as Texas State who were much better than the 2-10 record they had.
 
FQLouisiana said:
All very good points. I guess I just didn't consider them a surprise team in my mind because I knew how close the Cajuns came to losing that game. Also, they had a winning record overall 8-5 and beat the crap out of LaTech in their bowl game. So to me them have a great season would not be as big a surprise as Texas State who were much better than the 2-10 record they had.
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I don't disagree. That's just the homer coming out in me. I honestly see the possibility that the Eagles can go from 8-5 to Sun Belt champs. With 4 of the 2020 top 26 final AP poll teams on the schedule, winning the conference would be a big surprise for most. You have to forgive me. I've been a fan of Georgia Southern since Erk Russell created the football program from scratch back in the early 80s. Been going to Statesboro for games for 30+ years. I actually plan on attending their game versus Arkansas this year on Sept. 18th in Fayetteville.
 
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