College Football Preview Part VII

Welcome back!

I hope you are enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy putting it together, and I hope it is part of your overall ritual for getting ready for the season.  As I said in part I, I tweaked my formula for my power rankings, and I think it will be much better this year. 

So far, I have previewed #s 130-71 (see parts 1-6), so today I'll cover #s 70-61.  Let's get to it!

70 Indiana

Coach: Tom Allen (2nd yr, 2nd overall)
Best Case: 7-5
Worst Case: 5-7
Notes: Offense ranked 78th in scoring (26.8 ppg-6th in B10) and 69th in ypg (also 6th in B10); passing offense was 35th (3rd B10) and rushing was 106th (12th B10); defense was 52nd ppg (10th B10) and 27th in ypg (6th B10), but passing defense was 17th (4th B10) and rushing defense was 61st (9th B10); gained 5+ yds on only 31.8% of rush attempts, 5th worst in FBS and last in B10; only 3 starters return on defense; -7 TO margin in '17, 106th in FBS and 12th in B10; special teams are unproven; OL has all 5 starters returning; 0-5 vs. ranked teams in '17; 7 returning starters on offense.

69 Tennessee

Coach: Jeremy Pruitt (1st yr, 1st overall)

Best Case: 5-7

Worst Case: 3-9

Notes: Offense was 118th in ppg (19.8) and 125th in ypg (both last in the SEC); they were 113th in rushing and 109th in passing (both 13th in SEC); Defense was 83rd in ppg (9th SEC) and 82nd in ypg (10th SEC); rushing defense was 126th (last SEC) and 3rd in passing (1st SEC); special teams are a question mark; defense is moving to a 3-4; 6 returning starters on offense and 6 on defense; UT is 6-34 vs ranked teams the last 8 seasons; '17 was the first time UT lost 8 games in a season.

68 Arkansas

Coach: Chad Morris (1st yr, 4th overall)

Best Case: 7-5

Worst Case: 5-7

Notes: Defense moving back to a 4-3; offense also changing schemes; offense was 61st in scoring (28.8 ppg- 8th in SEC) and 94th in ypg (9th SEC); defense was 115th in scoring (36.2 ppg-last SEC) and 102nd in ypg (13th SEC); defense only stopped opponents on or behind the line of scrimmage on 13.1% of rushes, 2nd worst in FBS; UA was last in the SEC in both sacks and TFL; K is adequate, P needs to be better; defense gave up 7.1 tpp in SEC games; 9 starters return on offense, but not the QB; 8 returning starters on defense, and 8 of top 10 tacklers returning; UA has only 3 true SEC road games (game with Texas A&M is in Arlington).

67 Colorado

Coach: Mike MacIntyre (6th yr, 9th overall)

Best Case: 8-4

Worst Case: 6-6

Notes: Offense was 81st in scoring (11th in PAC12), and 48th in ypg (7th in PAC12); Defense was 74th in ppg (28.2-6th in PAC12) and 110th in ypg (9th in PAC12); run defense was 109th and pass defense was 95th; 6 starters return on defense; defense was 102nd in sacks and 105th in takeaways; K and P are established starters; offense surrendered the 8th most sacks (39) in FBS; defense allowed 5.2 yards/rush; 4 returning starters on offense.

66 Arkansas State

Coach: Blake Anderson (5th yr, 5th overall)

Best Case: 11-1

Worst Case: 9-3

Notes: AS has 7 straight winning seasons and bowl games, despite 4 separate head coaches; offense was 12th (37.8) in ppg (1st in SBC) and 10th in ypg (also 1st); rushing was 80th (6th SBC) and passing was 5th (342.2 ypg- 1st SBC); defense was 56th in scoring (4th SBC) and 54th in total defense (3rd SBC); P and K are solid, with only 4 punts returned in '17; 4 of their 5 losses in '17 were by 7 pts or less; OL returns 4 starters; AS has 5 receivers listed at 6-3 or taller; AS is 21-3 in the SBC the last 3 years; AS allowed 3 KR TDs in '17; 7 returning starters on offense; defense has 5 starters back.

65 Toledo

Coach: Jason Candle (3rd yr, 3rd overall)

Best Case: 10-2

Worst Case: 7-5

Notes: Toledo averaged 7.29 ypp on 1st downs, 5th in the FBS and 1st in the MAC; Offense was 16th in scoring (36.4 ppg- 2nd MAC), and 14th in ypg (483.9-1st in MAC); they were 29th (3rd MAC) in rushing and 26th (2nd MAC) in passing; defense was 61st (6th MAC) in ppg and 59th (7th MAC) in ypg; Toledo will be breaking in a new QB in '18 (a combined 1 career completion!); special teams are experienced and solid; receiver corps is deep and experienced, returning 3 who have each caught at least 10 TD passes in a season (1st time in NCAA History!); strength of the defense will be the secondary, as the front 7 is mostly inexperienced; key to the season will be the development of the new QB; 6 starters return on offense; defense has 6 starters returning, but loses 4 of top 5 tacklers; Toledo was 6-0 at home in '17, but faces Miami, Fla and Nevada at home in September of  '18.

64 USF

Coach: Charlie Strong (2nd yr, 9th overall)

Best Case: 10-2

Worst Case: 7-5

Notes: USF has gone 21-4 over the last 2 seasons and has been ranked in the TOP 25 for 20 consecutive polls; the entire coaching staff returns for the 1st time since 2011; biggest question is who will replace 3-yr starter Quinton Flowers at QB; opponents gained 5+ yds on just 31.9% of rushing attempts, 8th best in FBS; offense was 10th in scoring (38.3 ppg- 3rd in AAC); and 6th in total offense (513.0 ypg (3rd AAC); offense was 8th in rushing (2nd AAC) and 50th in passing (8th AAC); defense was 41st in scoring (38.3 ppg) and 37th in ypg (both 1st AAC); run defense was 21st (1st AAC) and 76th in passing (4th AAC); USF had a +10 TO margin (15th) and their defense had 36 sacks' 20 inteceptions (2nd FBS), and 101 TFL (5th); 5 starters return on defense; K and P will be new; USF had 7 kicks blocked in '17. most in FBS; receiving corps is very deep; OL returns 3 starters; top 2 RBs must be replaced; both losses in '17 were on last-minute scores.

63 Maryland

Coach: DJ Durkin (3rd yr, 3rd overall)

Best Case: 8-4

Worst Case: 5-7

Notes: 3 QBs were lost for the season due to injury in '17; offense was 100th in scoring (24.1 ppg-11th in B10) and 120th in ypg (323.3-11th B10); offense was 69th in rushing (8th B10) and 116th in passing (12th B10); defense was 120th in ppg (37.1-last B10) and 87th in ypg (13th B10); defense had only 16 sacks in '17 (14 in 3 games, 2 in the other 9); P is established, K is not; return game could be spectacular; 8 starters return on offense.

62 Northern Illinois

Coach: Rod Carey (6th yr, 6th overall)

Best Case: 9-3

Worst Case: 6-6

Notes: Defense led the MAC in sacks (43); DE Sutton Smith led the nation with 29.5 TFL and tied for the lead with 14 sacks; defense only allowed 5+ yards on 30% of carries, 3rd lowest in FBS (behind Ohio St and TCU); offense was 60th in ppg (4th MAC), and 93rd in ypg (9th MAC); defense was 32nd in ppg and 26th in ypg, both 1st in the MAC; rushing defense was 16th (2nd MAC) and passing was 57th (7th MAC); offense returns 8 starters; entire front 4 returns on defense; special teams are uncertain; early non-conference schedule is difficult: @Iowa, vs Utah, @FSU; they travel to BYU Oct 27; 6 QBs have started for NIU the last 3 seasons; NIU hosts top conference competition Ohio, Toledo, and Miami; NIU has lost 5 straight bowl games; defense allowed only 4.62 ypp (#7 FBS); defense returns 6 starters.

61 Baylor

Coach: Matt Rhule (2nd yr, 6th overall)

Best Case: 5-7

Worst Case: 3-9

Notes: Offense was 98th in ppg (24.3-(th in B12) and 59th in ypg (6th B12); rushing offense was 115th (8th B12) and 24th in passing (5th B12); defense was 114th in ppg and 112th in ypg (both 9th B12);  KU was 124th in TO margin (-14); K and P should be solid; BU has a chance to get off to a good start: Abilene Christian, @UTSA, Duke, Kansas; Baylor was winless at home in '17 for the 1st time since 1969; offense has 9 starters returning; defense returns 8 starters.

That's it for now.  Please feel free to leave your comments.  Tomorrow, I will detail #s 60-51.  Until then, may you and your loved ones be blessed!