2007's Most Surprising College Football Teams

With parity becoming more apparent every year in college football, it has been quite common for each new season to produce several teams that greatly exceed their pre-season expectations. Listed below are five schools that have done so this year. It is not a definitive list as there may be (and probably are) teams that I have overlooked. Regardless, the five teams that I have chosen all have three common threads: they were all mainly built around players who were only two or three star recruits coming out of high school; their players are playing for the love of the game; and, their players understand that a team concept is more important than any individual awards that they might achieve.

1) KANSAS (11-1 with Orange Bowl game against Virginia Tech left). This team is by far the Cinderella team for 2007. The Jayhawks did not receive a single vote in the preseason AP and USA Today Coaches polls, was ranked 67^th by College Football News, and was picked by many publications to finish in the bottom third of the Big Twelve. Instead, they ended up just two wins short of playing for the national championship and as consolation will be playing in a BCS bowl. Coach Mark Mangino, in his 5^th year at Lawrence, molded a team of mainly two and three star recruits that averaged 44 points per game on offense and was solid defensively. Leading the way is cornerback Aqib Talib on defense and, on offense, diminutive sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing, a native Texan who was only lightly recruited by Lone Star schools.

2) HAWAI'I (12-0 with Sugar Bowl game against Georgia remaining). Since coming to the Islands after a playing and coaching career in the NFL, June Jones' has had several decent teams that usually end up playing in their "own" bowl game in Honolulu. This year, however, the Rainbow Warriors may be something special. Hardly noticed in the pre-season polls, Hawai'i ended up in a BCS bowl by being the only undefeated Division I team. Jones' "pass now and ask questions later" offense has seen quarterback Colt Brennan put up some impressive numbers so far -a 70% completion rate for 4174 yards and 38 touchdowns. Will an admittedly weak schedule make their season record a sham or will the Warriors be this year's Boise State?

3) MISSOURI (11-2 with Cotton Bowl game against Arkansas remaining). The Tigers received a few votes in the pre-season AP and USA Today Coaches polls and was ranked 16^th by College Football News, but finished 6th with its only two losses coming against Oklahoma. An excellent argument could be made that they were more worthy of a BCS bowl than either Kansas or Illinois -- two teams they defeated during the regular season. The team's recognized leader is quarterback Chase Daniel who, like his KU rival Reesing, is a native Texan who was mainly ignored coming out of high school. The Tigers also boast one of the best freshmen players in the country in runner/receiver/kick returner Jeremy Maclin. Sixth year coach Gary Pinkel may have finally overcome his often deserved reputation for making poor decisions (The Pinkel Factor).

4) BOSTON COLLEGE (10-3 with Champ Sports Bowl game against Michigan State remaining). Before the season started there were some concerns whether new coach Jeff Jagodzinski could match the success of the departed Tom O'Brien. Perhaps reflecting these concerns, the Eagles received only a few pre-season AP and USA Today votes and was ranked 27^th by College Football News. BC and Jagodzinski proceeded to prove the experts wrong by ranking as high as 2^nd before losing to Florida State and Maryland in back-to-back games. The Eagles were led on offense by blue collar quarterback Matt Ryan and had a better than adequate defense. The Boston area has had its share of athletic successes this year and this team has been part of it.

SOUTH FLORIDA (9-3 with Sun Bowl game against Oregon remaining). I debated whether to include the Bulls since its final BCS ranking of 21st is not much higher than the pre-season predictions for the team. I finally decided to do so. This newest entry in the Big East conference won its first six games of the season, including a win over West Virginia, and was ranked 2^nd before losing three straight by a total of fifteen points. USF rebounded from this slump by outscoring its last three opponents 144-64. Jim Leavitt has been the only football coach that this school has known, taking the team from I-AA to Division I prominence in eleven short years. And, he has done this by building teams around mainly no-name players passed over by Florida, Florida State, and Miami. As a name which is frequently mentioned when coaching vacancies arise, it will be interesting to see if Leavitt can live up to his promise to stay at USF until his retirement.