Remember when Bret Bielema was considered the one of the most exciting young coaches in college football?
For those of you with extremely short memories, it was only two seasons ago when Bielema set a Wisconsin record for wins by going 12-1 in his rookie season.
Today? Bielema’s name is tossed around on the “hot seat” as much as any coach in the game.
Don’t worry, this isn’t another column attacking/defending Bielema for whether or not he should/should not be fired.
The point is college football is as much about preparing for the next season as it is about succeeding during the current one. The balance between developing young players and winning now is unlike any other sport. The top programs in the nation — USC, LSU, Texas, etc. — have figured out how to plug young players into the system without missing a beat. Other programs, however — Notre Dame and Clemson are a few that come to mind — struggle to consistently win after one or two good seasons.
Although I firmly believe preseason polls are mostly useless, teams on the rise can be predicted after they have succeeded with an infusion of young talent. Because nothing of interest occurred in college football last weekend, here is a look to next season and which teams will continue their run of recent success.
Oregon State
The Beavers stumbled out of the blocks, losing on the road both to Stanford and Penn State at the beginning of the season. OSU recovered, though, and improved to 7-3 with a share of the Pac-10 lead after beating conference juggernaut USC. The reason? Running back Jacquizz Rodgers and his wide receiver brother James Rodgers have combined for 2,330 yards of total offense. The best news is the pair are just a freshman and a sophomore and will likely stick around for all four years. Combined with junior quarterback Lyle Moevao, the Beavers return three key offensive weapons next year for an offense that averages 33.7 points per game. In a weak Pac-10 conference, the Beavers should be good enough to compete among the upper echelon for years to come.
Minnesota
Despite the late season stumble and loss to border-rival Wisconsin last weekend, Minnesota’s improvements from a 1-11 season last year are impressive enough to vault them into this category. The Gophers are bowl eligible and have a talented coach in Tim Brewster, who took a collection of unknown and unheralded parts to the upper half of the Big Ten. Yes, I know, the Big Ten is weak this year. But really, what conference absent of the Big XII isn’t weak this year? Even the “vaunted” SEC has only two elite teams this season. The Big Ten is still a difficult conference to compete in, and Brewster’s Gophers improved by at least six wins over last year’s wretched team. Considering that Brewster accomplished all this with a sophomore quarterback and a freshman running back, I’d say the Gophers will make some more noise in the next few years.
Baylor
Though the Bears only sport a 4-7 record, this bottom-of-the-barrel Big XII team will bust through next season for a variety of reasons. First of all, BU will get stronger from addition by subtraction. Namely, seniors Chase Daniels and Graham Harrell are leaving for Sunday football, plus Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy are near certainties to follow. Ready to take their place is the true freshman guiding Baylor this season. Robert Griffin has posted modest numbers — 14 touchdowns and 2,000 yards passing this season — but the precocious starter has protected the ball better then some fifth-year seniors (See: Alan Evridge) are even capable of. On the entire season, Griffin has thrown two interceptions. With poise well beyond his years, Griffin can lead Baylor to the top of a depleted Big XII as soon as next season.
Miami
Unfortunately for everyone who was enjoying the “competition” (can extreme mediocrity be called competition?) of the ACC, Miami is ready to reclaim its place on top of the conference it has long dominated. The Hurricanes quietly are in first place of the Coastal division, despite more celebrated years from North Carolina and Georgia Tech. Miami has won five games in a row, but more importantly, it has given true freshman quarterback Robert Marve valuable experience along the way. Marve came into Miami as one of the most heralded prospects in the country, and though his numbers are less then stellar, the quarterback has learned how to win at a pressurized football school. The rest of the ACC had a few years to change the pecking order, but the failure of any one program to establish themselves left the door wide open for Miami. Expect the Hurricanes to be back on top next season.
While the biggest storylines in college football will play out next week when Texas Tech meets Oklahoma, fans of these schools can look forward to next year when they can worry about the implications of one loss in the BCS.
