Liberty, Memphis Among Non-Power Favorites Heading Into 2024 College Football Season
Jamey Chadwell enters his second season at the helm of a Liberty program that has enjoyed a nice run of success since joining the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2018. Liberty, Memphis, and Tulane are among the non-power favorites for the 2024 College Football Season. Following a win over New Mexico State in the Conference USA championship game last season, Liberty rose to No. 23 in the final College Football Playoff ranking, surpassing No. 24 SMU. The Flames were the highest-ranked Group of Five team and were granted access to a New Year’s Six Bowl. Despite a 45-6 defeat to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl, Liberty has been successful since joining the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2018. Despite losing receiver C.J. Daniels to LSU, the Flames’ return of key players, including Kaidon Salter and Quinton Cooley, is expected to be a strong contender for G5 supremacy according to preseason publications and post-spring rankings. Meanwhile, Tulane's Tulane is preparing for a non-conference date at Appalachian State.
Опубликовано : 2 недели назад от Tom Layberger в Sports
Following a win over New Mexico State in last season’s Conference USA championship game, undefeated Liberty ascended one spot to No. 23 in the final College Football Playoff ranking. The Flames, just ahead of No. 24 SMU, were the highest-ranked Group of Five team. As such, Jamey Chadwell’s squad was granted access to the privileged side of the velvet rope and a New Year’s Six Bowl.
Though things did not go well, to say the least in a 45-6 defeat to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl, the program continued a run of success since joining the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2018. Liberty, which was in its first season as a member of CUSA and got as high as No. 18 in the AP poll before dropping to No. 25 in the final poll, should at least be in the mix for G5 supremacy once again according to preseason publications and post-spring rankings.
That is not to say Liberty is a top-25 across the board. In their preseason publications, Lindy’s has the Flames at No. 25 while Athlon has pegged them at No. 30. ESPN’s post-spring ranking has the Flames as “just missed” the top 25 while CBS has them among “Group of Five Teams to Watch.”
Chadwell, who took over for Hugh Freeze in Lynchburg last season and went 31-6 in his final three seasons at Coastal Carolina, has plenty of talent returning. Quarterback Kaidon Salter, CUSA’s player of the year in 2023 after placing third nationally in pass efficiency behind Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix, and running Quinton Cooley, the conference’s leading rusher last season, will pace an offense that went into the Fiesta Bowl averaging 40.7 points per game and more the 500 yards. A negative was losing receiver C.J. Daniels to LSU.
On the other side of scrimmage, Chadwell returns the Flames’ leader in tackles for loss (C.J. Bazile) and a leader in the secondary (Brylan Green). The secondary overall, though, has some holes to be patched thanks to departures via the portal.
While nobody should be taken lightly, the Flames could breeze through the CUSA schedule again this season. After all, it includes a pair of second-year FBS programs (Jacksonville State, Sam Houston State) and one that is debuting this year in Kennesaw State. A late-September non-conference date at Appalachian State could impact how the G5 shakes out.
Three schools that combined to be the top-ranked G5 five times in the last seven years departed for power conferences. UCF (No. 6 in 2017, No. 11 in 2018) and Cincinnati (No. 8 in 2020, No. 4 in 2021) joined the Big 12 in 2023 and SMU (No. 24 in 2023) is heading into its first season as an ACC member. Hence, there is less of a logjam at the top of the G5 pyramid.
It would not surprise if Memphis, arguably the strongest G5 program the past decade, finds its way back to another New Year’s Six Bowl. With UCF, Cincinnati and SMU having departed, the American does not have nearly as much meat on the bone, though the Tigers have had many strong showings regardless of conference membership.
Mike Norvell went 38-15 in his four seasons in the Home of the Blues and led the Tigers to the Cotton Bowl following the 2019 season. When Norvell left for Florida State, Ryan Silverfield, who was in charge of the offensive line as well as serving as the deputy head coach, stepped in to coach the bowl. He heads into his fifth season with a 31-18 mark, including 10-3 last season. While the Tigers may not defeat their former coach in Tallahassee on September 14, they have quarterback Seth Henigan entering his fourth year as the starter. Redshirt junior Chandler Martin (17 TFLs in 2023) is a top-shelf linebacker.
Tulane, which is coming off a 23-5 two-year run that included a win over USC in the Cotton Bowl following the 2022 season, said goodbye to coach Willie Fritz (Houston) and quarterback Michael Pratt (NFL). Meanwhile, Frank Harris finally expired his eligibility at UTSA after seven seasons. That is not to say the Green Wave and Roadrunners will disappear, not with former Troy coach Jon Sumrall at the helm in New Orleans and with what Jeff Traylor has built in San Antonio. Rather, Memphis would seem to be the team to watch. USF will likely be in the mix as well in coach Alex Golesh’s second year. He has a top-flight returning quarterback in junior Byrum Brown.
Air Force and UNLV both assumed the spotlight in the Mountain West at times last season. That was before what was five-loss Boise State defeated the Rebels in the conference title game. There is renewed hope in Boise where Spencer Danielson had the interim label removed in December after taking over for the fired Andy Avalos last season. He brought in former Broncos head coach Dirk Koetter to the run the offense and work with quarterback Malachi Nelson, a hyped recruit who transferred from USC. There are ample playmakers on both sides of the ball, including defensive tackle Amed Hassanein.
With at least nine wins in eight of the last nine seasons, Appalachian State is worthy of keeping an eye on. A program that has won seven of eight bowl games since elevating to the FBS a decade ago, owned the Sun Belt (41-7) during Scott Satterfield’s five years in Boone. A 6-6 showing in 2022 notwithstanding, the Mountaineers have done nicely in Shawn Clark’s four seasons as well. If App State can smoothly break in three new offensive line starters, they should be in the mix for the top spot in G5. As noted above, a non-conference encounter against Liberty could prove huge.
Темы: Academia, Football, College Sports