Four 2011 College Football Teams That People Aren’t Talking About…but Should!

 Four 2011 College Football Teams That People Aren’t Talking About…but Should! Houston #12 Kevin Sumlin (4th season) has done a great job of

 

It’s time to dust off the old pennant if you are a fan of one of these schools. They are poised for monster 2011 seasons and Conference USA will get the respect they deserve

Four 2011 College Football Teams That People Aren’t Talking About…but Should!

Houston #12

Kevin Sumlin (4th season) has done a great job of recruiting talent and developing it. This season he enters the campaign with the pre season Spartan Nation All American offensive player of the year in Case Keenum and has an abundance of talent and experience. I predict they will shock UCLA with an upset win to start the year and their two most difficult games will come in the last two games when they play SMU at home and head on the road to play Tulsa. That Tulsa game could be the difference between an undefeated season or not and should be a nationally highlighted game. The Cougars are following the mold of TCU in that they are taking players and developing them. Sumlin is a star that should get his pick of jobs soon, but seems to love Houston.

Southern Mississippi #21

Larry Fedora (4th season) makes my top five list of non-BCS coaches in the nation. A true star whose players love him and yet he is able to maintain the disciplinarian role. I know two players who have played for Fedora and they can’t stop raving about his leadership and they way he handles the team. The Golden Eagles have talent all over the field. He may not have the best two deep in the nation, but he has a very good first string and his guys can play and do play for their leader. He does a superior job at developing talent and if he was at Mississippi or Texas I have NO DOUBT you would see BETTER programs. He is one smart BCS School away from being a national title contender each year, and if Southern Mississippi can keep him the Golden Eagles are the next Boise State or TCU. On September tenth they head to Marshall and if they win (I predict they do) they should go undefeated. Fedora is a star and Southern Mississippi could be the rise of the next southern power. Everyone knows what Mississippi State is doing, but soon the fine folks at Ole’ Miss and their Louisiana Black Bear may get upstaged

Tulsa #23

Tulsa under the leadership of Bill Blankenship is doing a super job. Blankenship has an amazing football IQ and is a great administrator. He has star power written all over him. I expect them to lose four games, but stop and think to whom. #2 Boise State, #3 Oklahoma, #9 Oklahoma State and #12 Houston. They will go 8-4 and if you put Graham at the helm of ANY team in the Big Twelve other than Oklahoma they are a better team. This team has talent and coaching to be special. 

#25 Ohio Bobcats

In the interest of fair disclosure I like Frank Solich (7th year) the head coach. He was treated poorly in Nebraska and has kept his mouth shut and rebuilt this schools football program. He will own the MAC in 2011 and once again prove that he is a winner. Very few games does Ohio enter and the other team have the better coach. Solich has a great staff and will have his Bobcats read to play each week. The Bobcats are a win on the road against Rutgers (September 24) from being an undefeated team. Solich is the epitome of class and is everything that is right about college football and frankly humanity in general.

What does it say about Conference USA football that three of my top four teams that no one is talking about reside there? Conference USA is a superior conference to the Big lEast and in a head to head battle would beat them like a red headed stepchild. There will be BCS conferences that won’t have the depth and success of Conference USA this season. One need only look around to know they are the reason we need a playoff.

Once these programs can get above the hump of being a mid major they can sustain their programs and rise like a Boise State and TCU. That takes time. I can tell you this. ANY AD in America looking for a head coach need only look at any of these four and his alumni will love them for it. 

All four of these programs do it right. They have character, integrity and are superior football schools. All four will have big seasons and all four are winners. That is why you may not be talking about them now in May, but you will be in November. 

While people praise the SEC and the Big Ten, some of the best coaches in the nation rest in Conference USA. When the season is over, four of this season’s biggest success stories will come from this list and three of them will make the BCS notice, stand and pay attention to Conference USA. 

When Conference USA started it was heralded for basketball. They still are good, but this season they take their place with the national respect of a football conference. People may not be talking about these four schools in your office, but if you want to look smart you should. All four programs are great schools, with great coaches and are what is good about college football.