BoiseStateFan's 2017 College Football Predictions/Preview Thread

[BoiseStateFan27]

Mississippi Rebels

Preview: It's not often teams win during the offseason, but it is possible to lose during the offseason. Ole Miss is a team that lost during this offseason. They have a bowl ban thanks to violations and then issues were discovered in Hugh Freeze's phone records leading to his firing...just a month ago. Add that on to last year's 5-7 season and the past calendar year has been a disaster for Ole Miss. Assistant Matt Luke is tasked with taking over this mess, Ole Miss has nothing to play for this year so this should be interesting.

Last year started with Ole Miss taking huge leads against Florida State and Alabama (28-6 against FSU, 24-3 against Alabama) and they promptly blew both leads and lost both games. Ole Miss won the next two blowing out Georgia and Memphis. Then Ole Miss fell apart as they lost 3 straight games, they rebounded with wins over Georgia Southern and Texas A&M but then ended the year being crushed by Vanderbilt and embarrassed by rival Mississippi State at home in a 55-20 loss.

Ole Miss had a good offense for most of last year, only occasionally suffering glitches. Good news is Ole Miss has a lot of fun talented sophomores in QB Shea Patterson who had his redshirt torn off late in the year due to Chad Kelly's injury and Patterson performed well, he's actually one of the most talented QBs in the nation, there's also fun sophomore receivers in Van Jefferson, D.K. Metcalf and A.J. Brown. Bad news is the offensive line was awful last year, with some starters back will it improve? Along with that will Ole Miss be any better in the run game? Their offense basically was that they had to pass all over people or nothing happened.

Ole Miss had a struggling defense last year. Good news is they bring back two starters on the defensive line in Marquise Haynes and tackle Benito Jones. The secondary was awful last year but injuries did cause for a lot of younger players to play. Now there's more experience back and the leader in corner Ken Webster is back after he was lost for the year early last year due to injury. Ole Miss returns a lot of their better linebackers also. Bad news is depth is a huge concern for the entire front 7, and more suspensions and transfers still can't be ruled out.

Ole Miss doesn't face a tough non-conference schedule and they draw Vanderbilt and Kentucky from the east which in a normal year would be extremely favorable. I think this is a disaster of a year unfolding for Ole Miss, this team is led by inconsistent young players and the fact that they have nothing to play for adds to it. They will play well against the good teams but not well enough to win, while taking unfocused losses to lower teams.

Predictions:

Sep. 2 South Alabama: W
Sep. 9 UT Martin: W
Sep. 16 @ California: L
Sep. 30 @ Alabama: L
Oct. 7 @ Auburn: L
Oct. 14 Vanderbilt: L
Oct. 21 LSU: L
Oct. 28 Arkansas: L
Nov. 4 @ Kentucky: L
Nov. 11 Louisiana-Lafayette: W
Nov. 18 Texas A&M: L
Nov. 25 @ Mississippi State: L

Predicted Record: 3-9(0-8)

 

[TigerBait1971]

Teuhuma is no longer on the team

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Mississippi State Bulldogs

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Preview: I really didn't notice this but it's hard to believe that Dan Mullen has been at Mississippi State for 8 years now! It really doesn't feel like he's been here that long but he has, and Mullen has managed to keep Mississippi State very stable during his time here. Before Mullen's tenure Mississippi State was usually bad, but now they've managed to at least be decent most years, what does Mullen have this year?

Last year started quite iffy Mississippi State started 1-2 with a loss to South Alabama, and after a win over Massachusetts where they actually struggled, Mississippi State lost their next 3 games. Then Mississippi State got in a shootout with Samford of all teams wining 56-41 and got a highlight as they out of seemingly nowhere beat Texas A&M. Mississippi State lost their next two and then destroyed Ole Miss to make a bowl on a technicality. Mississippi State won the bowl game over Miami of Ohio by 1.

Mississippi State's offense struggled early last year but started to hit a stride later in the year. Good news is QB Nick Fitzgerald is back, he is a big lanky QB and he has the pro scouts intrigued. Fitzgerald is deceptively fast but needs to work on his accuracy passing. RB Aeris Williams is also back he is a steady runner, and Mississippi State has a few solid receivers as well. Bad news is top receiver Fred Ross is gone, and the offensive line loses 3 starters.

Mississippi State's defense was ok to start the year but completely collapsed later in the year, I mean they gave up 41 points to Samford! Good news is they return some talented players like sophomore defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons and sophomore linebacker Leo Lewis. Mississippi State's secondary struggled last year but returns a lot of experience at safety. Bad news is Mississippi State has a more questionable situation at corner and overall despite some good pieces there's a lot of inexperience throughout a defense that struggled.

Mississippi State doesn't have too bad of a schedule this year, their only non-conference challenge is a home game against BYU though a road game against Louisiana Tech could be tricky. Mississippi State will always have the favor of playing Kentucky from the East but they have the misfortune of playing Georgia this year. Overall there's a range of possibilities for Mississippi State a few answers and they're one of the better teams in the SEC West, if they don't find answers they might miss a bowl.

Predictions:

Sep. 2 Charleston Southern: W
Sep. 9 @ Louisiana Tech: W
Sep. 16 LSU: L
Sep. 23 @ Georgia: L
Sep. 30 @ Auburn: L
Oct. 14 BYU: L
Oct. 21 Kentucky: W
Oct. 28 @ Texas A&M: W
Nov. 4 Massachusetts: W
Nov. 11 Alabama: L
Nov. 18 @ Arkansas: W
Nov. 25 Ole Miss: W

Predicted Record: 7-5(4-4)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Teuhuma is no longer on the team

Thanks sir, I knew he was at least suspended, did some research and didn't find that he was no longer on the team...perhaps I needed to adjust my search

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Missouri Tigers

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Preview: Missouri has simply been difficult to predict since joining the SEC, just when it looks like they could be good they end up winning only 4 or 5 games, and when it seemed like they would be bad they surged to a SEC East title, then when it seemed like they couldn't repeat they did anyway. Last year was a little different they had a new head coach so things looked a little down but surprisingly it was how they struggled that was surprising. Question is will they rebound?

Last year Missouri started out 1-2 with losses to West Virginia and Georgia. Missouri won 79-0 over Delaware State and then collapsed, losing 5 in a row, the only loss in that stretch that wasn't by double digits was a 51-45 home loss to Mid Tenn State. Missouri did beat Vanderbilt, was blown out by Tennessee and came back from a 24-7 deficit to stun Arkansas.

After a few years of inept offense Missouri's offense suddenly surged last year. Good news is there's a lot back. QB Drew Lock struggled as a freshman but came into his own last year and played very well, they bring back a fantastic duo of running backs in Damarea Crockett and Ish Witter. Missouri also returns their top 6 receivers including senior J'Mon Moore. Last year's offensive line made major improvements and now everyone is back. Bad news is when Missouri's offense struggled it was against good defenses. Receiver J'Mon Moore was part of those issues he had some fantastic performances but was also very prone to drops and other errors. Another top receiver Jonathan Johnson also struggled with fumbles, he fumbled 11 times last year.

As stunning as Missouri's offensive rise was it was just as stunning that their defense collapsed last year. Good news is Missouri has been a factory for defensive line talent and next in line is end Marcell Frazier (who voiced his opinion about the defensive scheme earlier in the year the coaches listened and the defensive line improved) also talented defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr is back after getting hurt early each of the past 2 years. Missouri also returns a lot of experienced linebackers. Missouri has a lot of experienced back at safety also. Bad news is other than Beckner and Frazier there's not much experience left on the defensive line and there's a huge question at corner because of a lack of experience there.

Missouri's has a schedule that includes a ridiculously easy non-conference schedule as they face Missouri State, Purdue, Idaho and UConn, Idaho might actually be the best of that bunch. They do have a tough conference draw as they face Auburn and Arkansas from the West division. I think Missouri should be able to rebound and make a bowl this year, but it really doesn't matter what I think this team always does something I don't expect.

Predictions:

Sep. 2 Missouri State: W
Sep. 9 South Carolina: W
Sep. 16 Purdue: W
Sep. 23 Auburn: L
Oct. 7 @ Kentucky: L
Oct. 14 @ Georgia: L
Oct. 21 Idaho: W
Oct. 28 @ UConn: W
Nov. 4 Florida: L
Nov. 11 Tennessee: L
Nov. 18 @ Vanderbilt: W
Nov. 25 @ Arkansas: L

Predicted Record: 6-6(2-6)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

South Carolina Gamecocks

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Preview: South Carolina managed to be so solid for so long under Steve Spurrier but collapsed late in the Spurrier era. They made an odd choice for a head coach in hiring Will Muschamp who failed previously at Florida. South Carolina though is hoping Muschamp can lead them back to the level they were just a few years ago. There were certainly a lot of questions and Muschamp seemed to answer a few of them.

Last year South Carolina opened a surprising 2-1, with wins over Vanderbilt and East Carolina, it was surprising because both Vanderbilt and East Carolina looked superior but South Carolina forced mistakes by both of them to take wins. South Carolina won 3 in a row to fall to 2-4 but then won their next 3 all by 10 or less points. South Carolina ended the year with a 44-31 win over Western Carolina sandwiched between being dominated by Florida and Clemson. South Carolina lost thier bowl to South Florida.

South Carolina struggled offensively last year. Good news is they return a young QB in Jake Bentley who was solid for being a freshman, but he did struggle at times still being a sophomore instead of a freshman should mean that he will be improved. RB Rico Dowdle also helped the offense improve when he took over as the primary back later in the year and he returns, so does a top receiver in Deebo Samuel as well as Byran Edwards. The offensive line has a lot of experience back. Bad news is while experienced the offensive line was absolutely putrid. Another concern is injuries, outside of Bentley, Dowdle, Samuel and Edwards South Carolina seems to lack talent, any of the 4 getting hurt could prove costly for this offense.

South Carolina's defense struggled for the most part, but it was good at not breaking. Good news is South Carolina will be strong at linebacker as they get back one of the the best players on their defense in Skai Moore who missed all of last year due to injury and Bryson Allen-Williams is another good player. South Carolina also returns the majority of their secondary from last year. Bad news is the defensive line struggled last year and it might be a challenge to get better despite the return of some seniors up front.

South Carolina goes up against a tougher schedule this year as they have their usual rivalry game against Clemson and also face NC State and a tricky opponent in Louisiana Tech. South Carolina always draws Texas A&M and Arkansas from the West division. This year could go many ways South Carolina won a lot of close games last year, and that could easily go in reverse and they could win less games despite improving, but they could even do as well as hitting 8 wins.

Predictions:

Sep. 2 NC State (Charlotte): Going a small upset here. W
Sep. 9 @ Missouri: L
Sep. 16 Kentucky: L
Sep. 23 Louisiana Tech: W
Sep. 30 @ Texas A&M: L
Oct. 7 Arkansas: L
Oct. 14 @ Tennessee: L
Oct. 28 Vanderbilt: W
Nov. 4 @ Georgia: L
Nov. 11 Florida: L
Nov. 18 Wofford: W
Nov. 25 Clemson: L

Predicted Record: 4-8(1-7)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Tennessee Volunteers

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Preview: Butch Jones has found himself under a lot of fire because he has yet to lead Tennessee back to the promise land of a division title. In all reality Jones hasn't done too bad here, Tennessee is definitely in much better shape now than it had been for nearly a decade now. Problem is Jones has done this in perhaps the most frustrating way possible. In 2015 they lost 4 games and all 4 in incredibly frustrating fashion where they perhaps should have won each of those games but found a way to lose and then last year saw Tennessee struggle with their offense being too conservative and then opening it up just enough to win, until they didn't. Now with some changes we'll see what Jones has in store for this year.

Tennessee opened the year struggling offensively needing to recover their own fumble in overtime to survive Appalachian State, and then they took advantage of several Virginia Tech errors to beat them and had to do the same in a 28-19 win over Ohio. Tennessee found themselves trailing Florida 21-3 at the half seemingly doomed for another loss to them when suddenly they opened up the offense and stormed back to win 38-28. Tennessee got in an exciting battle with Georgia that was back and forth and Tennessee ended up winning on a hail mary. Tennessee then played Texas A&M in a thriller where it seemed like Tennessee couldn't possibly make a comeback until they did and brought it to overtime where Texas A&M won. With the wind out of their sails Tennessee was destroyed by Alabama and lost to South Carolina. They got a late year reset against Tennessee Tech and took off offensively in wins over Kentucky and Missouri before suffering an upset loss to Vanderbilt. Tennessee beat Nebraska in their bowl game.

Tennessee clearly was better offensively when they opened up the offense and used their athletes to their advantage, they realized it too late unfortunately and because of that Butch Jones allowed his previous offensive coordinator to leave to Indiana and now there's a new one. Question is who is the QB? Last year's starter Josh Dobbs is gone and it looks like it's between junior Quinten Dormady and freshman Jarrett Guarantano, they both might play to start the year. Tennessee loses a great RB in Alvin Kamara but they bring back John Kelly who looked great when spelling Kamara last year, and even starting for 2 games while Kamara was hurt. Tennessee loses their top receiver in Josh Malone and their TE Jason Croom. Still they do return their 2nd receiver in Jauan Jennings, but it's mostly inexperienced players who are good athletes behind him. Tennessee has a lot of experience returning on the interior of their defensive line but they look set to be young at the tackles with Chance Hall done for the year with a knee injury.

Tennessee's defense collapsed completely under the weight of injuries late in the year as they struggled to stop anyone, they gave up 45 to Vanderbilt of all teams. Tennessee loses a lot up front with defensive ends Derek Barnett, Corey Vereen and LaTroy Lewis all gone. Tennessee does bring back Kendal Vickers and some massive players in Khalil McKenzie and Shy Tuttle. Tennessee should be loaded at linebacker they lose Jalen Reeves-Maybin but he was hurt most of last year so Tennessee already got used to life without him. They return 4 excellent linebackers in Colton Jumper, Darrin Kirkland Jr (who also struggled to stay healthy last year), Cortez McDowell and Elliott Berry (One of Eric Berry's brothers.) Tennessee's secondary had a lot of key players go down with injury throughout the year and it became a struggle but now there's a wealth of experience back. Tennessee has 4 experienced safeties back in Todd Kelly Jr, Evan Berry (the other brother of Eric Berry), Micah Abernathy and Rashaan Gaulden, and yet sophomore Nigel Warrior looks to be entering the mix and Butch Jones praised his performance this spring. At corner Tennessee gets back two seniors in Emmanuel Moseley and Justin Martin and add in some addition help in Louisville grad transfer Shaq Wiggins.

The schedule is tough, Tennessee has a big non-conference game against Georgia Tech while their other OOC games are against Indiana State, UMass and Southern Miss. They get the absolute worst draw possible from the West though as they play Alabama annually and they happen to draw LSU as well this year. I don't think Tennessee will actually fall too far this year but at the same time this year likely won't result in a division title either.

Predictions:

Sep. 4 Georgia Tech (Atlanta): I think Tennessee with extended time to prepare for the option comes out well prepared for it leading to a win. W
Sep. 9 Indiana State: W
Sep. 16 @ Florida: Tennessee goes back to losing to Florida. L
Sep. 23 UMass: W
Sep. 30 Georgia: Tennessee takes down Georgia for a big win. W
Oct. 14 South Carolina: W
Oct. 21 @ Alabama: L
Oct. 28 @ Kentucky: Tennessee ends up suffering an upset loss. L
Nov. 4 Southern Miss: W
Nov. 11 @ Missouri: W
Nov. 18 LSU: L
Nov. 25 Vanderbilt: W

Predicted Record: 8-4(4-4)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Texas A&M Aggies

Preview: Kevin Sumlin finds himself directly on the hotseat at Texas A&M. It mostly goes to show that Texas A&M has very high expectations now that they're a SEC school. So far though the Sumlin era has actually been relatively successful compared to years prior to his arrival. Texas A&M seems to manage to consistently win 8 or more games each year, but the way that it has happened is what has really bothered A&M fans. Every year since 2013 has been a very strong start only for Texas A&M to collapse at the finish. Now the question is can they finally break out of this pattern?

Last year Texas A&M opened the year 6-0 to once again have a strong start, in that stretch included an overtime win over UCLA, road win over Auburn, blowout over Arkansas and beating a previously unbeaten Tennessee in overtime. Texas A&M took a 14-13 lead on Alabama, and then was dominated from there, after a win over New Mexico State the collapse started. Texas A&M lost their next 2 games against both Mississippi schools and then ended the regular season barely beating UTSA and being blown out by LSU. Texas A&M then lost their bowl game to Kansas State.

Texas A&M's offense was electric but inconsistent, which is obvious when you score 23 against UTSA and then follow it up by putting up 39 on LSU. Good news certainly starts with WR Christian Kirk returning, Kirk is one of the best receivers in the nation and NFL scouts have even compared him to Odell Beckum. They also have a good running back in sophomore Trayveon Williams returning. Texas A&M returns 3 starters on the offensive line. Bad news is the two starters gone were both tackles and some good ones at that. Other than Christian Kirk Texas A&M has almost no experience at receiver and likely will have a lot of freshmen in the rotation. QB Jake Hubenak played a little bit last year and returns, he is ok as a starter but not great, so much so that it actually looks like freshman Nick Starkel may end up with the job which that inexperience is a little scary.

Texas A&M's defense was mostly solid last year but definitely had a few issues. Good news is the secondary is very experienced led by safety Armani Watts but this secondary was very prone to giving up big plays last year so hopefully experience will fix that. Texas A&M's defensive interior should be strong with good defensive tackles in Zaycoven Henderson and Kingsley Keke back as well as linebacker Otaro Alaka. Bad news is this defense will find it very tough to be as good at rushing the passer with number 1 overall draft pick defensive end Myles Garrett now in the NFL, they also lose other good pass rushers in end Daeshon Hall and linebacker Claude George.

Considering the trends of Texas A&M's seasons lately this schedule is funny to look at. It sets up perfectly for that to continue. Texas A&M once again has a big season opener against a team that could possibly be a disappointment this year, then all the rest of the games are easy except for Arkansas who they always beat until Texas A&M takes on Alabama, and the schedule picks up from there as they face Florida right after. It worries me because this just seems almost too easy.

Predictions:

Sep. 3 @ UCLA: Once again Texas A&M wins the season opener. W
Sep. 9 Nicholls State: Maybe we would have to take this team seriously after they almost beat Georgia last year. W
Sep. 16 Louisiana-Lafayette: W
Sep. 23 Arkansas (Jerryworld): Texas A&M takes their annual win over Arkansas. W
Sep. 30 South Carolina: W
Oct. 7 Alabama: Then Texas A&M's season falls apart after receiver their annual beatdown from Alabama. L
Oct. 14 @ Florida: L
Oct. 28 Mississippi State: L
Nov. 4 Auburn: L
Nov. 11 New Mexico: W
Nov. 18 @ Ole Miss: W
Nov. 25 @ LSU: Another one of A&Ms annual beatdowns. L

Predicted Record: 7-5(3-5)

 

[mrwallace2ku]

Oregon State Beavers

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Preview: Oregon State is perhaps the toughest job in the Pac-12, they aren't in a state that has a lot of talent and they happen to be a Nike school that is a rival of Nike's school. Despite this Oregon State has been capable of bringing in good coaches and those coaches have found ways to occasionally have success here. Mike Riley had success in spurts but also went through some big collapses, it's hard to believe the last spurt of success was back in 2012. It fell apart fast and to make it worse Riley left for Nebraska, still Oregon State pulled off a coup bringing Gary Andersen in. Andersen had a reset year and now seems to be making progress, will that continue this year?

Last year started off with immediate improvement, Oregon State managed to hang with Minnesota throughout in a close loss and then they easily beat Idaho State. Then against Boise State they got destroyed in the first half and trailed 31-7 before Oregon State completely dominated the 2nd half and nearly came all the way back but a late pick 6 doomed them in a 38-24 loss. Oregon State got completely destroyed by Colorado before rebounding to beat Cal in a shootout. Oregon State had 2 QBs get hurt, missed 2 field goals, fumbled deep in their own territory and gave up a safety in a 19-14 loss to Utah. Oregon State was blown out by Washington, and led Washington State 24-6 at halftime before a 3rd quarter collapse doomed them. Oregon State took a respectable 26-15 loss to Stanford and then lost to UCLA. Oregon State ended the year strong with a blowout win over Arizona and for the first time since 2007 they finally beat Oregon.

Oregon State's offense definitely progressed as the year went on, and it looks promising for this year. Losing 2 QBs to injury wasn't good but Marcus McMaryion played well for a sophomore, he struggled at times but was excellent in others. Jake Luton transferred in from a community college, and he seems to have the size and the arm. Luton actually originally was on Idaho in 2015 and threw 4 picks in 78 passes for them. Luton did seize the starting job and McMaryion transferred as a result. The running game is the highlight of this team though. RB Ryan Nall emerged as a star last year, he did deal with some leg injuries that hurt his productivity at times, but it did allow for sophomore Artavis Pierce to show his worth. Oregon State adds even more to the stable with Oregon transfer Thomas Tyner who has a lot of talent and impressed when he played but actually retired because of injury issues, being part of this committee should help reduce the wear and tear. If that's not enough there's also TCU grad transfer Trevorris Johnson who showed promise in limited action too. Oregon State should be improved at receiver. Jordan Villamin disappointed last year but he returns and could rebound. Seth Collins a converted QB was ill and didn't play late last year but did return to the team last month so he is back, tight end Noah Togali returns after missing most of last year with an injury and freshman Isaiah Hodgins looked promising in spring practice. The offensive line last year dealt with a lot of injuries and overall just was shuffled around a lot, as a result 3 starters are gone but 7 experienced linemen return.

Oregon State's defense was overall improved last year although they struggled mightily against the run. The defensive line struggled last year but at least it will have experience as almost everyone that played returns and JUCO transfer Craig Evans is 330 pounds so he could perhaps add some heft up front. The linebackers as you often see with a Gary Andersen team were very good, this was a deep and talented unit, a good linebacker in Caleb Saulo is gone but almost everyone else who played returns. Bright Ugwoebu proved to be a good playmaker as he had 11 TFL and 5.5 sacks in only 9 games. The secondary was quite strong last year but now they must replace two solid players in Treston Decoud and Devin Chappell, most likely a freshman or sophomore will end up having to step up.

Oregon State's schedule is pretty rough as they aren't a lot of breaks. They open with Colorado State in "week 0" on the road, they do get an easier game against Portland State and round out the non-conference against Minnesota. There is a brutal 5 game stretch to start Pac-12 play as Oregon State faces both Washington teams, USC, Colorado and Stanford. That stretch is where the week 0 game benefits them as Oregon State does get two bye weeks during that stretch to soften the blow. Playing both Arizona schools from the South also helps. It won't be easy but Andersen is building something here, Oregon State seems to have enough pieces to be able to make a bowl this year.

Predictions:

Aug. 26 @ Colorado State: Colorado State looks like a team that will also be improved this year, this game is a bit of a toss-up but I will go with Colorado State taking it. L
Sep. 2 Portland State: Oregon State should win this game easily. W
Sep. 9 Minnesota: This game is another toss-up, but I think Oregon State can do well enough with their ground game to beat Minnesota in a battle of water-logged rodents, seriously can these two play each other more often? They seem made for each other. W
Sep. 16 @ Washington State: Oregon State could force Washington State to run more than they'd like, but Washington State would likely still win anyway. L
Sep. 30 Washington: Having a bye week prior is nice, but Washington will likely win this game easily. L
Oct. 7 @ USC: This is another rough one, likely a blowout loss. L
Oct. 14 Colorado: Oregon State does get to show their improvement as they run well against Colorado to beat them in a shootout. W
Oct. 26 Stanford: Stanford is likely to be able to control the game with their rushing attack, Oregon State also will struggle against Stanford's defense. L
Nov. 4 @ California: Oregon State easily wins this game. W
Nov. 11 @ Arizona: This game turns out to be a bit of a challenge but Oregon State still wins. W
Nov. 18 Arizona State: Oregon State will have more than enough runs get past the linebackers and into the weak secondary to win. W
Nov. 24 @ Oregon: This game will be a shootout but Oregon gets revenge on Oregon State for last year. L

Predicted Record: 6-6(4-5)

not much talk about the RB's, new QB or the ramped up passing attack that will aid me beavz on the scoreboard side. Our unknown is our D-line and LBs…IF they step up i see 8 wins.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Vanderbilt Commodores

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Preview: Vanderbilt surprisingly seems like they're actually on their way to being decent again. They were solid for a few years under James Franklin, then Derek Mason took over and started over, now slowly he has worked his way back. Mason managed to lead Vanderbilt to a bowl game, which James Franklin helped everyone forget that it's actually a big deal for this program as they rarely have made it to bowl games. Now the question is can Mason make a return trip?

Last year Vanderbilt started the year 2-2, losing a game they should have won to South Carolina and taking advantage of mistakes made by Mid Tenn State and Western Kentucky to perhaps win games they should have lost. Vanderbilt lost their next two, but they were close losses to Florida and Kentucky. Vanderbilt then upset Georgia on the road and got past Tennessee State. Then Vanderbilt took two close losses to Auburn and Missouri before ending the year with great performances against Ole Miss and Tennessee to reach 6 wins. It didn't amount to much as Vanderbilt was blown out by NC State in their bowl game.

Vanderbilt's offense seemed to improve as the year went on and aside from the bowl dud they were excellent at the end of the year. Good news is they get their star running back in Ralph Webb back, he is the leader of this offense and has managed to run well despite everyone being bad around him, now it seems like there's more help on the offense so we'll really see what he does. QB Kyle Shurmur returns, he's now a junior and he even began playing as a freshman, Shurmur was pretty bad to start out last year and improved as the year went again (once again besides the bowl game), there's some receiver help back as sophomore Kalija Lipscomb returns after he almost instantly became Vanderbilt's top receiver last year, for a while Lipscomb became perhaps the only threat, finally Caleb Scott a big play threat at receiver started making an impact later in the year. Bad news is the offensive line, it struggled last year and while there's 4 experienced players back there still could be some inexperienced players taking a role.

Vanderbilt has been solid defensively for years as James Franklin's teams had success and Derek Mason is an excellent defensive mind. Good news is Vanderbilt should have a solid secondary this year, as it was solid last year and now most everyone returns. Vanderbilt also returns linebacker Oren Burks and most of the defensive line is back. Bad news is while experience is nice the defensive line does lack size for a 3-4 defense and some of the better teams in the conference are capable of pushing it around, there's also a big loss in 2nd round NFL pick linebacker Zach Cunningham who was the best talent in this defense last year.

Vanderbilt has challenges in their schedule they have tough non-conference games against Kansas State, Mid Tenn State and Western Kentucky. Vanderbilt was given no favors in having the misfortune of drawing Alabama from the West, their other game is Ole Miss at least. Vanderbilt has a team capable of competing, they're capable of pulling upsets and avoiding upsets themselves will be key to a bowl bid.

Predictions:

Sep. 2 @ Mid Tenn State: Upset loss. L
Sep. 9 Alabama A&M: W
Sep. 16 Kansas State: L
Sep. 23 Alabama: L
Sep. 30 @ Florida: Upset win! Vanderbilt has come close against Florida the past few years, they finally close the deal. W
Oct. 7 Georgia: Vanderbilt rolls with yet another upset win. W
Oct. 14 @ Ole Miss: W
Oct. 28 @ South Carolina: L
Nov. 4 Western Kentucky: W
Nov. 11 Kentucky: W
Nov. 18 Missouri: L
Nov. 25 @ Tennessee: L

Predictions: 6-6(4-4)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

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East:

1. Florida Gators 8-4(6-2)
2. Georgia Bulldogs 8-4(5-3)
3. Tennessee Volunteers 8-4(4-4) - Tennessee gets tie break with better record
4. Vanderbilt Commodores 6-6(4-4) - Vanderbilt beat Kentucky head to head
5. Kentucky Wildcats 6-6(4-4)
6. Missouri Tigers 6-6(2-6)
7. South Carolina Gamecocks 4-8(1-7)

West:

1. Alabama Crimson Tide 12-0(8-0)
2. Louisiana State Tigers 10-2(6-2)
3. Auburn Tigers 8-4(5-3)
4. Mississippi State Bulldogs 7-5(4-4)
5. Arkansas Razorbacks 7-5(4-4)
6. Texas A&M Aggies 7-5(3-5)
7. Mississippi Rebels 3-9(0-8)

SEC Championship: Florida Gators vs Alabama Crimson Tide - Well this looks familiar doesn't it? Once again these two play for the title, Alabama is looking at a playoff birth while Florida is simply hoping to cause chaos...something not usually seen in the SEC championship.

 

[Red_Alert]

Always a good annual peruse, BSF27. Thx

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Always a good annual peruse, BSF27. Thx

Thank you sir! Football season is just days away now!

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

ACC will close out the predictions for this year.

Then I'll do conference championships

and Saturday before the games start will be the New Years 6 & playoff projections

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Boston College Eagles

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Preview: It's hard to believe that a decade ago Boston College was just beginning to go on a run of two Coastal division titles in a row. In 2007 and 2008 Boston College won the Coastal division and lost to Virginia Tech in the ACC title game. That is pretty much the last time Boston College has had a lot of success as they have struggled as a program since then. Head coach Steve Addazio dug them out of the mess they were in but has yet to progress this program any further. Can he make any progress this year?

Last year Boston College opened the year 3-2 but most of the wins were against bad opponents. Boston College lost the next two to Clemson and Syracuse and then upset NC State on the road. Boston College lost in blowouts the next 2 games and then ended the year strong with 2 wins in a row. Boston College then beat Maryland in their bowl game.

Boston College was still awful offensively last year but at least they were improved from 2015. Good news is they get RB Justin Hilliman back, he struggled early last year as he was still recovering from an injury in 2015 but he played well late in the year. They also bring back their top receivers in Jeff Smith, big play threat Michael Walker and the tall Charlie Callinan, they also bring back TE Tommy Sweeney. The offensive line has a lot of experience back too. Bad news is the QB position, Patrick Towles stabilized things a little bit last year but he's gone. The competition is down to Darius Wade who struggled miserably as a started in 2015 or freshman Anthony Brown. Overall this offense struggled and needs to find something to get even a little better.

Defense meanwhile has been a strength for Boston College, after being so good defensively in 2015 they dropped off a little bit and the better offenses on the schedule really took advantage. Still good news is Boston College returns perhaps the best defensive end in college football in Harold Landry. They also bring back their defensive tackles and have a solid pair of linebackers in Connor Strachan and Ty Schwab. The secondary also returns almost everyone from last year. Bad news is the defense had a few too many break downs, can they fix that? Can I also use the bad offense constantly putting this defense on the field as bad news as well?

Boston College's schedule contains non-conference games against Notre Dame, Northern Illinois, Central Michigan and UConn. They also draw Virginia Tech and Virginia from the Coastal division. Boston College needs to make some improvements on offense in order to contend for a bowl again because of the difficulty of the schedule.

Predictions:

Sep. 1 @ Northern Illinois: W
Sep. 9 Wake Forest: W
Sep. 16 Notre Dame: Boston College is always tough against Notre Dame, I'm going with a big upset here. W
Sep. 23 @ Clemson: L
Sep. 30 Central Michigan: W
Oct. 7 Virginia Tech: L
Oct. 14 @ Louisville: L
Oct. 21 @ Virginia: L
Oct. 27 Florida State: L
Nov. 11 NC State: L
Nov. 18 UConn (Fenway Park): W
Nov. 25 @ Syracuse: L

Predicted Record: 5-7(1-7)

 

[nathans8823]

Hey @BoiseStateFan27 did you make one for Notre Dame yet? Or am I blind and missed it on one of these pages?

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Hey @BoiseStateFan27 did you make one for Notre Dame yet? Or am I blind and missed it on one of these pages?

Bottom of page 6 sir, they were squeezed between the Mac and Pac-12. Easy to miss

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Clemson Tigers

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Preview: With 2017 now in the books you can definitely add Dabo Swinney to the list of elite coaches in college football (if he wasn't there already.) Entering last year only 5 active college football coaches had won a national championship and that number is now 4 with Bob Stoops retiring and Les Miles not being an active coach and Dabo Swinney winning his first. Swinney is easily the most surprising of the 4 coaches with national championships, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and Jimbo Fisher were all surefire hires when they were brought in. Swinney on the other hand, was a surprising hire when he became the full time head coach after originally being an interim coach, it took him a while but Swinney has made Clemson a truly elite program.

Last year this team was one of the more interesting in college football. They opened the year struggling offensively and barely beating Auburn, the following week they barely got past Troy. After easy wins over South Carolina State and Georgia Tech, Clemson had a big halftime lead on Louisville, lost that lead and then stormed back to win. Clemson destroyed Boston College and then took advantage of awful coaching to survive NC State's upset bid. Clemson barely outlasted Florida State and crushed Syracuse. Finally after playing with fire for so long Clemson got burned as Pittsburgh kicked a late field goal to upset them. Clemson turned it on after easily dominating Wake Forest and South Carolina, then taking a big lead on Virginia Tech in the ACC championship before holding on from a Virginia Tech comeback. As soon as the playoffs rolled around Clemson turned it on and played their best football of the year, absolutely dominating Ohio State in every way in a 31-0 win, and then making a comeback to beat Alabama with a touchdown in the final seconds in what possibly may have been the best national championship ever.

Clemson had an offense with elite talent but it was error prone. They lose a fantastic QB in Deshaun Watson and now are tasked to replace him. The replacement will either be junior Kelly Bryant or true freshman Hunter Johnson, will the replacement be as good as Watson? No definitely not this year but I think Clemson will be fine either way. Clemson has a trio of backs who could replace the departed Wayne Gallman, chances are C.J Fuller, Adam Choice and Tavien Feaster will all play, they had carries in limited action last year, Choice had the worst ypc of the bunch while Feaster had easily the best, Feaster was the highest rated back entering college too. Clemson loses a ton of receiving production as WRs Mike Williams, Artavis Scott and TE Jordan Leggett are all gone, panic right? No way, Clemson constantly subbed different receivers in and out throughout the year to spread the ball to different targets and in hopes of putting a receiver with fresh legs against a DB who is tired from playing all game (worked to perfection against Bama) so despite all those losses there's still a lot back. National championship hero Hunter Renfrow leads the returning receivers along with Deon Cain, and Ray-Ray McCloud and there's more waiting in the wings also. Clemson's offensive line was very glitchy last year and had some problems at times, but 4 starters are back.

Clemson's defense was mostly very good, only a few teams found ways to score on them. Once again Clemson will have a scary defensive line this year, only Carlos Watkins and backup Scott Pagano are gone and this line is simply loaded with defensive end Clelin Ferrell plus defensive tackles Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence all returning. Clemson loses their leader of the linebacker unit in Ben Boulware but that's it, all the other linebackers are back including Kendall Joseph and Dorian O'Daniel. Clemson loses two good starters in the secondary in corner Cordrea Tankersley and safety Jadar Johnson, but everyone else is back led by corner Ryan Carter and safety Van Smith, and there's backups who have performed well when asked to step in.

Clemson has some challenges on their schedule, they have a big non-conference game against Auburn but the rest of the non-conference is South Carolina, Kent State and The Citadel. Clemson draws Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech from the Coastal division. Overall Clemson might be a slight step down from last year...I think. Don't write this team off though, they will still be very good.

Predictions:

Sep. 2 Kent State: Poor Kent State. W
Sep. 9 Auburn: Clemson uses this game as a statement as they dominate Auburn for a win. W
Sep. 16 @ Louisville: Louisville is a tricky place to play especially with them having Lamar Jackson, I think Jackson manages to make several big plays and leads Louisville to an upset over Clemson. L
Sep. 23 Boston College: W
Sep. 30 @ Virginia Tech: Clemson struggles offensively but their defense plays very well and their offense still does just enough to win. W
Oct. 7 Wake Forest: W
Oct. 13 @ Syracuse: W
Oct. 28 Georgia Tech: W
Nov. 4 @ NC State: Potential trap game, but Dave Doeren has proven before that he isn't capable of pulling off an upset so Clemson survives. W
Nov. 11 Florida State: This game is once again a back and forth battle between these two, Francois ends up making the big plays at the end for Florida State to win. L
Nov. 18 The Citadel: W
Nov. 25 @ South Carolina: W

Predicted Record: 10-2(6-2)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Duke Blue Devils

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Preview: David Cutcliffe is actually now one of the longest tenured coaches in the ACC which is surprising when you consider that Duke coaches usually don't last that long but it tends to happen when he managed to bring Duke to a bowl 5 years in a row, that streak came to an end last year thanks to a brutal schedule now can Cutcliffe get them back to one?

Last year Duke started off 2-2 a start that was both good and bad, there was the win over Notre Dame but Duke also lost to Wake Forest and a Northwestern team that was struggling at the time. Duke lost to Virginia and beat Army to move to 3-3. They took close losses to Louisville, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech and then upset North Carolina. After that upset Duke was seemingly out of gas as they were destroyed by Pitt and Miami to close out the year.

Duke found themselves struggling a lot of last year on offense but with all this youth you could see why. Good news is youth means that a lot is back. QB Daniel Jones is back for only his sophomore year after starting last year, and there are so many receivers that contributed last year in WRs T.J Rahming, Johnathan Lloyd, Chris Taylor & TEs Daniel Helm and Davis Koppenhaver, all 5 of these players were sophomores last year which means they're now more experienced juniors. Bad news is the running game was terrible last year, Duke could barely move the ball on the ground, one of their RBs in Shaun Wilson does return at least, the offensive line loses a few starters though Ohio State grad transfer Evan Lisle could help.

Duke's defense was very good for the early portion of the year but injuries took their toll later in the year as the defense collapsed. Good news is Duke gets some good linebackers back in Tinashe Bere (who missed all of last year from injury), Joe Giles-Harris and Ben Humphreys. Last year's injuries in the secondary gave it a head start on this year's youth movement a lot of younger players will become starters but at least they gained experience last year. Bad news is while they're experienced they still might be more prone to giving up big plays. The defensive line is a big question mark as very little experience is back.

Duke will once again go up against a brutal schedule, their non-conference consists of one easy game against NC Central, but they also face Northwestern, Baylor and Army. Duke is always fortunate to draw Wake Forest from the Atlantic, problem is this year they have the misfortune of also getting Florida State. Duke faces a steep uphill climb just to make a bowl this year, that schedule is rough.

Predictions:

Sep. 2 NC Central: W
Sep. 9 Northwestern: L
Sep. 16 Baylor: W
Sep. 23 @ North Carolina: L
Sep. 29 Miami: L
Oct. 7 @ Virginia: L
Oct. 14 Florida State: L
Oct. 21 Pittsburgh: W
Oct. 28 @ Virginia Tech: L
Nov. 11 Army: W
Nov. 18 Georgia Tech: Small upset here. W
Nov. 25 @ Wake Forest: L

Predicted Record: 5-7(2-6)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Florida State Seminoles

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Preview: Florida State has become one of the nation's most consistent programs, basically any given year you can expect them to compete for an ACC title and lose at most 3 games. Jimbo Fisher is one of the 4 active coaches in college football with a national championship now, but his main challenge is that the ACC is the only conference left with multiple national championship winning coaches, he has to face Dabo Swinney the other national championship winning ACC coach every year. Swinney has gotten the best of Fisher lately, can Fisher get the best of him this year?

Last year looked problematic early as Florida State fell behind 28-6 against Ole Miss, but absolutely dominated the 2nd half to win, then they easily beat their FCS opponent. Then Florida State had a complete collapse in what turned out to be a meaningless 63-20 destruction on the road against Louisville. Florida State made a few stops to outscore South Florida and then lost on a late field goal in a shootout to North Carolina. Florida State trailed rival Miami 13-3 and charged back to take a 20-13 lead and then won after Miami missed the game tying extra point. From there Florida State improved, easily beating Wake Forest, losing by 3 in a tight game to Clemson, then surviving NC State's upset bid. Florida State crushed Boston College, Syracuse and Florida to close out the regular season. Florida State then beat Michigan 33-32 in a bonkers Orange bowl.

Florida State had a good offense last year, perhaps the best they had since Jameis Winston was the QB. QB Deondre Francois is back for only his sophomore season this year, he played very well last year but was way too willing to sit in the pocket to make a big play, as a result he took a lot of sacks and was hit far too often to make coach Fisher or FSU fans comfortable. Florida State loses a fantastic RB in Dalvin Cook, and now they must find a replacement. Junior Jacques Patrick is a big back and was solid in relief of Cook last year, and of course there is also star freshman recruit Cam Akers who might be the starter right away. Florida State loses their top 3 receivers, but they have some players ready to step up. Nyqwan Murray and Auden Tate started to get more involved in the offense late last year and now they're set to become the top two in this offense. The offensive line absolutely needs to improve as Florida State struggled up front last year, and they lose two of their better linemen but due to shuffling there's still 6 players with starting experience back.

Florida State's defense struggled badly to start out the year last year but they improved as the year went on. The defensive line loses a good player in DeMarcus Walker who had an incredible 16 sacks last year (although 5 of those came against Ole Miss' inept offensive line in the opener), everyone else is back though. Defensive tackles Derrick Nnadi and Demarcus Christmas are solid players who have been around a while, this line could be pushed around by a good run game. Florida State brings back almost every single linebacker from last year including the star of the unit Matthew Thomas. Florida State's secondary had struggles early in the year, and with good reason the star of the unit and perhaps the best safety in college football Derwin James was hurt early in the year, eventually Florida State adjusted to life without him...and now they get him back. Only one player that played significantly last year is gone.

Florida State's schedule is very tough, for one there's the aforementioned fact of there only being 4 active national championship winning coaches, Fisher is one of them and Florida State faces two of the other three away from home. They face Alabama to open the year on a neutral site, and also have rival Florida on the road. Florida State draws rival Miami as usual from the Coastal as well as Duke. This is another team with it all on the table, they are aiming for an Acc title, playoff birth and national championship this year.

Predictions:

Sep. 2 Alabama (Atlanta): This will be a back and forth game, I think Alabama takes it as Francois gets caught looking down field too much. L
Sep. 9 UL-Monroe: W
Sep. 16 Miami (Fl): Florida State gets to rip the heart out of their rival early this year. W
Sep. 23 NC State: Florida State's defense dominates to win. W
Sep. 30 @ Wake Forest: W
Oct. 14 @ Duke: W
Oct. 21 Louisville: Florida State gets revenge for last year's loss in a back and forth battle. W
Oct. 27 @ Boston College: W
Nov. 4 Syracuse: W
Nov. 11 @ Clemson: Florida State barely edges Clemson in a back and forth battle thanks to Francois. W
Nov. 18 Delaware State: Delaware State??? Really??? This team lost 79-0 to Missouri last year, this is inhumane. W
Nov. 25 @ Florida: Florida State once again dominates another in-state rival. W

Predicted Record: 11-1(8-0)