One of the most interesting storylines heading in to the college football season is centered around the optimism surrounding of a handful of teams. These are squads that are expected to show substantial improvement. Will these teams live up to the hype and deliver performances that live up to expectations? Here is a look at the most improved college football teams heading in to the 2016 season.
Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns return 15 starters from a year ago and the offense, in particular, could be poised to take a major step forward. It has to. It’s the program’s third year under head coach Charlie Strong. Texas has posted an 11-14 record over their first two years under Strong but coaches usually have a big year in their third year, and this program appears to be trending in the right direction in a number of areas. The Longhorns have improved at quarterback, running back and wide receiver led by freshman Shane Buechele as the projected starter under center. Texas should benefit from getting to play TCU and Baylor at home this season. It should also help that Baylor has had such a terrible offseason. The combination of a favorable schedule and an improved roster could be enough to help the Longhorns emerge as a dark horse contender in the Big 12.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska will have a tough time matching their disastrous luck from 2015, when they somehow managed to finish with five last-second losses on the way to a 6-7 season. The Huskers would have posted an 11-2 record had they come out on top in each of those five last-second losses and their plus-28.1 yards per game differential suggests they were better than their 3-5 record in league games. Nebraska should be improved in all aspects of the game in year two under the current coaching regime and with a little better luck they should easily climb above .500 as a legitimate dark horse contender in the Big Ten.
Louisiana-Lafeyette Ragin’ Cajuns
The Ragin’ Cajuns were the only team to win the same bowl game four straight years when they came out on top in the New Orleans Bowl every year from 2011 through 2014. We are fully expecting them to bounce back in 2016 after their streak of four straight nine-win seasons came to an end with a 4-8 record in 2015. Louisiana Lafayette has enough returning talent on both sides of the football to expect them to bounce back in 2016 with a good chance that Mark Hudspeth’s team is able to earn a spot in a bowl game. The Ragin’ Cajuns have the talent to challenge for a Sun Belt championship this coming season as one of the most improved teams in all of college football.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech was one of the most disappointing teams in college football a year ago, following up an incredible finish to the 2014 season by opening 2-0 and then posting a 1-9 record the rest of the way. A big part of the problem was the fact that the Yellow Jackets went from plus-11 in turnovers to minus-seven in that department and suffered a total of five losses by seven points or fewer. Georgia Tech should be better in both areas this season and their improvements on both sides of the football should lead to a bounce back season in the ACC.
Boston College Eagles
The final spot on this list belongs to a Boston College team that had one of the best defenses in the country a year ago but couldn’t do anything efficiently on offense. Part of the problem was the fact that the Eagles had 35 first-time players, which was the fifth-most in the entire country last season. BC will go from eight returning starters to 15 in 2016 and they will benefit from a very manageable non-conference schedule. They also have what should be a quality quarterback in former Kentucky starter Patrick Towles. He transferred to Boston College and for them, getting their hands on a former SEC quarterback is a nice find.
The Eagles have the potential to improve dramatically on offense while maintaining one of the top defenses in the entire nation. That should lead to Boston College ranking among the most improved teams in the country this coming season.
