2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS
8 ACC Preview
By Connor Scott
12 Big Ten Preview
By Connor Scott
16 Big XII Preview
By Alex Apple
20 Pac 12 Preview
By Alex Apple
24 SEC Preview
By Connor Scott
28 Group of Five Preview
By Connor Scott
28 COLLEGE FOOTBALL TODAY COLLEGE FOOTBALL TODAY 29
GROUP OF PREVIEW
One “Group of Five”
team will make a
BCS bowl.
Want to bet on who?
Give us the Fighting
Kiffins or the Owls!
Florida Atlantic
The Owls open up the 2018 season at
Oklahoma, and if they can pull off that
upset, there is a good chance they could
go undefeated in the regular season
and be fighting for a top 10 spot come
the end of November. In Lane Kiffin’s
second season, he is overseeing a roster
that has been almost completely turned
upside down since he has arrived.
It’s filled with junior college players,
transfers from other Division I schools
and high school prospects that would
have never landed with the Owls before
he arrived. He has playmakers on both
sides of the ball including All-American
running back Devin Singletary, who
accounted for 32 touchdowns in 2017.
Memphis
The clear-cut favorite in the American
Athletic Conference, Mike Norvell’s
Tigers return almost everyone on both
sides of the ball except star QB Riley
Ferguson and 2nd round draft pick WR
Anthony Miller. The Tigers fielded their
best defense statistically in 2017 since
the 1960s. It consisted of strong
freshman, including freshman
All-American CB TJ Carter. Norvell
brought in two new quarterbacks this
year to duel it out and find the best man
for the job in his spread-out, high-paced
offense — one that is designed to wear
you out and then beat you over the
top. It will be hard to repeat what they
accomplished last year as they finished
4th in the country in total offense, but
with plenty of experience coming back
from both sides of the ball the Tigers
will once again be a dangerous team.
Central Florida
The season the Golden Knights had
last year was one to remember as they
capped their season off with a victory
against #10 ranked Auburn Tigers 34-27
in the Peach Bowl and finished sixth in
the country (and national champions?
Depends on whom you ask). Granted
they lost a lot after the 2017 season, but
new head coach Josh Heupel still holds
a roster worthy of competing at a very
high level with the capability to repeat
what they did last year. They return
big-time playmakers on offense
including heralded junior quarterback
McKenzie Milton. They probably have
the toughest schedule amongst all
non-Power 5 schools. They go on the
road to North Carolina and will host
Pittsburgh and Florida Atlantic in
marquee mid-major matchups.
Boise State
They’re the favorite to win the
Mountain West Conference this year
after winning it last year for the first
time in three years. They return senior
quarterback Brett Rypien and almost
their entire offense while also creating
havoc on the defensive side of the ball
with two of college football’s best pass
rushers at each defensive end spot and
a secondary that knows how to force
turnovers. Bryan Harsin is going into
his 5th season as the Broncos head man
with hopes of putting together the type
of special season that was frequent when
Chris Petersen roamed the sidelines.
Troy
The Trojans prevailed when they
traveled down to Baton Rouge last year
to face LSU, upsetting them 24-21.
They narrowly missed beating Clemson
the year before. This year they play at
Nebraska, and if they can find a way to
beat the Cornhuskers in Scott Frost’s
first year, look out for that team. They
may go overlooked in Alabama, but
this team has talent and could play
with unsuspecting teams in the Power
Five conferences. Troy led the Sun Belt
Conference in both total offense and
defense in 2017 while taking home the
conference crown. They are the favorites
to repeat that feat in 2018.
BCS BOUND IN 2018 By Connor Scott
CONFERENCE PREVIEWS
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ELEVATING
A PROGRAM:
Will Healy’s Journey at Austin Peay
By Connor Scott
I n 2016, Will Healy took over a horrible program and was
the second youngest head coach in college football…just
thirty-one years old. Austin Peay went 0-11 his first year
and were on a 29-game losing streak but managed to reel in a
top 5 FCS recruiting class. Fast forward, and now Healy brought
in the #1 overall recruiting class in FCS according to 247 sports.
Healy was named the winner of the Eddie Robinson Award and
the Ohio Valley Conference awarded him with the Roy Kidd
Coach of the Year award in 2017.
Snapping a 29-game losing streak and reversing a losing culture
takes vision and a special leader. In a sit down with College
Football Today, Healy expressed how he instilled confidence in a
system for a team that went from 0-11 to 8-4.
“My guys have convinced me as much as I have convinced them.
The dynamic of our team has totally changed, but I think as we
continued to do things the right way our confidence built up,”
Healy noted.
Healy brought senior leaders Jaison Williams, a starting defensive
end and offensive tackle Kyle Anderton to the OVC media day,
both are All-OVC preseason first team. Media swarmed around
Healy and the Governors, a sign of change as much as anything.
The Governors were long and also-ran in the OVC, something
reflected by the tepid interest from the media that the Govs used
to receive.
Jaison Williams was glowing about the chance to face Georgia
in the Governors’ 2018 opener. “Very excited, and I think it
brings hype to the university.”
Anderton noted, “You get to see where you lie, who your friends
are and who your brothers are. Also, why not see where you are
in week one. Going up against the best is only motivation for us
to go out there and compete.”
Healy said a game against Georgia helps put his team on the
map “My hope in scheduling the game was number one, it
would give the university publicity and notoriety. Number two,
our guys would have an opportunity that would be unique for
an FCS player. We’re playing at 3:30 on ESPN on opening week,
I mean what else do you want as a college athlete?”
Installing a winning culture in Clarksville, Tennessee took time
for Healy who is now widely considered one of the top young
coaches in the country. The Governors now have weapons at
all levels of the offense and defense. The offense averaged 258
rushing yards per game which ranked sixth nationally in the
FCS. Quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall was named OVC Freshman
of the Year. He’s a local star from just under an hour away in
Brentwood, Tennessee.
Oatsvall earned the starting position midway through his freshman
season last year. He went on to complete 80 of 141 passes for
1,148 yards and seven touchdowns while also rushing for 453
yards and six touchdowns.
OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche talked about the resurgence
of Austin Peay and the impact of having multiple teams make
the playoffs.
“The attention and energy is very exciting,” DeBauche said. “The
national attention that Austin Peay has brought to our league is
incredible. If we’re being honest, conferences are judged on how
many teams make the playoffs and with multiple teams from the
OVC in the playoffs that will only improve the reputation and
credibility of the conference.”
Austin Peay is certainly one of the hottest teams in FCS. That
statement would have been unbelievable just a year ago, but a visionary
like Healy can alter the course of a university. Good football
increases the number of applicants; it invigorates a campus
that yearns for Saturdays, and it alters the course for a university.
What Healy took over was undoubtedly one of the toughest
reclamation projects in recent football history, so mark us down
as believers that his success is just beginning.
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