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#39 NC State Wolfpack
Now that it's the offseason, coach Tom O'Brien isn't quite as bold in his comments about North Carolina State as he was at the end of last season. After the Wolfpack won four in a row to end the regular season and become bowl eligible, O'Brien said his team was playing as well as any team in the ACC. As O'Brien prepares for the start of his third season at NC State, he merely says the Wolfpack are headed in the right direction.
"We can be better than we were a year ago," O'Brien says, "and the idea is to get better each and every year."
NC State returns most of the key players from the team that finished 6-7 with a loss to Rutgers in the Papajohns.com Bowl. The Wolfpack are strongest at quarterback, where ACC Rookie of the Year Russell Wilson will unleash his dual-threat skills as a sophomore.
Junior linebacker Nate Irving and senior end Willie Young give NC State two of the ACC's most disruptive defensive players. The Wolfpack have two proven senior running backs in Jamelle Eugene and Toney Baker, plus a bunch of experienced, talented receivers.
With seven returning starters on both offense and defense, there's no reason NC State shouldn't challenge for the Atlantic Division title.
"We've been around (O'Brien) long enough to learn the system and know what the coaches expect of us, learn how to practice and play like a championship team," Irving says.
#38 West Virginia Mountaineers
When West Virginia lost a couple games early last season, the mantra around the Mountain State was that new head coach Bill Stewart was given the keys to a Porsche — and steered it into a ditch. Now, Stewart seems more settled. However, with NCAA record-breaker Pat White gone, he'll be driving more of a hybrid. With Jarrett Brown at quarterback, Stewart has recruited more receivers. His staff has installed more of a high-tech passing game. And the hope in Morgantown is that this model will get more mileage over the long haul.
"Daggone, we just have to spread the wealth a little more," says the Mountaineer coach. "We did it (versus North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl). We had to do more than run (White) in crucial situations. But we are not going to be the BYU of the East."
That's because WVU still has fine tailback Noel Devine. And the 6'4", 221-pound Brown can run as well. But the Mountaineers are determined to show they can pass out of the team's spread offense in 2009. Stewart ordered White to go to the air against UNC, and the result was 332 passing yards and a 31-30 West Virginia win. With Brown, a stronger passer, now under center, expect more of the same this season.
#37 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Greg Schiano knows he faces a daunting two-fold challenge this fall. Finding a replacement for quarterback Mike Teel, the most accomplished passer in school history, and then somehow filling the void left by Kenny Britt, the best wide receiver Rutgers has ever produced, won't be easy. But the Scarlet Knights' ninth-year head coach knows that if suitable answers are found at both positions, he might be able to finally make good on his hiring-day promise of delivering a championship.
Last season, for the second time in three years, Schiano and Co. essentially fell one play short of winning the Big East. A charter member of the league, which began in 1991, Rutgers has never even earned a piece of the Big East title. But with 13 returning starters from a team that closed out by winning its final seven games — including the program's third-straight bowl victory — there's reason to believe this could be the year.
There are just those two big "ifs."
"I think we'll be fine (at quarterback and wide receiver)," Schiano says, "but until other guys actually go out and do it, you don't know. You've got to hope that you've recruited the right guys and that you've prepared them the best you can and that they're ready to do it when they get their chance. And their chance is now. So we'll see."
The Knights will unveil newly expanded Rutgers Stadium, which now seats 54,000 following a $102 million expansion project, by opening the season with defending Big East champion Cincinnati.
#36 Michigan Wolverines
One year after a 3-9 debacle that had even the most loyal Wolverines rending their maize-and-blue garments and hiding from friends and neighbors of the Spartan persuasion, things ought to be different in Ann Arbor. Let's put it this way: They had better be different, because the patience of Michigan fans and alumni, who have become quite accustomed to huge success after nearly 40 years of the Schembechler Dynasty, is quite thin.
The good news is that after a much crisper spring practice, second-year Wolverines coach Rich Rodriguez can see big changes. The amount of competition for positions increased considerably, the learning curve was lessened greatly, and the execution on both sides of the ball, particularly offense, was much improved. Most important, the Wolverines grew a year older.
"It's quite a big difference from last year," Rodriguez says. "A lot was made then about the change in system, but it was mostly a change in experience. When you make a change with an experienced team, it's easier. When you do it with guys who haven't played, it's a perfect storm. I could sense by the end of the year that the guys were starting to understand."
Before you get too excited about this year, Wolverine fans, keep in mind that there are still some big questions about the team and that competition for the top spot in the Big Ten remains at least a year off. Yes, we know Rodriguez's M.O. He starts off with a clunker and then moves to bigger things. That may well happen this year, but winning the league is almost an impossibility. Michigan is still too young and too thin at many key positions and still in a state of adjustment. Last year, it was a new offense that flummoxed the Wolverines. In 2009, new coordinator Greg Robinson's defense is the culprit. Oh, and the quarterback situation isn't exactly ideal.
Michigan will be better, but greatness remains a long way off.
"There's still going to be some transition," Rodriguez says. "We're going to play a lot more freshmen and redshirt freshmen than we would like to."
#35 South Florida Bulls
The South Florida Bulls have made a meteoric climb to college football's elite level since the program began at the Division I-AA level in 1997. With equal parts imagination, perspiration and inspiration, the Bulls have improved by cashing in on opportunities.
But not last season. It was a step backward.
The Bulls, with 17 returning starters entering a wide-open Big East Conference race, were left wheezing when it was time to hit overdrive. There were early believers as the Bulls took an unbeaten record and a No. 10 national ranking into October, but then came four losses in five conference games. As a result, South Florida slid to a 2-5 mark in the league — losing to Rutgers and Cincinnati for the third-straight season — and it needed a late-season victory against Connecticut to assure the program's fourth-consecutive bowl appearance.
Although the Bulls still have some of the Big East's most talented individual players — such as senior quarterback Matt Grothe and defensive end George Selvie — South Florida is no longer the chic pick to win a title.
But the Bulls aren't standing pat. There are new coordinators in place — familiar face Mike Canales was elevated to offensive coordinator, plus there was the addition of co-defensive coordinators Joe Tresey (Cincinnati) and David Blackwell (Clemson). What's more, coach Jim Leavitt has attracted possibly the most impressive recruiting class in program history.
Once again, there is opportunity. Will South Florida take advantage?
#34 Oregon Ducks
A new era has dawned at Oregon. Mike Bellotti has taken up residence in the athletic director's suite for the Ducks, handing over the reins of the football program after a 14-year run of unprecedented success in Eugene. Now at the helm is Chip Kelly, the wunderkind offensive coordinator with only two years' experience at the FBS level.
While the transition from Bellotti to Kelly was smooth, a new tone has been established around the program. Gone is the easygoing, West Coast personality of Bellotti. In is the gruff, East Coast presence of Kelly.
"It's clearly different," senior tight end Ed Dickson says. "He gets people's attention."
What the Ducks hope won't change is the prolific success of the Oregon offense over the last 20 years, and the run of bowl appearances and national rankings that came along with it. Oregon finished last season ranked 10th in the nation by the Associated Press after surprising Oklahoma State in the Holiday Bowl. For the second straight year, Kelly took an unheralded quarterback — first Dennis Dixon, then Jeremiah Masoli — and developed him into a prolific dual threat in the spread-option offense.
Unlike Dixon, Masoli is back for another season with Kelly. But similar success isn't a sure thing for Oregon in 2009. The Ducks lost three starters from both the offensive line and defensive line, plus all four team captains from last fall. A lack of leadership and experienced line play isn't much of a formula for winning in the Pac-10.
#33 Oregon State Beavers
The entire secondary must be replaced, along with some key starters on the offensive line. The starting quarterback had offseason rotator cuff surgery, and sophomore tailback sensation Jacquizz Rodgers and versatile junior wide receiver James Rodgers both were limited in spring practice by injuries that sidelined them for the Beavers' Sun Bowl victory over Pittsburgh. The Pac-10 schedule isn't favorable, with five road games, including testers at USC, California, Arizona State and Oregon.
So all is doom and gloom at Oregon State, right?
Not so. Ever the optimist, veteran coach Mike Riley sees no real reason why the Beavers' amazing turnaround shouldn't continue and lead to their sixth bowl game appearance in the past seven seasons.
True, many of the standouts from the 2008 club that went 9-4 and fell one game short of OSU's first Rose Bowl appearance since the 1964 season are gone. The Beavers could be hard-pressed to match an unprecedented three-year string of success that's seen them win 28 games overall, 19 games in the Pac-10, and defeat BCS-conference teams in the 2006 Sun (Missouri), 2007 Emerald (Maryland) and 2008 Sun (Pittsburgh) bowls.
But with 10 full- or part-time starters returning, a slew of lettermen and a redshirted 2008 recruiting class available for the Sept. 5 opener against Portland State, there's little reason to believe Oregon State won't be a factor in the Pac-10 race.
"From what I've seen this winter, I'm expecting nothing but good things this year," says right guard Gregg Peat, one of the offensive line's veteran mainstays. "We have a shot at the Pac-10, like we are close to every year. I think this team has the 'finish' mentality."
Riley is 48-28 in his second stint with the Beavers, and 5-0 in bowls. Oregon State is 26-9 since starting the 2006 season at 2-3, and has defeated USC twice and every other team in the Pac-10 at least once during that span.
#32 Stanford Cardinal
There is a buzz building around Jim Harbaugh and the Stanford football program, despite the fact that the Cardinal are just 9-15 in the coach's first two years on The Farm. There is a sense that Stanford is coming — sooner rather than later. It started with the 2007 upset of USC, continued after narrowly missing a bowl game last season and added steam after Harbaugh brought in one of the nation's top recruiting classes for 2009.
The Cardinal may not be ready to contend for the Pac-10 championship just yet, but a winning season and a finish in the upper half of the conference aren't out of the question in 2009.
"This team has an identity," Harbaugh says. "This team is better and has more depth than it has had. We're becoming the strong, blue-collar kind of football team that we envisioned."
Stanford went 5-7 last year but notched quality wins over Oregon State and Arizona and lost close games to Oregon, Notre Dame and UCLA. After the season, Harbaugh reportedly interviewed with the New York Jets and was on the wish list of a handful of other NFL teams.
But Harbaugh stayed put, agreeing to a three-year contract extension and continuing to lay the foundation for a contending team in the Pac-10. But Harbaugh, never afraid to make grandiose statements, wants more than that.
"Our goals next year won't be to get bowl-eligible. It will be BCS-eligible. That's what we will be aiming for," he told reporters following the Cardinal's season-ending loss to Cal.
Stanford needs to simply have a winning season first. With a talented young quarterback and some key returners to a very good defense in place, the Cardinal could finally finish over the break-even mark for the first time since 2001.
#31 North Carolina Tar Heels
As Butch Davis spoke to reporters after North Carolina's annual spring game, a beeping noise rang out relentlessly in the background. It was the sound of construction equipment renovating the Kenan Football Center while adding a floor to the building. The sound is emblematic of UNC's football program these days. As the school moves forward with its plans to augment Kenan Stadium and its surrounding football facilities, Davis continues his quest to build a consistent winner on the field.
Entering his third season at the helm, Davis has constructed a nice foundation. The Tar Heels flipped their regular-season record from 4-8 in 2007 to 8-4 last season, and they played in their first bowl game since 2004 while finishing with a winning record for the first time since 2001.
North Carolina's players believe they are ready to take another step forward in 2009 — "The next step for us is to win the ACC championship," cornerback Kendric Burney says — and they have a league-high nine starters returning on defense to assist them in that endeavor.
But plenty of change looms. The Tar Heels lost several key contributors on offense, including record-breaking wideout Hakeem Nicks, and hired three new assistants (Troy Douglas, Art Kaufman and Allen Mogridge) to replace departing coaches Steve Hagen, John Lovett and Tommy Thigpen. The rebuilding plan remains the same, though, even with some change in on-site supervision.
"We definitely are trying to work as hard as we can," quarterback T.J. Yates says. "We're trying to get to that next level and compete for BCS games and ACC championships."
#30 Michigan State Spartans
With an improving defense and good talent to replenish the quarterback and running back positions, Michigan State is poised to earn a New Year's Day bowl bid for the second straight year, something the Spartans have not done since 1987-88.
"That would be another stepping stone for us, and I think it is definitely possible," says third-year head coach Mark Dantonio.
Every year, Dantonio says the goal is to win a championship. But this season, with Ohio State off the schedule, making a run at a share of the conference title is not out of the question for a team that finished only one game behind the Big Ten champion Buckeyes a year ago.
"I think we are heading towards our ultimate goals," says Dantonio, whose team finished 9-4 last year after a Capital One Bowl loss to Georgia.
"There are some positions where we lost star power. We have got to find guys to come out of the mix there, and I think that will develop in August and then as we get into the first two games."
Gifted sophomores Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol will take their constructive quarterback competition deep into September, with a two-quarterback system likely for at least part of the season.
The Spartans have a slew of promising tailbacks jockeying to take over for Javon Ringer. The offensive line is the biggest question, with new starters needed at right guard and right tackle after an unspectacular season from that unit, overall, in 2008. Wide receiver and tight end will become areas of strength this year with Keshawn Martin, Mark Dell and Charlie Gantt capable of making runs at All-Big Ten consideration.
Michigan State will have its fastest trio of linebackers this decade, led by junior Greg Jones. He was first-team All-Big Ten as a sophomore. The defensive line will be solid but could use another pass-rusher to complement Trevor Anderson. The rush defense will need to stand up better against the bruising ground attacks of Iowa and Wisconsin, but spread offenses haven't been a problem recently for Michigan State. The Spartan secondary will be among the best in the Big Ten.
#29 Pittsburgh Panthers
An appropriate title for the 2008 Pittsburgh football season would have been "Full Speed Ahead." How else to encapsulate a campaign that featured the most regular-season wins (nine) since 1982, a bowl appearance for the first time in three years, significant road victories at South Florida, Notre Dame and Connecticut and five fourth quarter comebacks?
It was a breakthrough year for coach Dave Wannstedt, who failed to reach a bowl or produce a record better than .500 in his first three seasons. However, he is far from satisfied.
"We have a long way to go," says Wannstedt, who returns 14 starters from his nine-win Sun Bowl team, which ended its resurgent season on a sour note by getting blanked 3-0 by Oregon State in the bowl game. "Getting to nine wins was nice, but it's not a championship. We're all here to win a championship."
Reaching that championship goal will be challenging in 2009, considering that the Panthers lost two stalwarts in All-America linebacker Scott McKillop and record-setting tailback LeSean McCoy, who amassed 2,816 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns in only two seasons.
The Panthers are hoping that new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr., a Pittsburgh native whose offense at the University of California averaged nearly 33 points per game and had a running back (Jahvid Best) rush for nearly 1,600 yards, will provide an instant jolt. He replaced the oft-criticized Matt Cavanaugh. Wannstedt is also looking for his highly regarded recruiting classes from the past four seasons and his swarming defense to live up to expectations.
#28 Texas Tech Red Raiders
At the start of 2009, it looked like all the magic and goodwill produced by the Red Raiders in an 11-1 regular season last year might turn to dust. What should have been a celebration of one of the best years in the program's history turned into an internal episode of Family Feud.
First, came a 47-34 loss to Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl, followed a month later by a staredown between the school administration and coach Mike Leach over a contract extension. The testy exchanges led many to believe Tech could actually sever ties with the coach who had just led the Red Raiders to their first Big 12 South co-championship in school history.
But ultimately the school relented and withdrew some late demands in the negotiation. Texas Tech had wanted Leach, a lawyer who attended Pepperdine law school, to pay a $1.5 million penalty if he even talked to another school without permission. Leach balked at the demand. The school later agreed to eliminate the penalty. The school also wanted a $1.5 million buyout if Leach left before the contract was done, but that provision was eliminated as well. The contract has no buyout.
In the end, school officials realized they were going to take a public relations bloodbath if they let Leach go over some contract clauses aimed at forcing his hand. After reaching terms, school officials and Leach said they were thrilled with the coach's new, five-year, $12.7 million deal. But it might take all five years of the contract for both sides to hug it out completely.
#27 Arizona Wildcats
The day before Arizona beat BYU at the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl, Wildcat coach Mike Stoops choked up and wept at a luncheon attended by about 1,000 people. Stoops rarely displayed a softer side in his first five Arizona seasons, developing a reputation for a notable temper after a series of sideline tantrums and practice field outbursts. He described the emotional moment as both "a release and a relief," a reference to the long and difficult process of reconstructing Arizona's football program.
"I don't think anyone thought it would take as long as it did," Stoops says. "I have really gained an appreciation for what it takes to put together a winning football team. It was quite an ordeal."
Stoops is 25-34 at Arizona, but he likes to say that a more accurate gauge is that his team is 19-18 over the last three seasons, a period in which the Wildcats beat No. 2 Oregon and No. 8 Cal.
After the Wildcats' bowl victory, Stoops was awarded a contract extension through 2013, and his assistants received salary increases.
"Our progress can be shown in our home attendance, which has been above 50,000 in each of Mike's seasons," says Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood. "And it is very clear that we are competitive, no matter who we've played."
Indeed, a year before Stoops was hired, Arizona lost games by scores of 59-7, 59-13, 52-23 and 45-0. Last season, Arizona almost shocked USC, losing 17-10. It was the second straight year in which the Arizona-USC game was undecided until the final minute. USC beat Arizona 20-13 in 2007. "We've got better players, one through 85, than we've had since I came here," says Stoops. "Our first 40 players are better than they've ever been. We expect to be good."
#26 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Almost no one knew what to expect from Georgia Tech in 2008. A year later, everyone seems to have a pretty good idea: The Jackets figure to be among the top teams in the ACC and will likely be ranked in several top 25 polls in the preseason. "I'm not worried about that," second-year coach Paul Johnson says. "Nobody's going to have any higher expectations than I do."
After playing in Chan Gailey's pro-style attack for six years, the Yellow Jackets were expected to struggle making the transition to Johnson's option-based spread offense that produced gaudy numbers at Navy. Instead, Georgia Tech went 9-4 and beat archrival Georgia — in Athens — for the first time since 2000.
Georgia Tech returns 16 starters from that nine-win team and should be stronger in every position group except along the defensive line. The notable returnees include tailback Jonathan Dwyer, who last fall became the first sophomore to win ACC Player of the Year honors, quarterback Josh Nesbitt and safety Morgan Burnett.
The offense, which ranked fourth in the country in rushing and first in the ACC in average yards per game, will likely expand its passing game. "We're trying to evolve in the playbook," Dwyer says. "You really don't know how big it can be."
