There were a number of college football teams that had disappointing outputs in the 2015 season. For some elite teams, like the Oregon Ducks, losing four games is simply unacceptable. For teams like the Central Florida Knights, not winning a single game was a sizable fall from grace. Whatever the case, there were a lot of college football teams that had massively disappointing seasons last year. The good news is that they don’t have as big of a bar to jump over this time around. With that in mind, here are the four college football teams that are set for the biggest turnarounds in 2016:
Oregon Ducks
2015 Record: 9-4
The Ducks have become one of the most consistently elite programs in the country. Last season’s nine wins were their lowest total since 2007 as things took a while to come together with transfer quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. directing their high-octane attack. This year they are again relying on another FCS transfer at the quarterback position. This time it’s the top transfer quarterback on the market: Dakota Prukop. It should be a smoother transition with Prukop, though, as they be able to get him going from the word go. The rest of the team has lots of talent and as a result, I expect a rebound back to elite level. They won’t have two home losses to the likes of Utah and Washington State again, and this year they get to host Stanford, who they beat last year anyway. Going to The Farm and winning always seems tough for the Ducks – let alone any other college football team.
UCF Knights
2015 Record: 0-12
If you don’t win a single game, there is nowhere to go but up, right? Of course, that is true but nobody has Kansas – also was winless last year – among the teams they think will turn things around this season. Central Florida should be in a much better place even though they lost their last two games by a combined score of 88-10. The reasoning is partly related to improvement at the quarterback position where Justin Holman just fell apart last season, He will be a senior this year and should be in better shape. The other factor is that they should have better luck. They lost a couple of games by a point in the first half and could never really get over them. Furthermore American Athletic Conference teams like the Memphis Tigers, who were really strong last season, are likely to take a dip, so things won’t be as competitive. Put it together and they should get three or four wins this season, which would be a sizable college football turnaround for them.
South Carolina Gamecocks
2015 Record: 3-9
Things got pretty ugly in Columbia last year as the Gamecocks. How bad? They lost to FCS The Citadel during their terrible season. It was the swansong of legendary coach Steve Spurrier and even though he couldn’t bring South Carolina to the Promised Land, he elevated this program to one that won 10 or more games often over the last several seasons. Now that he is gone, this program is moving forward and they have a lot of room to grow. They are not going to challenge for a title but they should be at least in the middle of the pack in the SEC East. They showed heart by pushing national runner up Clemson in the season finale. That will carry over to this year.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
2015 Record: 6-7
Nebraska is one of the most storied programs in the country. However, they haven’t been elite since they moved to the Big Ten (and even a few years before). However, they aren’t far off. Last year, they lost one game on the last play of the game, one in overtime and two by less than three points. That’s a lot that could have gone the other way. With a senior quarterback returning in Tommy Armstrong Jr, their coach more acclimated to the Big Ten, they could easily jump up to the 10-win range this season. They also have the momentum of their bowl win over UCLA.
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