OT: 2011 College Football Underdogs | The Boneyard

OT: 2011 College Football Underdogs

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Found an article I wrote on the now defunct Helium.com. Was riding the wake of the Fiesta Bowl when I wrote this one. Check it out (I condensed it down to the paragraphs discussing HCRE and UConn):

College football possesses a dynamic, diverse, and often incomprehensible landscape that at times leaves fans aghast and confused but for the most part determining which teams are going to be the best prior to the start of the season has been a relatively simple, non-complex undertaking the past few years. The mainstays of Ohio State, Oklahoma, Alabama . . .

In the world of college football; at least at the FBS level; there are very few chances for Cinderella stories thanks to the BCS and its unfair bias toward teams in power conferences; but each year there are some teams out there that could definitely be considered underdogs if not Cinderella's in training. For 2010 the country was astonished by an 8-5 Connecticut team that won the Big East Conference and headed to the Fiesta Bowl against a dominate Oklahoma team . . .

The 2011 season has just gotten underway and has already proven to be just as interesting; if not more; than last year; with a few Cinderella stories starting to brew. Each conference . . . Perhaps there is another Connecticut or Nevada in this bunch? Or maybe there is someone destined to do even more than the Huskies or the Wolfpack.

Maryland Terrapins: Last season the Terps finished with a 9-4 record in a deep Atlantic Coast Conference that grows stronger each year. This year, Maryland has a new coach in Randy Edsall (formerly the coach of the Connecticut Huskies) and a chance to shake things up in the ACC. They have started the season off 1-1 with their loss coming against ranked rival West Virginia. Of course the Terps have a difficult conference slate to tackle but they have an interesting game coming up against Notre Dame that could offer them the chance to redeem their West Virginia loss.

The chances that Maryland will win the Atlantic division over Florida State or Clemson is slim barring any injuries to the star players on those teams; but the Terps will be upset minded in every game they play this year. Watch out for the boys from College Park this year because they very well might make some waves if they play their cards right.

South Florida Bulls . . . Central Florida Knights . . . Temple Owls . . . Florida International Golden Panthers . . .

The five teams above are the top underdogs of the 2011 season and will prove to provide all with some tense moments for sure. With that said, there are some other teams out there that should be watched as well for they too have the ability to shake things up if they play right . . . Houston . . . Ohio . . . Nevada . . .

A shock in the SEC comes with Vanderbilt (3-0) who beat a struggling Connecticut team and who has Wake Forest on deck soon . . . San Diego State (3-0), Navy (2-1), Illinois (3-0), Iowa State (3-0), Baylor (2-0), and Arizona State (2-1). There might be another sleeper or two out there that was overlooked but that is the awesomeness of college football, the underdogs are hiding everywhere; you just have to look for them.
 

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