21 for 2021 key college football offseason topics: No. 9. Every Power Five league’s sleeper team.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Texas A&M wasn’t exactly a sleeper last going into last season, but it was ranked 13th in the preseason polls and turned out to be a whole lot stronger.
Iowa State was 23rd in the preseason AP Poll and 25th in the Coaches Poll, Northwestern received just one vote in the AP, and Indiana got just one in the Coaches.
In last year’s Power Five Sleeper Teams piece, we got Texas A&M right, hit it on 8-4 NC State, and was sort of right on a West Virginia team that went 6-4.
Politely give us a free pass on UCLA – and anything Pac-12 – and we’ll all move right along on the thought that Nebraska was finally going to become a thing under Scott Frost.
The 5 Power Five programs listed below almost certainly aren’t going to win their respective conferences, and they’re not likely to be ranked all that high – if at all – but they should give their fans a fun year.
21 for 2021 Preview Topics (so far)
21. Thoughts, Wishes, Hopes for 2021
20. Best Teams To Not Make CFP
19: Teams That Will Rebound Big
18. Teams That Will Fall Back
17: Every Power 5 Team’s Letdown Game
16. Expectations For New Head Coaches
15. Expectations For 2nd Year Head Coaches
14. Power 5 Hot Seat Coach Rankings
13. 21 Key Transfers You Need To Know
12. Group of 5 over Power 5 Upset Alerts
11. 5 of College Football’s New Superstars
10. Group of 5 Teams In New Year’s Six Hunt
– CFN 2021 Preview: All 130 Team Previews
College Football Power Five Sleeper Teams
ACC Sleeper: Boston College Eagles
– CFN 2021 Boston College Preview
To be totally honest, Boston College is here mostly because there’s not a whole lot to choose from.
NC State was the ACC call last year – and it should be every bit as strong again this time around – but Clemson is obviously amazing, and North Carolina and Miami performing well wouldn’t be that much of a surprise.
Boston College has the best shot of being that quirky out-of-the-blue team that pulls off a shocker or three thanks to a transformed passing attack that gets almost everyone back around QB Phil Jurkovec.
– 2021 CFN Preseason ACC Rankings
It took a year to transform the attack, the defense should be better, and the schedule will help with no Miami or North Carolina from the Coastal.
It’s asking too much to win the ACC Atlantic, but it gave Clemson fits last year, and … forget that. Clemson is Clemson.
Colgate, at UMass, at Temple. That’s three wins right there, and it’s followed up by getting a home date against Missouri. Win that, and the program’s first eight-win season since 2009 should be on the way.
To get even more jacked up, NC State, at Louisville, Virginia Tech, at Georgia Tech, Florida State, Wake Forest. Find the game after dealing with Clemson that BC can’t win.