Power Five assessments
Conferences’ best, sleeper, least likely
There are few certainties in college football. Alabama will be good. Likewise with Clemson. Wisconsin will run the football. Stanford running back Bryce Love will break a long run. Everything else is a guessing game. But we’ve seen enough, read enough and gathered enough information to make a few educated guesses about how the 2018 season will play out.
For each of the five Football Bowl Subdivision Power Five leagues and the independent schools, here are the best teams, sleeper teams and teams least likely to succeed as the long offseason finally draws to a close.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Best team: Clemson
Sleeper team: Boston College Least likely to succeed: North Carolina
Clemson’s right there with Alabama as the best team in the country. While Boston College isn’t headed for an ACC title or New Year’s Six bowl, a wealth of individual standouts on offense and defense have the Eagles in contention for a nine-win season. North Carolina feels like the safest bet to end this season in the cellar, though Virginia might give the Tar Heels a run for their money in the Coastal Division.
Big 12
Best team: Oklahoma
Sleeper team: Kansas State
Least likely to succeed: Kansas Oklahoma’s the pick until proved otherwise, though TCU and West Virginia are right on the Sooners’ heels. Kansas State is perennially overlooked, so a potential conference title would be treated as another one of Bill Snyder’s great achievements, even if the Wildcats are more than capable of cracking the Amway Coaches Poll at some point in 2018. Kansas is … well, Kansas has some work to do.
Big Ten
Best team: Wisconsin Sleeper team: Nebraska Least likely to succeed: Illinois Wisconsin and its outstanding offensive line, underrated quarterback and Heisman Trophy-contending running back gets the nod over Ohio State. Nebraska has hit the ground running under first-year head coach Scott Frost and will surprise teams in conference play. Illinois is the weak link in a league brimming with national names.
Independents
Best team: Notre Dame
Surprise team: Army
Least likely to succeed: Liberty Notre Dame is always a trendy pick for the national title. This year is no different, though the Irish must get improved play from quarterback Brandon Wimbush before making plans for a January bowl. After a 10-win 2017 season, Army’s capacity to surprise is diminishing by the year. The Black Knights’ smooth schedule ensures another year around eight wins. Liberty is better than your average FBS newcomer but won’t make any noise in 2018.
Pac-12 Best team: Washington
Sleeper team: Oregon
Least likely to succeed: Oregon
State
We’ll know more about Washington after its opener with Auburn, but the Huskies seem built to race toward a Pac-12 title and a spot in the national semifinals. While classifying Oregon as a sleeper ignores the modest preseason expectations: a healthy Justin Herbert could vault the team into the New Year’s Six conversation. Oregon State is the weakest team in the Pac-12 and weakest in the Power Five this side of Kansas.
Southeastern Conference
Best team: Alabama
Sleeper team: Texas A&M
Least likely to succeed: Arkansas Alabama remains the team to beat, though Georgia and Auburn aren’t far behind. While predicting how the season will play behind a first-year coach is always dicey, the combination of Texas A&M’s talent level and Jimbo Fisher makes the Aggies very intriguing. Arkansas made a very good hire in former SMU coach Chad Morris, but the change in scheme, lack of depth and difficult schedule has the Razorbacks headed for a rebuilding year.