Biggest Disappointments:
Clemson - No doubt about it, Clemson has to take the cake as the biggest overall disappointment this season. They came in as a top 10 team and were expected to contend for a national title and at the very least, an ACC title. Instead, the Tigers are just 4-4 through eight games played and have seen their head coach resign and their recruits drop like flies there afterwards. The Tigers probably need to win every one of their last four games just to salvage a bearable season. Of course then they’ll wind up with eight wins just like every other year. Pollsters, please do Clemson a favor and don’t rank them in the top 20 next year, for their sake.
Auburn - What a bizarre year for the Auburn Tigers. Heck, maybe it’s just not good to be a Tiger in 2008? The SEC “powerhouse” that has become the Auburn Tigers looks like just a blurry image of their recent teams. Tony Franklin’s new spread offense was supposed to take off for the Tigers and revolutionize this team. Instead, Franklin gets a whopping half of a season to prove his offense works and is then fired. Since then Auburn’s offensive numbers have actually gotten even worse and they haven’t won a game since. Not to fear Tiger fans, you get Tennessee-Martin this week. You should be able to pull that one out, right? Even with a win this week the Tigers will have to find some way to get past Georgia and Alabama just to become bowl eligible. A far cry from the Jason Campbell years, indeed.
Arizona State - Raise your hand if you remember when the Sun Devils finished runner-up in the Pac-10 last year? Yeah, me neither. Last year Dennis Erickson looked like a genius. In his first year at Arizona State, his team cranked out 10 wins and finished second in the Pac-10. Meaning that this year’s squad which returned 13 starters should be a really good team, right? Not so fast. The Sun Devils have clawed their way to just two wins this season through eight games, including a two-overtime loss to UNLV and have no team identity whatsoever. Their next three games are winnable so that means a showdown at rival Arizona in early December will probably determine whether or not the Erickson’s team even makes it to a bowl game in his second season as head coach.
Biggest Surprises:
Minnesota - The Golden Gophers are definitely the feel-good story of the season thus far. Head coach Tim Brewster made a statement from day one when he started pulling in top recruits from all over the country. Add to that a brand new stadium on the way and recruits will certainly be interested in the future of the program. Unlike Tony Franklin at Auburn, Brewster’s implementation of the spread offense has worked from the word “go”. It was the Gopher’s defense that really struggled last season. However, this season, with the help of some great JUCO recruits the Gopher defense has thrived and made some big plays. The Gophers were already bowl eligible by mid-October and are sitting pretty at 7-2. I look for them to end the season with at least eight wins. A mighty huge accomplishment for a team that was 1-11 last year, including a loss to North Dakota State at home. Phew, thank goodness that’s in the past.
Georgia Tech - Ok, so this may not be a HUGE surprise, but personally I thought that this offense had no chance of working in a major conference. The Paul Johnson era did get off to a rough start this past off-season. Receivers were quitting because they knew they weren’t going to get the ball thrown their way and nobody knew what to think of this weird form of the wishbone offense that he ran at Navy. However, Johnson’s implementation of this new offense must be applauded. He did the right thing and took his time. He didn’t overwhelm the players to the point of confusion. And look, Demaryius Thomas is one of the most productive receivers in the ACC! Whatever he’s done down in Atlanta, he’s doing it correctly. The Yellow Jackets are very much in contention in the up-for-grabs ACC and could very possibly make it to a BCS Bowl.
Northwestern - A Northwestern team that was just barely bowl eligible last season has gotten out to a fiery hot start and already has seven wins in nine games. They are very capable of winning eight games and making it to a New Year’s Day Bowl. Despite injuries to their two best offensive weapons in recent weeks (CJ Bacher and Tyrell Sutton), coach Pat Fitzgerald has managed to rally the troops and find ways to win. He is quickly becoming one of the hottest young coaches in America. This Wildcats team fits his personality and is a tough-minded group who loves being the underdogs.
The Return of Great Scholastic Institutions and Their Football Programs - Hey! It is possible to be smart and be a good football player. Duke, Vanderbilt, and Stanford are all at .500 or better and have a combined record of 14-11. Duke already has as many wins this season as they have in the past four seasons prior combined! Vanderbilt hasn’t been to a Bowl game in 26 years! With a little luck, the Blue Devils just may get to bowl eligibility. Vanderbilt and Stanford are in even better positions to become bowl eligible. And Vandy plays in the daunting SEC! This has got to be an exciting time for these schools who are finally seeing their teams truly compete with superior competition for the first time in awhile. Along with the previously mentioned Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern (also a great academic institution, by the way) Jim Harbaugh and David Cutcliffe of Stanford and Duke, respectively, are two of the hottest coaches in the country right now.
