Who is Your Sleeper Team To Make The Playoffs

[BigdaddyQH]

Who is your "Sleeper" team to make the playoffs? Mine is Notre Dame. Here is my reasoning.

1. The schedule. Their only real road test is at Clemson, though they do finish the season at Stanford. They have home games against Georgia Tech, USC, and Texas (a name school only with no real team). This is not a real difficult schedule, but it does have enough name teams to cancle out any negatives.

2. They are Notre Dame. They are only about 100 times more popular than any other team in the nation. SEC fans may not believe this, but that is the way it is. Notre Dame has more power than any other Conference, much less team. They have their vote, plus the ACC to count on.

3. They guarantee a huge TV audience, no matter who they play. The Playoffs need help this season because the playoffs are scheduled to start on 12/31, New Years Eve. Let's face it. Only the biggest losers in the world would watch a football game at 8:00 pm on New Years Eve. If you would rather watch a football game than party or go out for a great evening with your lady, then you are one of the biggest losers in the nation. Notre Dame would draw more losers than any other team.

 

[Addicted2quack]

Three teams come to mind, none of which I believe can come close to undefeated but......


1. BYU- they play a reasonable schedule with the likes of ucla, Michigan, Boise state, Nebraska and Missouri. That's a lot to put on their offense because defensively they are awful.

2. Oklahoma- if samaje Perine has a heisman caliber year and the Sooners can figure out how to play some defense in key games against Baylor and tcu then I truly think they could be a huge spoiler and win the big 12 with 1 loss and sneak in...... That's a lot of ifs tho lol

3. Stanford- they always play top flight defense and can shut great teams down, but offensively they are in more trouble than previous years. Kevin hogan is liked by many, personally I think he's average on his best days. But because of their ability to control clock, ball, play defense and their head coach, I'd say they stand a reasonable chance to win the north and win a pac 12 title.....

 

[Conan]

You need to rethink Stanford who lost almost their entire defense.
Hogan and Stanford's offense were written off early last year but they found their
mojo during the last month of the season. They played as well as ever towards the
end of the year. Why no one gets that I don't understand. Look it up. It's all true.

 

[weezyfbaby]

I like Arkansas. They catch Alabama a week after Bama plays at GA, they have a bye before Auburn at home, catch LSU a week after LSU plays in Bama. If they can take 2 out of 3 of those they could have a legit shot.

 

[RunLeeRun]

BYU didnt have a bad defense, they lost their all star QB, which compromised their D. Look at how many plays they were on the field; over 1000 and they still were top 20 rushing d and allowed less than 5 yards a play....Michigan St didnt....sometimes stats are misleading. That probably strengthens your position, though I dont like them.

 

[REDEYE]

no sleepers this year

 

[cloverleaf]

Guess I would ask for someone to define 'Sleeper'.

ACC = Georgia Tech
Pac 12 = USC
SEC = LSU
Big 10 = Wisconsin
Other conf = doesn't matter

 

[REDEYE]

Guess I would ask for someone to define 'Sleeper'.

ACC = Georgia Tech
Pac 12 = USC
SEC = LSU
Big 10 = Wisconsin
Other conf = doesn't matter

I would go with LSU too but not sure I would call them a sleeper

 

[TyBounce]

I would say Baylor (if they are a sleeper) Most everyone seems to think its going to be a piece of cake for TCU to duplicate their 11-1 reg season , but i dont see it as such an automatic. ....But i do expect the same ol song and dance from Baylor.

 

[BigdaddyQH]

I think Conan and Red Eye would agree that if Stanford wins the Pac 12 North, that would be a major upset and accomplishment. Oregon will not be as good as they were last season, but in reality, Stanford actually loses more talent. Stanford never had much of an offense going in, and losing so many defensive players is going to hurt.

I can not call Baylor a sleeper. Not with that cream puff non-con schedule that they have. If they are as good as advertised, all they need is a win at TCU to win the Big 12 and advance to the Playoffs.

 

[groundhog11]

I got Aub, nd,tcu, Ohio st in the playoff...

 

[BigdaddyQH]

I got Aub, nd,tcu, Ohio st in the playoff...

That is certainly possible. Ohio State and TCU both look like excellent wagers to get there. I also like Auburn to win the SEC and Notre Dame to slide in, especially if they defeat both USC and Stanford.

 

[Addicted2quack]

My view on Stanford stems more from their ideals and focus on defense and clock control. They may have lost a lot on the defensive side of the ball but they are a defensive minded team. So in my eyes that's their strength and always will be.

i fully believe Conan knows more than I do and I truly respect his evaluations and opinions. That being said I don't buy the Kevin hogan hype or their offensive threats. I don't think they have a RB that can carry the ball 45 x a game like they desire, and losing Montgomery is a huge blow to their offense and special teams. He did so much for them it was truly amazing. My belief is that Stanford could cause some havoc because they generally do every year, but they won't have enough offensive firepower to hang with the multitude of teams that throw up crazy amounts of points each game. Eventually they will lose a couple of those games because their offense just won't be able to keep up.

thats just my opinion for what it's worth, no disrespect to anyone intended.

 

[outhousetim]

Sleeper Teams are usually defined as those outside of the top 10, but for various reasons (schedule, clutter in the top group, etc.) could sneak up and steal a spot.

The four I would pick are as follows:

ACC: VT (nicely paced schedule, top level D, maybe a spike up at RB)
Big 12: None
SEC: Mississippi (Top five defense, solid staff, not replacing an elite QB)
Big 10: Penn State (a stretch, but a sleeper due to underrated staff, elite recruiting, a better every day defense, and a "supposed" NFL ready QB)
PAC 12: UCLA (loses QB, but has #1 recruit to replace him, extremely vet offense, usually solid special teams, and a decent D.

 

[BigdaddyQH]

If you are talking conference sleepers, here is my list:

ACC: North Carolina. No team returns the number of two deep offensive players that UNC does. The OL returns all of their two deep players from last season, and a slew of RB's. The big question is how much new DC Gene Chizik can improve a poor 2014 defense.

Big 10: Minnesota. This team has the best coaching staff in the Big 10 West. That can go a long way. Hosting both Nebraska and Wisconsin can go even longer. If Minny can find someone to carry the ball, they could be a major surprise in the Big 10.

Big 12: Oklahoma State. With QB Mason Rudolph settling the QB question at the end oflast season, Okie State now must find a RB and the right side of the OL must jell. The D returns enough starters to make this team a sleeper. Home games against TCU, BAylor, and Oklahoma and peace between HC Gundy and T-Boone does not hurt either.

Pac 12: Arizona State. This team may have the best HC in the Pac 12 in Todd Graham. While they have no superstars on either side of the ball, there is plenty of good talent to go around. The schedule helps. They get USC, Oregon, Udub, and Arizona at home. The opener against Texas A&M will tell us just how good ASU may be.

SEC: Texas A&M. The QB battle has two good prospects. The O-line is experienced and will open up some holes for the RB's. A&M grabbed DC Chavis from LSU to shore up a defense which will have a few holes in it. The biggest advantage for A&M is the fact that the "A" schools (Alabama, Arkansas and Auburn) will get all of the hype and A&M gets the 'Bama schools at home and Arkansas at a neutral site. Sumlin is starting to feel some heat. When you go from 11-2 to 9-4 to 8-5, that happens.

 

[8ate]

Clemson: With stud QB healthy; might go 13-0; no kidding; have Noles at hom, ND will seal the deal..!! Might not be considered a sleeper though..!!Tigers to run the table this year..

 

[GoSooners]

Clemson: With stud QB healthy; might go 13-0; no kidding; have Noles at hom, ND will seal the deal..!! Might not be considered a sleeper though..!!Tigers to run the table this year..

Clemson would be my first choice. Maybe Notre Dame if they can get out of the season with one loss or less. Other than possibly tOSU I don't think we'll see the same cast of characters we saw in the first final four...

 

[russ1945]

Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas A&M. All should improve this season. Oklahoma is 3 deep at QB, great running game, new OC, and 3 other new asst coaches. Arkansas faced the toughest schedule in the country last year and went 7-6 and rebounded after losing their opener to Auburn (21-45) and wound up shutting out LSU and Ole Miss near the end of the season. They should continue to improve in Bielema's 3rd year. Texas A&M - Kevin Sumlin is in his 4th year with 16 returning starters. Biggest improvement, new DC John Chavis who I can see making an immediate impact.

 

[BigdaddyQH]

I think two things have to happen at Oklahoma to give them a legitimate chance in the Big 12. First, their pass defense must improve. They cannot give up an average of 276 ypg and expect to be considered a contender. The second thing is that Stoops and his coaching staff have to get their collective acts together this season. Their biggest problem has been inconsistency. Last season OU lost three games by a total of 8 points, two of which were at home. If OU can stop giving games away in the 4th quarter, they have a real chance of pulling an upset or two. The schedule is really back loaded, with games at TCU on 11/14, then home to Baylor on the 21st, and then at Oklahoma State on the 28th.

 

[GoSooners]

Oklahoma isn't going to be there, and neither is Okie State...