By Kyle Golik
ACC Powers’ Success Rides On Quarterbacks
Florida State and Miami both took in Top 10 Transfer Classes per 247Sports, with the centerpieces of their portal classes being high-profile quarterbacks.
Miami was able to lure in Cam Ward from Washington State and to compliment him on offense, Damien Martinez. He is a two-time First Team All Pac-12 running back from Oregon State, who last season finished with 1,185 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.
The Hurricanes have a very favorable schedule, they don’t leave the state of Florida until an October 5 trip to Berkeley to face Cal.
With a win against Florida on the road, who also had a Top 5 transfer portal class, Miami should be 6-0 heading into the bye.
Back-to-back games against 2023 ACC Championship Game participants Louisville and Florida State will define the season for Miami.
The Hurricanes’ hated rival Florida State continued their excellence in the portal as Mike Norvell continues to be the best at the portal in the ACC.
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Former Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei will try to complete his collegiate career and live up to the five-star rating he received in his prep career when he committed to Clemson.
Norvell may have hit the defensive motherload again in the portal bringing in Marvin Jones Jr. in from Georgia. Jones looks to be the second former Georgia Bulldog to realize their potential with Norvell – Jermaine Johnson transferred from Georgia and won the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. Jared Verse, a transfer from Albany, became a two-time All-American and first-round draft choice.
Verdict: The October 26 showdown will be the make-or-break for both programs. Miami, if it lives up to its potential and avoids a Cristobal coaching clunker should be unbeaten going into the matchup. Florida State meanwhile has a tougher road with Clemson and a visit to Rhett Lashlee’s SMU Mustangs.
Miami has the schedule and talent to win 10 or more games if it handles its business against Florida in the opener. A loss isn’t the end for the Hurricanes, but it makes you wonder if Cristobal can truly get Miami back to playoff contention because that is a game they should win.
The Seminoles have a tougher slate than the Hurricanes, after games with Clemson and SMU, they also have a visit to Notre Dame and close the regular season out against Florida, who always plays up for the Seminoles. Norvell has Florida State in position to win 10 games again this year.
Bowl Eligibility in Boulder?
In this new era of college football, it’s hard to question Deion Sanders’ tactics on roster building considering where we are at in the sport.
While I am not a purveyor of the strategy, at some point the talent coming in has to get Colorado to bowl eligibility?
Part of the reason Colorado had a top 10 portal class is sheer volume with 42 incoming transfers.
Notable newcomers to Sanders’ experiment are a trio of defensive lineman – Samuel Okunlola, Dayon Hayes (Pitt), and Quincey Wiggins (LSU).
Last season, Colorado was amongst the worst defenses in the nation, allowing 453.3 yards per game in total defense, 34.8 points per game in scoring defense (124th in the nation), and 27 sacks.
Verdict: Colorado’s first two games will define their season and chances to get to the postseason. North Dakota State lost their head coach Matt Entz to Southern California, which hasn’t in the past slowed the Bison down as they have a 233-49 record (.826 winning percentage) since 2003 under three different head coaches.
The Bison have won seven of their previous 10 against FBS opponents dating back to 2007.
Catching new Bison coach Tim Polasek off guard in his first game as head coach in Boulder is key for Sanders.
In Week 2, Colorado visits rival Nebraska in prime time. This is a game that Nebraska should have won last season and is a game many Huskers have circled on their calendars to help measure progress.
Colorado can be unbeaten or winless after two weeks and when you look at the rest of the slate I don’t see wins against Kansas, Kansas State, Arizona, Utah, or Oklahoma State.
I feel Colorado will go bowling at 6-6, but that will be after splitting their first two games. If Colorado starts 0-2, they won’t reach bowl eligibility.
Preview of 2024 Big Ten Championship Game?
Two of the Big Ten’s biggest winners in the portal, Oregon and Ohio State, could meet twice this season, with both teams adding major impact from the portal.
Oregon had 247Sports No. 2 overall transfer portal class highlighted by No. 5 overall transfer prospect wide receiver Evan Stewart, a former five-star prospect who was part of the Texas A&M recruiting class that never materialized into anything meaningful.
Lanning’s portal class is highlighted by landing a veteran quarterback to handle the present in Dillon Gabriel and the future in Dante Moore, who was rated the No. 10 overall transfer prospect by 247Sports.
The only other program to have multiple overall Top 10 transfer prospects was Ohio State and they had three of them.
Ohio State landed only seven total transfers but the quality of them should right the ship for Ryan Day.
Much like Lanning, Day got a quarterback for the present in Will Howard, who gets the Michigan rivalry and be the steady hand to mentor two high-end quarterback prospects in Air Noland, the No. 7 quarterback in the Class of 2024, and former Alabama quarterback Julian Sayin, the No. 6 overall transfer prospect.
Ohio State landed arguably two of the most valuable pieces in this transfer cycle, landing former Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins and the No. 1 overall transfer prospect in safety Caleb Downs.
Judkins is fourth all-time in SEC history, for most rushing yards in a running back’s freshman and sophomore season, trailing Herschel Walker, Darren McFadden, and Leonard Fournette. Judkins should be on many Heisman watch lists as he is the superstar running back the Buckeyes have been missing.
After Judkins (2022), Ohio State has the last two SEC Freshman of the Year after landing coveted safety Caleb Downs (2023). Downs is expected to be the starter right away and possesses the talent to be a Day 1 NFL Draft choice when he is eligible.
Verdict: I have been bullish on Oregon and will continue to do so. I feel Lanning has transformed Oregon into an SEC-level program in the Pacific Northwest. Lanning leverages the transfer portal and is a high-end recruiter. The biggest knock on him is can he win the big games?
Even with four wins against Top 15 teams and a New Year’s Six bowl triumph over Group of 5 Liberty, it can be argued that Lannings’ signature win by many is the Colorado demolition last season.
Lanning critics will also point to his 0-3 record versus Kalen DeBoer and Washington, a rival Oregon dominated in the 21st Century but is the problem Washington, or DeBoer who’s now gone?
As Lanning answers questions about his resume, Day faces continuous scrutiny over his recent inability to beat Michigan.
Many of Day’s critics point to the lack of physicality on both sides of the line of scrimmage, something Michigan has dominated in the last three games.
Day landed maligned Alabama center Seth McLaughlin, who should fortify the offensive line, who felt McLaughlin’s snapping woes were due to Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe’s snapping cadence. He stated “Seth’s snaps have been great,” Day told reports this spring, “I know that was a little bit of a concern, I think it had a little bit to do with the (quarterback’s) cadence or whatever. He’s been doing great.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if Ohio State plays Oregon twice, they sweep the Ducks. I feel the October 12 encounter in Autzen Stadium is the only game Ohio State could lose this year. I do feel at minimum the Bucks and Ducks will play twice, the second time either in Indianapolis or in the College Football Playoffs.
Is it time for the “Portal King” to reign?
When I spoke to Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin prior to the Peach Bowl, I asked about the transfer portal and roster management, Kiffin gave a well-thought-out answer on the balance of traditional high school recruiting and the portal. My follow-up to him was in regards to catching Alabama and Georgia, Kiffin dodged the question best saying very few have caught Alabama or Georgia.
Kiffin was able to give Ole Miss its first 11-win season in program history and landed 247Sports No. 1 overall transfer portal class.
While Kiffin lost two-time First Team All-SEC running Quinshon Judkins to the portal, he made up for it by landing five-star defensive lineman Walter Nolen, who was rated the No. 2 overall recruit by 247Sports in the Class of 2022 and part of that historic Texas A&M class that Jimbo Fisher couldn’t capitalize on.
Ole Miss had one of the poorest run defenses in the country last season, allowing eight opponents to get 150 or more rushing yards on the ground, including a combined 431 yards and six touchdowns to Alabama and Georgia.
Nolen is the coveted piece for Kiffin and is arguably the most important player for the Rebels this year if they aspire to reach their first SEC Championship Game in program history.
Verdict: Ole Miss should be 6-0 before traveling to Baton Rouge in a rematch against LSU. Both teams should not expect a track meet like the one that occurred at Vaught-Hemingway where 1,343 yards of total offense and 66 first downs occurred. That will be the biggest test for the Rebels, with LSU reloading on offense. A typical Kiffin team usually drops this game, but a win at LSU would show this program maturing before our eyes.
Following their first bye, Ole Miss has Oklahoma and Georgia visiting The Grove over a three week period.
As Brent Venables rebuilds the foundation of the Sooner program, and they too have offensive weapons to make things interesting, it goes back to what I said before. This is a game Kiffin typically loses but if the program has matured enough, this is a chance to get another signature win for Ole Miss.
Georgia will be a litmus test of how far Ole Miss has improved. I don’t expect much difference from last year in this one.
Following their second bye, they have a Florida team that always has the proclivity of pulling the upset and The Egg Bowl, where anything is possible.
Ole Miss I can see going anywhere between 8-4 to 11-1, but 10-2 is where I feel good about the Rebels. They will lose to Georgia and drop a game either to LSU or Oklahoma.
If the Rebels are 11-1, the Ole Miss contingent hopes Atlanta is again the scene where they achieve their first 12-win year as a program. At 10-2, Ole Miss fans hope for an outside playoff berth and still wait for that SEC Championship Game trip to Atlanta.
