There are plenty of teams that could shock us all when the college football season is over. Northern Illinois was once powerful. South Florida was a darling. UCF scared everyone in sight. Western Michigan went undefeated last year, and someone is going to be just as good as the best teams in the sport. There are a few teams that could be great, but they may not shock you once you hear their names.
Washington
We have forgotten that Washington is a good program because it has been a Long Time since the Don James era. They had a chance to be brilliant under Rick Neuheisel, but it was short-lived.
They have been built up by Chris Petersen after Steve Sarkisian flirted with greatness, and they will make the CFP this year. That will be shocking to some because they will take that spot from USC.
BYU
BYU is a good program that is hidden away in the depths of Utah, and we often forget about them because they do not have any high-profile players. The last football player from BYU that caught our attention was Steve Young. It has been that long time since they really captured our imagination, and they will do so this season because they are so loaded with talent. They have many older guys who are married, and these guys have perspective that might make them much better on the field. We will not know unti the season ends, but they could really surprise us.
Miami
Miami is much better under Mark Richt, and they could come out of the ACC now that they have FSU and possibly Clemson out of the way. Those two teams are not as strong as they were last year, and Miami will need to find a way to deal with Lamar Jackson. Handling one guy on one team is easy enough for a coach in Mark Richt that Georgia should probably not have fired.
Georgia
They did not get much better, and Jacob Eason was been hurt in their opener. They look like a team that made a bad firing. This may remind some of Philip Fulmer who was fired by Tennessee only to find that the university could not get anybody better. They tried everyone, and no one worked. They are marginal at the moment because they hired Butch Jones, but he has not delivered on the level that Fulmer did.
Kirby Smart is a Georgia guy, but that does not fix his program which is lacking depth and a quarterback who can stay healthy. The teams that surprise us the most are often right in front of us. These teams could play well or poorly, but their trajectory has been set for the season. It will be interesting to watch.
