http://247sports.com/Bolt/Five-under-the...f-44182745

SOUTH FLORIDA - The quarterback/running back combination of Quinton Flowers and Marlon Mack is formidable, and both are rising juniors. Flowers got much better as the 2015 progressed and as coach Willie Taggart opened up the offense. Mack is the one of the best running backs that few have heard of, and he's coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. They Bulls return seven starters on each side of the ball. Houston was the darling of the American Athletic Conference last season, and USF avoids the Cougars in the regular season. If USF can find a way to beat Florida State on Sept. 24 in Tampa, watch out from there.

Yeah, but he also lists Nebraska.

Complete list.

LOUISVILLE - Quarterback Lamar Jackson had his coming out party against Texas A&M in the Music City Bowl victory over the Aggies. He had more than 450 yards of total offense, and most of his skill position teammates return in 2016. Bobby Petrino is a proven coach who has has success wherever he has been. The Cardinals play Florida State at home, and they play them early - Sept. 17 - so they could get a big momentum-building win. Even if they lose at Clemson, they play a nonconference game against Houston on Nov. 17 that could give them a big boost in the playoff standings.

MIAMI - The Hurricanes are another ACC team that could surprise in 2016. New coach Mark Richt has a proven quarterback in Brad Kaaya and running backs Joseph Yearby and Mark Walton. The bulk of the offensive line returns, so there should be running room and time to throw. Miami doesn't play Clemson and it gets Florida State and North Carolina at home. A late road game against Notre Dame also offers up a chance for a signature win as the postseason draws closer. You don't expect a team coming off a coaching change to be a contender, but Miami has a chance if things fall right.

NEBRASKA - The Huskers capped a disappointing season with a big win over UCLA in the Foster Farms bowl. Nebraska lost several heartbreakers a year ago, so it's fair to assume at least a couple of those will go their way in 2016. Mike Riley is in his second season, so there will be more familiarity on offense and defense with the schemes. The Huskers have a senior quarterback in Tommy Armstrong, and his top six receivers from last season return. The defense has a good mix of veteran leaders and talented newcomers. Nobody expected Iowa to make a run like it did from the Big Ten West last season, so there is a chance the Huskers could be that team in 2016.

SOUTH FLORIDA - The quarterback/running back combination of Quinton Flowers and Marlon Mack is formidable, and both are rising juniors. Flowers got much better as the 2015 progressed and as coach Willie Taggart opened up the offense. Mack is the one of the best running backs that few have heard of, and he's coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. They Bulls return seven starters on each side of the ball. Houston was the darling of the American Athletic Conference last season, and USF avoids the Cougars in the regular season. If USF can find a way to beat Florida State on Sept. 24 in Tampa, watch out from there.

WASHINGTON STATE - Despite losing last season's opener to Portland State, Mike Leach's team rebounded to go 6-3 in the Pac-12 and 9-4 overall. They defeated Miami in the Sun Bowl, and could use that win as a springboard for 2016. Quarterback Luke Falk returns after leading the nation in average passing yards per game in 2015. The Cougars have also played surprising well on defense. Washington State avoids USC, and gets Oregon, Washington and UCLA at home. The toughest test is a road game at Stanford, and Wazzu hung tough with Christian McCaffrey and Co. 30-28 last season.

Again, we aren't saying fans of these teams should buy their tickets to the national title game right now, but they could be in the mix with some of the usual suspects.

I could see it. I think FSU is going to be way overvalued next year and USF will have a legit chance at a "top 10" team

I like that Houston isn't considered under the radar. It's simple; beat Oklahoma and they will be in the hunt as long as they keep winning.

Looking forward to knocking off #19 USF in October at the Linc!

(03-11-2016 02:46 PM)vick mike Wrote:  Looking forward to knocking off #19 USF in October at the Linc!

Yep, we've got a lot of tough games, including at Temple and at Cincinnati. Schedule sets up nicely so if we can somehow beat Florida State in week 4, we could possibly move up highly in rankings. One could hope at least.

First we mus take care of business and not slip and lose to
Towson
@ Syracuse
Northern Illinois

3-0 and home vs FSU would be the place to start thinking about what this team could do.

I find it extremely hard to imagine a non-power 5 team that doesn't start out the season ranked, will be able to move up through the rankings high enough to reach #4 to make the playoffs.

It would take a major collapse by a LOT of teams in front of them - 2 or more losses each.

(03-11-2016 04:48 PM)Coog Engineer Wrote:  I find it extremely hard to imagine a non-power 5 team that doesn't start out the season ranked, will be able to move up through the rankings high enough to reach #4 to make the playoffs.

It would take a major collapse by a LOT of teams in front of them - 2 or more losses each.

I agree to a certain extent. However in USF's case, we play at Syracuse (winnable), then host FSU at home. If somehow we won both of those, we'd be in the top 15 guaranteed. We may not start out ranked, but we'll at least be receiving votes, and probably a lot of them. The Austin American Statesman writer has us at 23rd in his preseason ranking. Several pollsters will have use between 20-25. Joey Knight will probably rank us around 18th or so in the preseason.

That said, it would take an absolute magical season where you got every break imaginable. At this point, I'd be ecstatic with 10 wins and a place in the American Conf. champ game. Anything over that would be total gravy to me.

(03-11-2016 04:48 PM)Coog Engineer Wrote:  I find it extremely hard to imagine a non-power 5 team that doesn't start out the season ranked, will be able to move up through the rankings high enough to reach #4 to make the playoffs.

It would take a major collapse by a LOT of teams in front of them - 2 or more losses each.

It would take a 13-0 season by any non P5 schools with at least one win vs a name P5 school and also no more than 1 undefeated P5 champ, preferably less than three with 1 loss or less.
Best scenario for AAC a 12-0 Houston vs a 12-0 USF in AAC championship game.