Phil Steele's returning starters for 2014

[GoSooners]

As a Big 12 guy I was surprised to see Baylor so far down the list of returning starters. OSU is also low. But I expected it since they had 22 seniors in the two deep. So 2013 was pretty much a BCS game or bust for the Pokes. I expect them to take a drop in the Big 12 standings this season. http://www.philsteele.com/Blogs/2014/JAN14/DBJan23.html




We have already been working hard on the 2014 season and today’s blog is the current list for returning starters for each team in 2014 broken down by offense (including positions), defense (including positions) and special teams (kicker/punter). Below is the list I broke down teams with the most/least returning starters.
[h=1]2014 Returning Starters[/h]

RK	TEAM	CONF	TOTAL	OFF	QB	RB/FB	REC/TE	OL	DEF	DL	LB	DB's	K	P
1	UTSA	CUSA	19	9	0	1	3	5	10	4	2	4	1	1
1	Central Michigan	MAC	19	11	1	1	4	5	8	3	2	3	1	0
3	Indiana	BIG 10	18	8	1	1	1	5	10	4	3	3	1	0
3	FIU	CUSA	18	11	1	1	4	5	7	2	2	3	1	1
3	Nevada	MW	18	8	1	1	3	3	10	3	3	4	1	0
6	Houston	AAC	17	8	1	1	3	3	9	4	3	2	0	0
6	Memphis	AAC	17	8	1	0	4	3	9	4	2	3	1	0
6	Maryland	BIG 10	17	8	1	1	3	3	9	3	3	3	1	1
6	Northwestern	BIG 10	17	9	0	1	3	5	8	2	2	4	0	0
6	Old Dominion	CUSA	17	8	1	0	4	3	9	4	2	3	0	1
6	Army	INDEP	17	9	1	3	2	3	8	4	1	3	1	1
6	UL Lafayette	SUN BELT	17	8	1	1	2	4	9	3	2	4	1	1
13	Tulsa	AAC	16	7	1	0	3	3	9	4	1	4	0	1
13	Illinois	BIG 10	16	6	0	1	1	4	10	3	3	4	1	1
13	Rutgers	BIG 10	16	9	1	2	1	5	7	2	2	3	0	1
13	Kansas	BIG 12	16	7	1	1	3	2	9	2	3	4	0	1
13	Iowa St	BIG 12	16	10	1	1	3	5	6	3	2	1	1	0
13	UTEP	CUSA	16	9	1	2	3	3	7	1	2	4	1	1
13	Toledo	MAC	16	7	0	0	3	4	9	3	3	3	1	0
13	Wyoming	MW	16	8	0	1	3	4	8	2	3	3	1	1
13	UCLA	PAC-12	16	8	1	1	2	4	8	2	2	4	1	1
13	Kentucky	SEC	16	8	1	0	3	4	8	2	2	4	0	1
13	Mississippi St	SEC	16	8	1	0	4	3	8	3	2	3	1	0
13	Appalachian St	SUN BELT	16	8	1	1	1	5	8	2	3	3	0	1
13	Georgia Southern	SUN BELT	16	8	1	2	2	3	8	2	3	3	1	1
26	UCF	AAC	15	6	0	0	4	2	9	3	3	3	1	1
26	North Carolina	ACC	15	8	1	1	3	3	7	2	3	2	1	1
26	Virginia	ACC	15	6	1	1	1	3	9	2	3	4	1	1
26	Syracuse	ACC	15	8	1	0	3	4	7	3	2	2	1	1
26	NC State	ACC	15	7	0	1	2	4	8	3	2	3	1	1
26	Penn St	BIG 10	15	7	1	1	3	2	8	3	2	3	1	0
26	Michigan	BIG 10	15	7	1	1	2	3	8	3	3	2	0	1
26	TCU	BIG 12	15	7	0	1	4	2	8	3	3	2	1	1
26	Southern Miss	CUSA	15	8	1	1	2	4	7	2	1	4	1	1
26	Navy	INDEP	15	8	1	2	0	5	7	2	2	3	1	1
26	Eastern Michigan	MAC	15	9	1	1	3	4	6	3	2	1	1	1
26	Miami, Oh	MAC	15	8	0	1	3	4	7	2	2	3	1	0
26	Northern Illinois	MAC	15	9	0	1	4	4	6	0	3	3	0	1
26	UNLV	MW	15	9	0	0	4	5	6	2	1	3	0	1
26	Air Force	MW	15	6	1	1	3	1	9	2	4	3	1	0
26	Oregon	PAC-12	15	9	1	1	2	5	6	2	2	2	1	0
26	Colorado	PAC-12	15	7	1	1	2	3	8	3	2	3	1	1
26	Ole Miss	SEC	15	6	1	1	2	2	9	3	2	4	0	0
26	Georgia	SEC	15	5	0	1	2	2	10	2	4	4	1	1
26	Arkansas	SEC	15	7	1	1	2	3	8	2	3	3	0	1
26	Texas A&M	SEC	15	6	0	0	2	4	9	4	1	4	1	1
26	Idaho	SUN BELT	15	8	1	0	2	5	7	2	2	3	1	1
48	Connecticut	AAC	14	8	1	1	4	2	6	2	1	3	0	0
48	USF	AAC	14	9	1	0	4	4	5	1	2	2	1	1
48	SMU	AAC	14	7	0	1	2	4	7	3	3	1	0	1
48	Duke	ACC	14	8	1	1	3	3	6	1	3	2	1	1
48	Pittsburgh	ACC	14	8	0	1	3	4	6	2	2	2	1	0
48	Minnesota	BIG 10	14	7	0	1	2	4	7	3	1	3	0	1
48	Oklahoma	BIG 12	14	5	1	0	1	3	9	3	4	2	1	1
48	West Virginia	BIG 12	14	7	1	0	4	2	7	1	3	3	1	1
48	UAB	CUSA	14	6	0	0	3	3	8	2	2	4	1	1
48	Kent St	MAC	14	7	1	1	2	3	7	2	3	2	1	1
48	Boise St	MW	14	6	1	1	2	2	8	1	3	4	1	0
48	San Jose St	MW	14	5	0	1	2	2	9	3	3	3	1	0
48	New Mexico	MW	14	8	1	1	3	3	6	1	2	3	0	0
48	Oregon St	PAC-12	14	8	1	1	3	3	6	1	3	2	1	1
48	USC	PAC-12	14	7	1	2	1	3	7	1	3	3	1	1
48	Washington St	PAC-12	14	8	1	1	4	2	6	3	2	1	0	0
48	California	PAC-12	14	8	1	0	3	4	6	1	2	3	0	1
48	Auburn	SEC	14	8	1	0	3	4	6	2	2	2	0	0
48	South Carolina	SEC	14	8	0	1	3	4	6	1	3	2	1	1
48	Florida	SEC	14	7	1	1	2	3	7	2	3	2	1	1
48	South Alabama	SUN BELT	14	8	0	1	3	4	6	1	2	3	1	0
69	Temple	AAC	13	6	1	1	2	2	7	3	2	2	1	0
69	Cincinnati	AAC	13	7	0	1	3	3	6	2	2	2	1	1
69	Tulane	AAC	13	7	1	0	3	3	6	2	1	3	0	1
69	Miami, Fl	ACC	13	6	0	1	2	3	7	2	2	3	1	0
69	Florida St	ACC	13	7	1	0	2	4	6	3	1	2	1	1
69	Louisville	ACC	13	8	0	1	3	4	5	1	2	2	1	1
69	Iowa	BIG 10	13	8	1	1	3	3	5	3	0	2	0	1
69	Purdue	BIG 10	13	8	1	1	4	2	5	1	1	3	1	0
69	Texas	BIG 12	13	6	0	1	3	2	7	2	3	2	0	0
69	Marshall	CUSA	13	6	1	0	2	3	7	1	3	3	1	1
69	Louisiana Tech	CUSA	13	6	1	1	1	3	7	1	2	4	1	1
69	BYU	INDEP	13	8	1	2	0	5	5	2	1	2	0	1
69	Bowling Green	MAC	13	7	1	1	2	3	6	2	3	1	1	0
69	Akron	MAC	13	8	1	1	3	3	5	1	3	1	1	1
69	Hawaii	MW	13	7	0	1	2	4	6	2	1	3	1	1
69	Colorado St	MW	13	6	1	0	3	2	7	0	3	4	1	1
69	Fresno St	MW	13	5	0	1	1	3	8	1	4	3	1	1
69	ULM	SUN BELT	13	5	0	0	2	3	8	3	3	2	1	1
87	Clemson	ACC	12	5	0	0	2	3	7	4	1	2	0	1
87	Virginia Tech	ACC	12	7	0	1	3	3	5	1	1	3	0	1
87	Ohio St	BIG 10	12	5	1	0	3	1	7	4	2	1	0	1
87	Texas Tech	BIG 12	12	8	1	1	2	4	4	2	1	1	1	0
87	Rice	CUSA	12	6	0	0	3	3	6	2	1	3	0	1
87	Ball St	MAC	12	6	0	1	2	3	6	1	2	3	1	1
87	Western Mich	MAC	12	8	1	0	3	4	4	2	0	2	1	1
87	Massachusetts	MAC	12	7	1	1	3	2	5	0	2	3	0	0
87	Washington	PAC-12	12	7	0	0	2	5	5	3	2	0	0	0
87	Arizona	PAC-12	12	6	0	0	2	4	6	1	2	3	0	1
87	Alabama	SEC	12	7	0	1	3	3	5	2	2	1	0	0
87	LSU	SEC	12	5	0	0	1	4	7	2	2	3	1	1
87	Arkansas St	SUN BELT	12	4	0	0	2	2	8	1	3	4	0	1
100	Georgia Tech	ACC	11	6	0	1	2	3	5	1	2	2	1	0
100	Michigan St	BIG 10	11	7	1	2	2	2	4	2	1	1	1	1
100	Nebraska	BIG 10	11	5	1	1	2	1	6	2	3	1	0	1
100	Middle Tennessee	CUSA	11	4	0	1	1	2	7	2	2	3	1	0
100	WKU	CUSA	11	8	1	0	4	3	3	2	0	1	1	0
100	Notre Dame	INDEP	11	6	0	1	2	3	5	1	1	3	1	1
100	Ohio	MAC	11	3	0	0	1	2	8	4	2	2	1	1
100	San Diego St	MW	11	6	1	0	2	3	5	2	1	2	0	1
100	Stanford	PAC-12	11	5	1	0	3	1	6	1	2	3	1	1
100	Utah	PAC-12	11	6	1	1	1	3	5	1	2	2	1	1
100	New Mexico St	SUN BELT	11	8	0	1	3	4	3	0	2	1	0	0
100	Texas St	SUN BELT	11	8	1	1	2	4	3	0	1	2	1	1
112	Wake Forest	ACC	10	5	0	0	2	3	5	0	2	3	1	1
112	Boston College	ACC	10	4	0	0	2	2	6	1	1	4	0	0
112	Kansas St	BIG 12	10	6	1	0	3	2	4	2	1	1	1	1
112	Florida Atlantic	CUSA	10	5	1	0	1	3	5	2	1	2	0	1
112	Buffalo	MAC	10	6	1	0	1	4	4	1	2	1	1	1
112	Arizona St	PAC-12	10	7	1	1	2	3	3	1	1	1	1	1
112	Tennessee	SEC	10	5	1	0	4	0	5	0	1	4	0	0
112	Vanderbilt	SEC	10	7	0	1	2	4	3	2	1	0	0	1
112	Georgia St	SUN BELT	10	5	1	1	1	2	5	1	4	0	1	1
112	Troy	SUN BELT	10	5	0	1	1	3	5	1	2	2	0	0
122	East Carolina	AAC	9	5	1	0	1	3	4	2	1	1	1	0
122	Wisconsin	BIG 10	9	6	1	1	0	4	3	0	0	3	1	1
122	Oklahoma St	BIG 12	9	5	0	1	1	3	4	2	1	1	1	1
122	Baylor	BIG 12	9	5	1	0	2	2	4	2	1	1	0	1
122	North Texas	CUSA	9	5	0	0	1	4	4	0	1	3	1	1
122	Missouri	SEC	9	5	0	0	2	3	4	2	1	1	1	1
128	Utah St	MW	7	3	1	0	1

 

[GoSooners]

A breakdown by conference...




[h=1]By Conference[/h]

RK	TEAM	CONF	TOTAL	OFF	QB	RB/FB	REC/TE	OL	DEF	DL	LB	DB's	K	P
6	Houston	AAC	17	8	1	1	3	3	9	4	3	2	0	0
6	Memphis	AAC	17	8	1	0	4	3	9	4	2	3	1	0
13	Tulsa	AAC	16	7	1	0	3	3	9	4	1	4	0	1
26	UCF	AAC	15	6	0	0	4	2	9	3	3	3	1	1
48	Connecticut	AAC	14	8	1	1	4	2	6	2	1	3	0	0
48	USF	AAC	14	9	1	0	4	4	5	1	2	2	1	1
48	SMU	AAC	14	7	0	1	2	4	7	3	3	1	0	1
69	Temple	AAC	13	6	1	1	2	2	7	3	2	2	1	0
69	Cincinnati	AAC	13	7	0	1	3	3	6	2	2	2	1	1
69	Tulane	AAC	13	7	1	0	3	3	6	2	1	3	0	1
122	East Carolina	AAC	9	5	1	0	1	3	4	2	1	1	1	0
26	North Carolina	ACC	15	8	1	1	3	3	7	2	3	2	1	1
26	Virginia	ACC	15	6	1	1	1	3	9	2	3	4	1	1
26	Syracuse	ACC	15	8	1	0	3	4	7	3	2	2	1	1
26	NC State	ACC	15	7	0	1	2	4	8	3	2	3	1	1
48	Duke	ACC	14	8	1	1	3	3	6	1	3	2	1	1
48	Pittsburgh	ACC	14	8	0	1	3	4	6	2	2	2	1	0
69	Miami, Fl	ACC	13	6	0	1	2	3	7	2	2	3	1	0
69	Florida St	ACC	13	7	1	0	2	4	6	3	1	2	1	1
69	Louisville	ACC	13	8	0	1	3	4	5	1	2	2	1	1
87	Clemson	ACC	12	5	0	0	2	3	7	4	1	2	0	1
87	Virginia Tech	ACC	12	7	0	1	3	3	5	1	1	3	0	1
100	Georgia Tech	ACC	11	6	0	1	2	3	5	1	2	2	1	0
112	Wake Forest	ACC	10	5	0	0	2	3	5	0	2	3	1	1
112	Boston College	ACC	10	4	0	0	2	2	6	1	1	4	0	0
3	Indiana	BIG 10	18	8	1	1	1	5	10	4	3	3	1	0
6	Maryland	BIG 10	17	8	1	1	3	3	9	3	3	3	1	1
6	Northwestern	BIG 10	17	9	0	1	3	5	8	2	2	4	0	0
13	Illinois	BIG 10	16	6	0	1	1	4	10	3	3	4	1	1
13	Rutgers	BIG 10	16	9	1	2	1	5	7	2	2	3	0	1
26	Penn St	BIG 10	15	7	1	1	3	2	8	3	2	3	1	0
26	Michigan	BIG 10	15	7	1	1	2	3	8	3	3	2	0	1
48	Minnesota	BIG 10	14	7	0	1	2	4	7	3	1	3	0	1
69	Iowa	BIG 10	13	8	1	1	3	3	5	3	0	2	0	1
69	Purdue	BIG 10	13	8	1	1	4	2	5	1	1	3	1	0
87	Ohio St	BIG 10	12	5	1	0	3	1	7	4	2	1	0	1
100	Michigan St	BIG 10	11	7	1	2	2	2	4	2	1	1	1	1
100	Nebraska	BIG 10	11	5	1	1	2	1	6	2	3	1	0	1
122	Wisconsin	BIG 10	9	6	1	1	0	4	3	0	0	3	1	1
13	Kansas	BIG 12	16	7	1	1	3	2	9	2	3	4	0	1
13	Iowa St	BIG 12	16	10	1	1	3	5	6	3	2	1	1	0
26	TCU	BIG 12	15	7	0	1	4	2	8	3	3	2	1	1
48	Oklahoma	BIG 12	14	5	1	0	1	3	9	3	4	2	1	1
48	West Virginia	BIG 12	14	7	1	0	4	2	7	1	3	3	1	1
69	Texas	BIG 12	13	6	0	1	3	2	7	2	3	2	0	0
87	Texas Tech	BIG 12	12	8	1	1	2	4	4	2	1	1	1	0
112	Kansas St	BIG 12	10	6	1	0	3	2	4	2	1	1	1	1
122	Oklahoma St	BIG 12	9	5	0	1	1	3	4	2	1	1	1	1
122	Baylor	BIG 12	9	5	1	0	2	2	4	2	1	1	0	1
1	UTSA	CUSA	19	9	0	1	3	5	10	4	2	4	1	1
3	FIU	CUSA	18	11	1	1	4	5	7	2	2	3	1	1
6	Old Dominion	CUSA	17	8	1	0	4	3	9	4	2	3	0	1
13	UTEP	CUSA	16	9	1	2	3	3	7	1	2	4	1	1
26	Southern Miss	CUSA	15	8	1	1	2	4	7	2	1	4	1	1
48	UAB	CUSA	14	6	0	0	3	3	8	2	2	4	1	1
69	Marshall	CUSA	13	6	1	0	2	3	7	1	3	3	1	1
69	Louisiana Tech	CUSA	13	6	1	1	1	3	7	1	2	4	1	1
87	Rice	CUSA	12	6	0	0	3	3	6	2	1	3	0	1
100	Middle Tennessee	CUSA	11	4	0	1	1	2	7	2	2	3	1	0
100	WKU	CUSA	11	8	1	0	4	3	3	2	0	1	1	0
112	Florida Atlantic	CUSA	10	5	1	0	1	3	5	2	1	2	0	1
122	North Texas	CUSA	9	5	0	0	1	4	4	0	1	3	1	1
6	Army	INDEP	17	9	1	3	2	3	8	4	1	3	1	1
26	Navy	INDEP	15	8	1	2	0	5	7	2	2	3	1	1
69	BYU	INDEP	13	8	1	2	0	5	5	2	1	2	0	1
100	Notre Dame	INDEP	11	6	0	1	2	3	5	1	1	3	1	1
1	Central Michigan	MAC	19	11	1	1	4	5	8	3	2	3	1	0
13	Toledo	MAC	16	7	0	0	3	4	9	3	3	3	1	0
26	Eastern Michigan	MAC	15	9	1	1	3	4	6	3	2	1	1	1
26	Miami, Oh	MAC	15	8	0	1	3	4	7	2	2	3	1	0
26	Northern Illinois	MAC	15	9	0	1	4	4	6	0	3	3	0	1
48	Kent St	MAC	14	7	1	1	2	3	7	2	3	2	1	1
69	Bowling Green	MAC	13	7	1	1	2	3	6	2	3	1	1	0
69	Akron	MAC	13	8	1	1	3	3	5	1	3	1	1	1
87	Ball St	MAC	12	6	0	1	2	3	6	1	2	3	1	1
87	Western Mich	MAC	12	8	1	0	3	4	4	2	0	2	1	1
87	Massachusetts	MAC	12	7	1	1	3	2	5	0	2	3	0	0
100	Ohio	MAC	11	3	0	0	1	2	8	4	2	2	1	1
112	Buffalo	MAC	10	6	1	0	1	4	4	1	2	1	1	1
3	Nevada	MW	18	8	1	1	3	3	10	3	3	4	1	0
13	Wyoming	MW	16	8	0	1	3	4	8	2	3	3	1	1
26	UNLV	MW	15	9	0	0	4	5	6	2	1	3	0	1
26	Air Force	MW	15	6	1	1	3	1	9	2	4	3	1	0
48	Boise St	MW	14	6	1	1	2	2	8	1	3	4	1	0
48	San Jose St	MW	14	5	0	1	2	2	9	3	3	3	1	0
48	New Mexico	MW	14	8	1	1	3	3	6	1	2	3	0	0
69	Hawaii	MW	13	7	0	1	2	4	6	2	1	3	1	1
69	Colorado St	MW	13	6	1	0	3	2	7	0	3	4	1	1
69	Fresno St	MW	13	5	0	1	1	3	8	1	4	3	1	1
100	San Diego St	MW	11	6	1	0	2	3	5	2	1	2	0	1
128	Utah St	MW	7	3	1	0	1	1	4	1	2	1	1	1
13	UCLA	PAC-12	16	8	1	1	2	4	8	2	2	4	1	1
26	Oregon	PAC-12	15	9	1	1	2	5	6	2	2	2	1	0
26	Colorado	PAC-12	15	7	1	1	2	3	8	3	2	3	1	1
48	Oregon St	PAC-12	14	8	1	1	3	3	6	1	3	2	1	1
48	USC	PAC-12	14	7	1	2	1	3	7	1	3	3	1	1
48	Washington St	PAC-12	14	8	1	1	4	2	6	3	2	1	0	0
48	California	PAC-12	14	8	1	0	3	4	6	1	2	3	0	1
87	Washington	PAC-12	12	7	0	0	2	5	5	3	2	0	0	0
87	Arizona	PAC-12	12	6	0	0	2	4	6	1	2	3	0	1
100	Stanford	PAC-12	11	5	1	0	3	1	6	1	2	3	1	1
100	Utah	PAC-12	11	6	1	1	1	3	5	1	2	2	1	1
112	Arizona St	PAC-12	10	7	1	1	2	3	3	1	1	1	1	1
13	Kentucky	SEC	16	8	1	0	3	4	8	2	2	4	0	1
13	Mississippi St	SEC	16	8	1	0	4	3	8	3	2	3	1	0
26	Ole Miss	SEC	15	6	1	1	2	2	9	3	2	4	0	0
26	Georgia	SEC	15	5	0	1	2	2	10	2	4	4	1	1
26	Arkansas	SEC	15	7	1	1	2	3	8	2	3	3	0	1
26	Texas A&M	SEC	15	6	0	0	2	4	9	4	1	4	1	1
48	Auburn	SEC	14	8	1	0	3	4	6	2	2	2	0	0
48	South Carolina	SEC	14	8	0	1	3	4	6	1	3	2	1	1
48	Florida	SEC	14	7	1	1	2	3	7	2	3	2	1	1
87	Alabama	SEC	12	7	0	1	3	3	5	2	2	1	0	0
87	LSU	SEC	12	5	0	0	1	4	7	2	2	3	1	1
112	Tennessee	SEC	10	5	1	0	4	0	5	0	1	4	0	0
112	Vanderbilt	SEC	10	7	0	1	2	4	3	2	1	0	0	1
122	Missouri	SEC	9	5	0	0	2	3	4	2	1	1	1	1
6	UL Lafayette	SUN BELT	17	8	1	1	2	4	9	3	2	4	1	1
13	Appalachian St	SUN BELT	16	8	1	1	1	5	8	2	3	3	0	1
13	Georgia Southern	SUN BELT	16	8	1	2	2	3	8	2	3	3	1	1
26	Idaho	SUN BELT	15	8	1	0	2	5	7	2	2	3	1	1
48	South Alabama	SUN BELT	14	8	0	1	3	4	6	1	2	3	1	0
69	ULM	SUN BELT	13	5	0	0	2	3	8	3	3	2	1	1
87	Arkansas St	SUN BELT	12	4	0	0	2	2	8	1	3	4	0	1
100	New Mexico St	SUN BELT	11	8	0	1	3	4	3	0	2	1	0	0
100	Texas St	SUN BELT	11	8	1	1	2	4	3	0	1	2	1	1
112	Georgia St	SUN BELT	10	5	1	1	1	2	5	1	4	0	1	1
112	Troy	SUN BELT	10	5	0	1	1	3	5	1	2	2	0

 

[cloverleaf]

Good resourse GoSooners....forum can use the info for the next few months.

One team that caught my eye is Indiana. Even though Kevin Wilson is only 10-26 during his three years with the Hoosers...he has showed improvement each season (1-11, 4-8, 5-7). Wilson will welcome 18 starters including 10 on defense and all 5 offensive lineman this season. Indiana looks to have the manpower to keep the rebuilding process going.

Might be a team to keep an eye on this preseason...........

 

[Albatross]

Lets see if the UGA D can make hay with the experience......and a new coach.

 

[Albatross]

Also looking forward to see what Georgia Southern will be........

 

[Conan]

Wow, Mizzou really took it on the chin this time around. But not before Pinkel dances himself to a wrap on 2013 with a solid win over little Okie. No more Manziel at TAMU, no more miracles (so it would seem) which could mean great relief to a few big name programs and coaches over yonder in the SEC. Between the two of them they've had quite the celebration while putting UT on the back burner where it belongs. And much to the chagrin of the UT crowd, Sumlin seems to have inked himself to a nice extension in just the nick of time. And to think of all that trash talk about aTm when the whorns thought they had the B-12 Conf. in their back pocket!! (heh heh) Mack goes into retirement with his head hung low. Hollywood couldn't have written a better ending.

 

[cloverleaf]

At first blush, looking at Ohio State one would think the Buckeyes won't be up to par with their past two seasons. Not so fast my friends.

What's the old saying to gauge a team? ("Coaching, quarterback, defense and schedule.") Well, looks to me like Ohio State has three of the four...coach, quarterback and schedule.

The Buckeyes will miss Wisconsin, Nebraska and Iowa. Get Michigan at home and drew crossover games with Illinois and Minnesota. With some good defense, this 2014 squad could run the regular season again.

Shush()*

 

[cloverleaf]

Bump.........

We need to keep this thread on the front page for awhile.
Good info that will be easy to find.

 

[GoSooners]

Clover..Here is some info from my website that you may find helpful..




News and Team Updates
I think one of the most important parts of my capping is information. Information is king in today’s age, and numbers and lines are getting tighter because of the widely available amount of information.
There have been multiple games I can remember, like fading WVU early last year, where the coach has flat out said something like, “we just aren’t ready yet” or “not everything has come together.”
You can pick alot up when you read or watch a coaches mid-week interview. Coaches don’t like to say that their team isn’t ready for the game, but they also don’t like to give the fans tons of false hopes. So following the teams is the one of the most important things for me in all capping, but especially early on.

---

Returning Coaches

The next biggest thing to analyze is coaches that leave a program for a better job, or programs that acquire a better coach. I really don’t like betting on teams that lose their head coach, unless they are losing a coach that was negative, or a coach that the players have given up on. I will give you two examples and then some stats from this season.
Coaching Upgrade: After the 2011 season, Houston Nutt was fired for a no-name coach at the time, Hugh Freeze. Huge upgrade, and if you did your research, you would have known that.
Some teams that I think got huge upgrades this year with coaches or coordinators:
Texas
Washington (possibly)
Michigan Offensive Coordinator
Georgia Defensive Coordinator
Teams that got big-time downgrades:
Arky St (4 coaches in 4 years)
Vanderbilt
Boise St
Western Kentucky
Louisville Defensive Coordinator

---

Returning Production and Leadership
Senior Leadership
One of the first things I look at is not how many starters return, or how much production returns, but just how many seniors are returning. I think seniors are a huge part of the culture of the team, and if a large class of seniors are leaving, the team is going to change (sometimes for better, sometimes for worse).
Below are some teams to be aware of, and keep in mind, i attempted to remove players leaving for the draft early as well.
Lots of Seniors Returning:

1. Virginia (8.91% of Roster Leaving)
2. South Carolina (8.57%)
3. Indiana (10%)
4. UTSA (10.28%)
5. Appalachian State (10.38%)
6. Old Dominion (11.34%)
7. Northwestern (11.5%)
8. Penn State (11.61%)
9. UCF (11.76%)
10. Mississippi St(11.82%)

Lots of Seniors Leaving:

1. Stanford (33.64% Leaving)
2. New Mexico State (31.68%)
3. Notre Dame (31.19 %)
4. Arizona State (28.71%)
5. Rutgers (28.57%)
6. Louisiana Tech (25%)
7. Georgia State (24.77%)
8. Florida Atlantic (24.53%)
9. South Alabama (24.14%)
10. The U (23.64%)

How soon we forget…

Returning Starters
Next I look at how many returning starters are returning. Returning Starters is typically correlated with teams starting off the season “quick.” But, some things can hinder that, such as a new coach.
Below are some teams that return a lot of starters, and only a few starters:
Most Starters Returning

1. Central Michigan (19)
2. UTSA (19)
3. FIU (18)
4. Nevada (18)
5. Indiana (18)
6. Army, UL Lafayette, Maryland, Memphis, Houston, Northwestern, Old Dominion (tied at 17)

Least Starters Returning

1. Utah State (7)
2. Oklahoma St (9)
3. Baylor (9)
4. Wisconsin (9)
5. East Carolina (9)
6. North Texas (9)
7. Missouri (9)
8. Arizona State, Georgia State, FAU, Buffalo, Troy, Tennessee, Vandy, Kansas St, BC, Wake (tied at 10)

QB’s Returning
Having a quarterback returning is huge for the offense in most instances, specially for those teams that have good passing statistics. It means that a coach does not have to worry about a new QB learning the system, getting used to playing under the lights, being used to game speed, etc. Keep this in mind.
Recruiting
Finally, the last thing that I take a look at is recruiting. I come up with a 3 year recruiting rank, making the recruiting class 3 years ago more heavily weighted than the most recent class.
The reason that I do this is because no matter how many great recruits a team gets in 2014, thre are rarely true freshman starters. The most important recruiting class is probably the class of 2012. Then 2013, and finally 2014.
There should be no surprises here, most of your best recruiter are your big football schools.

---

What Does All This Mean?
All of this data is certainly alot to swallow at once, and it all is important. When I am handicapping games in the first 3 or 4 weeks, I am looking at all of these categories. I also have an aggregate rank that takes into account:

• Returning Seniors
• Returning Starters
• QB Returning
• Coach Returning
• Coordinators Returning (parlayed with starters on offense and defense returning)
• 3 year recruiting rank

In conclusion, here are some of the teams that I will immediately look to be bearish or bullish on to start the season. Obviously situations matter, but this helps narrow down what the stats are saying…
Bullish
Ole Miss: WARNING, I PROMISE THIS IS NOT A HOMER PICK

• 15 returning starters, QB returning, 9 defensive starters returning, Top 20% 3 yr recruiting rank

Virginia:

• only 9 seniors leaving, 15 returning starters including QB, Coach Returning (may not be good thing), 38th overall 3 year recruiting

Maryland:

• 17 returning starters, QB returning, Coach Returning, 44th 3 yr recruiting

Mississippi St.

• 16 returning starters, QB returning, Top 20% recruiting rank

Oklahoma

• 14 returning starters, (a few) returning QBs, 9 defensive returners, 13th 3 yr recruiting rank

Honorable Mention: Northwestern, Central Michigan, Auburn (scary, I know), Kentucky, Iowa, UL-Lafayette, Memphis, Nevada,ODU, SC
Bearish
Florida Atlantic

• Lots of seniors leaving, 10 starters returning, new coach, awful recruiting

Arkansas State

• See above, tiny bit better recruiting. 4 coaches, 4 years.

Wyoming

• Lots of starters returning, but lose a great QB, coach and coordinators, and bad recruiting

Wake Forest

• Jim Grobe left them in a terrible, terrible place. They may lose their spring game.

Vanderbilt

• Great coach left, only 10 starters return (no QB), think they are in a bad place

Honorable Mention: North Texas, WKU, Louisville, New Meixco St., UAB, Boise St

 

[cloverleaf]

Dang GS. Ton of useful stuff in this thread!

Bowling^&%

 

[russ1945]

There are so many factors involved in reassessing each and every team when we progress from one season to the next. GS has pointed out many important factors. One of the least detected is movement of asst coaches/coordinators from one team to another.

 

[Conan]

Another would be experience in the depth charts... possibly even more important than returning starters at times. We will just have to wait on the final depth charts this fall. I guess there's no way around knowing what the roster will look like when the season starts but some of that information should be available now. That data has been an issue with me every year around the time the lists of returning starters have been published. The depth of experience in all returning players is at least as important... but perhaps less so near the end of the regular season.

 

[CoachCB]

Conan,

I agree. This is an issue w/ many teams. Missouri for example, Matt Mauk made several starts last year (and did quite well). Florida saw 10+ starters get injured at one time or another (many season ending), so they saw multiple starting lineups w/ several players getting 2+ starts. Do they not count as a "returning starter"? UGA lost Murray for the last 2 games so their QB has 2 starts under his belt (and he's a senior).

 

[cloverleaf]

I always look at returning starters but it goes both ways. A team with 19 returning starters that won just two games the previous season just don't mean a helava lot compared to a team that won nine games with 19 starters back. I like to identify a team on the rise with a lot of seniors returning...hopefully in starting roles.

 

[Conan]

Conan,

I agree. This is an issue w/ many teams. Missouri for example, Matt Mauk made several starts last year (and did quite well). Florida saw 10+ starters get injured at one time or another (many season ending), so they saw multiple starting lineups w/ several players getting 2+ starts. Do they not count as a "returning starter"? UGA lost Murray for the last 2 games so their QB has 2 starts under his belt (and he's a senior).

So I guess the appropriate question is "Who is a considered a starter and who isn't?" Is starting 6 games enough to qualify? What about a player who sits on the bench all season and starts just the last 4 games? Does he qualify? Or how about the player that started the first 7 weeks but as you pointed out Coach, he may be returning from a season ending injury. Does he count? I think about things like this because who knows how the data might be skewed. What is the definition of a starter, exactly? Anyone know? Is there a definition in some kind of NCAA book of terms? The word "starter" sure gets beat around plenty.

 

[CoachCB]

Good question Conan.

UF QB Jeff Driskel started the first 3 games before a season ending injury. Now he's back. Is he considered the "returning starter"? If so, he only made 3 starts.

 

[CoachCB]

I always look at returning starters but it goes both ways. A team with 19 returning starters that won just two games the previous season just don't mean a helava lot compared to a team that won nine games with 19 starters back. I like to identify a team on the rise with a lot of seniors returning...hopefully in starting roles.

Texas-San Antonio is returning 19 starters. I agree w/ you....I don't expect them to be in the national title picture!

 

[cloverleaf]

BUMP....good information for a gaming man.

 

[GoSooners]

Clover...One thing that Pezgordo and I have never been 100% in agreement on is the importance of returning starters. We pretty much agree on everything else when it comes to capping. He doesn't think they are as important as the media and preseason rags would like you to believe. Although I agree with him to an extent, I always have to point out that there is a caveat to this argument. And that is if you are a Blueblood type of program that can redshirt deep talent, then no, the amount of starters isn't as important. As we witnessed last year with FSU's 11 returning starters winning the NC. But my argument is the farther you go down the food chain of elite schools the more you need these returning starters. Basically because most programs don't have that kind of elite talent waiting in the wings. That's why for example from the above teams, the 19 starters returning for Central Michigan is a bigger deal than the 9 starters returning for Baylor. If the roles were reversed for these teams and only 9 were returning for CMU, then they would probably be in for a huge uphill battle and written off as a non-contender for their conference title. But 19 starters returning for Baylor wouldn't be quite as huge of a difference since they already have elite talent two deep at most of their positions. By the way while I'm talking about Baylor, they have the exact same number of starters that Okie State has coming back this year. But the difference between these two teams right now is Baylor has actually out recruited OSU for the last two years, and they are a bit deeper and more experienced team with a star QB leading them. Plus they have a ton of momentum and fan/player excitement going for them after winning the Big 12. So right now if I was playing totals I would be considering the over for Baylor and under for OSU, even though they have the same number of starters coming back.

 

[Insiders]

Great information as usual. But then again you know you are NOT a OSU Cowboy fan...