It’s no surprise to see Alabama, Clemson, Michigan and Oklahoma among the favorites to win their respective conferences in 2016. Three of those four teams are the defending champions in that realm while the other might be the most hyped college football team of the last decade. However, even with each of those four teams expected to deliver at the top, there is at least one overlooked team in each of their conferences that has the potential to be a sneaky upset pick. Here is a look at the top sleeper candidates in each of the Power Five conferences heading in to this season.
ACC: Louisville
The Cardinals were two yards away from upsetting Clemson in Death Valley two years ago and they nearly upset them again last season in a three-point loss. Louisville actually led Florida State at halftime in 2015 before eventually losing that game as well but the point is that they were able to compete with the top two teams in the ACC in each of the last two years. That should be the case again in 2016 with the Cardinals considered one of the most improved teams in their conference. Dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson has the potential to be an absolute stud with an improved cast of wide receivers and offensive line and the defense is loaded with potential All-ACC selections. Louisville will host the Seminoles in week three and then visit Clemson on October 1st and if they can earn at least a split in those two games they could emerge as a dark horse pick to win the ACC.
Big 12: Texas
Texas’ potential as a dark horse pick in the Big 12 will depend largely on the play of freshman quarterback Shane Buechele, who will have every opportunity to thrive in his debut season with an outstanding cast of skill players around him on offense. Charlie Strong’s team has the potential to take a big step forward in his third year leading the program with some considerable talent on both sides of the football. The Longhorns will have to overcome a difficult schedule but they certainly have the talent to be a legitimate sleeper pick to win the Big 12.
Big Ten: Nebraska
Nebraska somehow managed to suffer five last-second losses a year ago. Nobody is expecting that to happen again in 2016. Regression towards the mean in close games alone should be enough for the Huskers to post a record better than .500 and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they exceeded that expectation in 2016. Several Big Ten coaches have talented about Nebraska as a potential sleeper pick with several returning starters on both sides of the football including senior quarterback Tommy Armstrong. The Huskers will benefit from missing Michigan State and Michigan in the East and if they can survive clashes with Ohio State, Iowa and Northwestern on the road they could emerge as a legitimate dark horse contender in the Big Ten.
Pac-12: Washington
The Huskies return a dynamic backfield with running back Myles Gaskin and quarterback Jake Browning leading the way, and their stock will benefit tremendously from the improved play on their offensive line. Meanwhile, Chris Petersen and his staff has quietly built one of the most impressive defenses in the Pac-12. The schedule has set up well for the Huskies since they don’t have to play UCLA and they get both Stanford and USC at home. Petersen was quick to shoot down talk about his team being among the most improved in college football but the reality is that Washington has the potential to be a legitimate Pac-12 championship contender.
SEC: Georgia
Tennessee was an option here but after all of the offseason hype the Vols have received it just didn’t feel right to call them a dark horse pick. Georgia might be the better fit for that role as a team with a ton of talent that is currently being somewhat overlooked with the Vols dominating the spotlight in the SEC East. A healthy Nick Chubb and Sony Michel should form one of the best running back tandems in the entire country and the ceiling is extremely high for freshman quarterback Jacob Eason. The Bulldogs should also benefit from one of the more manageable schedules among SEC teams including only one true road game after October 8th. All of the pieces are in place for Georgia to be a legitimate contender in the SEC and while we won’t pick them over Alabama, LSU and Tennessee, we will give them the dark horse label as a team that can’t be completely written off at this point.
