We all know about Phil Steele's awesome College football Preview magazine. Well he joins the show for part one of his College Football Preview. Part 2 will be next week.
Last year Phil's surprise team was TCU, which was amazing considering they were just coming off a 4 win season. That was a great call. Phil felt that they were just a few play away from being an 8 or 9 win team in 2013, and he felt their defense would be much more stout last year, plus they had a favorable schedule and all that led him to making them his #1 surprise team last year and they didn't disappoint as they rose to as high as number 3 in the polls.
This year his number one surprise team is Stanford. They were a 5 loss team last year, so they will be under the radar this year. He feels they will be looking to pounce this year. They have an excellent OL, they have a veteran senior QB and their RB and WRs are all very solid. They also have that tough defense and their schedule sets up very nice for them as well. He feels they will win the North and maybe enter the Playoff mix.
His 2nd surprise team is the LSU Tigers, who also had 5 losses last year. Their defense is loaded and maybe the 3rd best defense in the nation, while their offense should be solid as well, especially at the skill positions.
Who may take a step back this year. Phil says that Mississippi State Will. They have just 7 returning starters this year and while the do have Prescott back, they are still an overall inexperienced team and their schedule is not kind at all.
Who are his top non-power 5 teams this year? First is Boise State. The defense is loaded this year, while their offense should be strong as well, plus they avoid the top 3 teams from the West.
Marshall is another team that is one of his top non-power 5 teams. They lose Rakeem Cato, but they have the softest schedule in the country. The only place they could slip up this year is at Western Kentucky to finish the season.
Third is San Diego State. Rocky Long may have his best team year as SDSU. Their defense allowed just 19.8 ppg and they have 8 starters back from that unit. The OL is strong and they have Pumphrey back at RB, plus they have Kentucky transfer Maxwell Smith at QB.
Phil feels that the ACC, SEC and Pac-12 could have a conference champ with 2 losses this year. The SEC and Pac-12 are loaded and all the big boys seem to be playing each other.
In the SEC West Alabama is Phil's pick to win it. He feels has the best defense in the nation and they have some strong skill players on offense. The schedule is the toughest in the nation, but still he likes them to win the SEC West.
He likes LSU to finish 2nd in the west and Auburn to finish 3rd. He feels that Malzahn and Muschamp is a good combination at Auburn. The offense is already there and Muschamp will fix the defense, plus they get Alabama at home.
In the SEC East he feels that Georgia is the most talented team. The Receiving corps will be improved and they have Nick at RB, plus one of the best OLs in the nation and very solid defense as well. They do face Auburn and Tennessee on the road, but they should still win the East.
Tennessee should be a much improved team and have 18 returning starters this year. Watch out for this team.
Part 2 will be next week. Join in the conversation.