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Florida International went 1-26 during a stretch between 2006 and 2008. That’s why it is so impressive that Mario Cristobal has taken this team to the place it is right now. FIU is one of the best in the Sun Belt. The Golden Panthers knocked off Louisville and UCF last year en route to a solid 8-5 year.
Louisiana Lafayette went 3-9 in 2010, and the team seemed destined for another disappointing year in 2011. Mark Hudspeth took over and changed the program right away. The Ragin’ Cajuns went 9-4 and picked up a bowl victory in his first year with the team.
The Troy Trojans are used to being at the top of the Sun Belt and being one of the best small-conference teams in the nation. After many successful years, the Trojans finished last year at a miserable 3-9. They lost seven of their last eight games.
It has been a bit of a revolving door in the Mountain West in light of all the recent realignment of teams in the conference.
This season, Nevada, Fresno State, and Hawaii will begin play in the MWC after leaving the Western Athletic Conference, but last season’s defending champion, TCU has moved onto the Big 12.
Central Florida has been one of the top programs in Conference USA for the last few years. George O’Leary has done a lot for this program in his time at the school.
The 2011 season didn’t go as planned though, and the team finished 5-7.
The Houston Cougars went 13-1 last season, but big changes are coming in the 2012 season. Case Keenum is now in the NFL, and Kevin Sumlin now coaches for the Texas A&M Aggies. Tony Levine will take over a team that suffered major losses from last year’s team.
How about 50 wins and 3 losses? That is the Boise State Broncos record over the last four seasons. Chris Petersen has taken this team to the next level. There is a major question mark surrounding this season though: the departure of star quarterback Kellen Moore.
Southern Miss may have started the 2011 season with an ugly loss at Marshall in week two, but the Golden Eagles ended the season on an extreme high by thrashing Houston in the Conference USA Championship game and then winning the Hawaii Bowl.
Last year, the Clemson Tigers were the Figure 1A example of a “feast or famine” team in college football. The Tigers started out a flawless 8-0 and ranked #6 in the AP poll, only to lose four of their last six.
Ohio State and Michigan might have the most tradition in the Big Ten conference, but no one has been better in the last few years than the Wisconsin Badgers. If you were to pick a team that has been the most consistent at the top of the heap in this conference of late, you’d have to select Wisconsin. Michigan and Ohio State are gaining steam with great new coaches. Can Wisconsin stay on top?
Pat Fitzgerald still isn’t 38 years old, but he now has the second longest tenure of any Big Ten coach (behind Kirk Ferentz at Iowa). Fitzgerald is a young spirited coach who has gotten the most out of his teams. He recently signed an extension that keeps him in Evanston until 2020.
The face of Conference-USA will change dramatically heading into the 2013 football season, with a number of teams rotating in-and-out of the lineup, but for this year things remain the same for the 12-team mid-major.
The timeless mantra we’ve all heard is that defense wins championships. The ’Noles look mighty powerful this year because of their outstanding defense. It’s been a pretty lengthy road back for FSU since the dominant Bobby Bowden-led years of the 1990s.
It’s hard to label Brady Hoke’s first season with the Michigan Wolverines as anything but a major success. Hoke led the team to an 11-2 record and a BCS bowl win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. Last year showed that Hoke knows how to win in the Big Ten.
Nebraska fans expect a lot. Tom Osborne really spoiled the Cornhusker fans back in the 1990’s. The Huskers haven’t won a title since 1997, but Bo Pelini has done a good job coaching this team. The team has put together four straight seasons of at least nine wins.
Jerry Kill’s first year with the Minnesota Golden Gophers was a tough one, but that was to be expected. Kill experienced health problems that brought several scares last year, but he actually did a very good job with a team that was severely undermanned in the Big Ten.
