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A Rough Guide to 2010 College Football via Returning Starters

Feb 16, 2010, 9:40 PM UTC

â†µYou're probably overloaded with schmaltz this deep into the Winterâ†µOlympics, but rest assured: college football still exists. Phil Steele'sâ†µmain goal in life is to remind you of this 365 days a year, so here's aâ†µbunchâ†µof data about returning starters for your perusal. People use theseâ†µthings as rough guides to how much teams will progress or regress eachâ†µyear and we're no different around these parts. A brief rundown of teamsâ†µthat jump out.â†µ

â†µâ†µBest-timed departure. Congratulations, Skip Holtz:â†µyou managed to get out before the bottom (probably) fell out.â†µBack-to-back CUSA champion East Carolina returns all of eight guys, theâ†µfewest nationally. If Jim Leavitt didn’t have to choke a walk-on, Holtzâ†µwould be frantically trying to keep his mojo going before the shine woreâ†µoff. â†µ

â†µâ†µSoft landing. No one expects much out of Notre Dameâ†µnext year sans Clausen and Tate. They’re switching to a spread offenseâ†µand can’t break in the only experienced quarterback because he’ll beâ†µrehabbing a knee injury until fall. But the Irish do get nine guys backâ†µon defense and something like eight wins for Brian Kelly would instantlyâ†µwin the hearts of beleaguered ND fans.â†µ

â†µâ†µHot seat most likely to turn ejector. Arizona Stateâ†µwas pretty terrible last year and only return ten guys, startingâ†µquarterback not included. Tim Brewster just gotâ†µa contract extension but suffered through a terrible spate ofâ†µdecommits in hisâ†µcrappy recruiting class and returns just two defensive starters.â†µMost of the offense returns, but since Minnesota’s on its fourthâ†µoffensive coordinator in five years that might be less help than itâ†µwould normally.â†µ

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â†µNext year's most overrated. Looking for teams thatâ†µare probably going to enter next season overrated? Find teams thatâ†µreturn quarterbacks and a lot of offense but lose a bunch of defense.â†µAlabama is a clear winner here with a fairly meh quarterback back alongâ†µwith eight offensive starters but just two guys on defense coming backâ†µand neither specialist. The Tide has the fewest returning starters ofâ†µanyone the SEC. â†µ

â†µâ†µUSC is also a candidate here with only 12 guys back and a newâ†µhead coach who may, in fact, be brain damaged. Texas loses Colt McCoyâ†µand has 14 guys back; not terrible but they can expect a dropoff. â†µ

â†µâ†µFiesta redux. You’ve probably heard about Boiseâ†µState’s 23(!) returning starters and their game against Virginia Techâ†µthat may set them up for a national title run, but TCU’s got 18 startersâ†µback of its own, including the quarterback. With Utah and BYU bothâ†µgetting hit pretty hard, the Mountain West is theirs for the taking. Weâ†µcould have a true BCS meteor scenario at the end of the year. â†µ

â†µâ†µBouncing back? North Carolina has the most guys backâ†µin the ACC and their quarterback returning, and disappointing season from bothâ†µTexas A&M and Missouri should go by the wayside with 19 startersâ†µback each. Syracuse returns 20 starters, too, but remains Syracuse. â†µ

â†µâ†µThe big jump should be from Washington, though. They’ve got 20 guysâ†µback and get Jake Locker for a senior year. They went from horrible toâ†µbad in year one of Steve Sarkisian; this year they could be actuallyâ†µgood.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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