The secret to success for 10 standout teams

Forty names, games, teams and details are making news in college football, where Nevada has gone nine games without recovering an opponent’s fumble: First quarter: twelve (or more) angry people. Second quarter: the advertisement of each conference for the CFP.

For teams experiencing breakout seasons, a number of things have changed year after year to allow for the improvement. The Dash focuses on some of them, from the obvious to the more subtle.

Texas A&M Aggies (21)

Mike Elko inherited a soft team up front, and it clearly wouldn’t last long. During the SEC spring meetings in May, he hinted at what was to come for the A&M offensive line: “I don’t think they’re very excited about the reputation they have in the Texas A&M community last year. I think they are very hungry to change that narrative.” Consider it changed.

Despite losing potential feature back Rueben Owens to injury in the preseason, the Aggies lead the SEC in rushing yards per carry (5.31) and are second in rushing yards per game (221.5). Offensive line coach Adam Cushing has done a great job at Duke under Elko and it shows in this unit. And quarterback Marcel Reed, recently returned to the lineup, is a better running threat than Conner Weigman.

Tennessee Volunteers (22)

This is a vastly improved defensive team, ranking third nationally in both yards allowed per game (259) and points allowed per game (11.6) – and they still haven’t had the pleasure of beating No. 15 offense in the SEC (Kentucky). this week) or No. 12 (Mississippi State next week). The Vols still haven’t allowed 20 points in a game this season.

Coordinator Tim Banks, who should get some head coaching looks on the job this season, added some key pieces in the secondary. Oregon State transfer Jermod McCoy has a pair of interceptions, five passes broken up and is fourth on the team in tackles. Freshman Boo Carter had a big impact in a tight win over Florida. Middle Tennessee transfer Jakobe Thomas made some disruptive plays in the win over Alabama.

Arkansas razorbacks (23)

Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino arrived in the offseason to save Sam Pittman and has done his job so far. Petrino has always been an underrated run-game guy, and the Hogs are backing up his acumen in that area with a two-headed transfer attack. Running back Ja’Quinden Jackson (from Utah) and quarterback Taylen Green (from Boise State) combine for 134 rushing yards per game. Overall, the Hogs improved their rushing yards per play by 60 last year, and yards per carry by 1.73.

Indiana Hoosiers (24)

Curt Cignetti’s transfer legion runs the ball, stops the run and enters the opponent’s backfield. Indiana leads the Big Ten in both sacks and tackles for loss, with the Hoosiers’ top eight players in TFLs all being transfers from the Group of 5 conference schools. No one in the Big Ten has run the ball more than Indiana’s 391 attempts, with their top four running backs also all transfers — either from the ACC or Cignetti’s old school, James Madison. But the offensive line is largely a collection of holdovers who have simply gotten better.

Penn State Nittany Lions (25)

James Franklin has had a string of tight ends at the NFL level, from Pat Freiermuth to Brenton Strange to Theo Johnson, and he has often used them as multi-purpose players. But new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has taken it to a mad scientist level with Tyler Warren, the biggest breakout star at that position in the country. Warren has caught four touchdowns, run for a TD and thrown for a score while lining up all over the field (including in center, memorably, during a brassy scoring play against USC). The amount of time opponents have to spend preparing for Where’s Warren? scenarios throughout the week – and then taking him into account on every play – must be taxing.

Hurricanes in Miami (26)

The arrival of transfer quarterback Cam Ward has created a dramatic improvement in the Hurricanes’ passing efficiency, from a 140.52 rating last year (52nd nationally) to 175.92 this year (sixth). Ward has reversed his mistakes recently, throwing zero interceptions and losing no fumbles in the last two games after committing five turnovers in the previous three games. In recent years, Miami has been a place where quarterbacks could briefly flourish and then fade away; so far Ward is keeping everything going very well. The ‘Canes may have the cleanest path to 12–0 of any remaining undefeated.

Pittsburgh Panthers (27)

While going 3-9 last season, Pitt was an evenly matched team in the fourth quarter: the Panthers scored 58 points and allowed 58 points. So far this year, Pitt is outscoring its opponents 83-23 in the fourth – an increase in its scoring average in that quarter from 4.8 points to 11.9. Quarterback Eli Holstein was a crunch-time wizard, producing his highest efficiency rating this season (a blistering 212.23) in the fourth quarter. Pitt will sweat out Holstein’s availability for a showdown at SMU this week; he left the undefeated Panthers blowout of Syracuse last week after hitting his head on the turf during a struggle.

Cyclones in the state of Iowa (28)

Coordinator Jon Heacock’s traditionally good defense has stepped up this year. He leads the nation in pass efficiency allowed and ranks ninth in points allowed. Typical of a Matt Campbell team, the undefeated ‘Clones are largely free agents defensively, with players moving up the depth chart and excelling when given their opportunity. The breakout star is sophomore defenseman Jontez Williams, who has had interceptions in four straight games, the most recent of which sealed a dramatic win over Central Florida. Iowa State is also getting early production from a pair of freshman linebackers, Rylan Barnes and Cael Brezina, who have only been part-time players thus far.

BYU Cougars (29)

They are better in almost every area, but the pass defense stands out so far. The undefeated Cougars are third nationally in interceptions with 14, with at least one in every game and at least two in each of the last five games. Eleven different players have picked passes in eight games. Five percent of the opponent’s passes are intercepted by BYU, which is 10 fewer points per game than the past two years.

Colorado buffalo (30)

Their evolution into a solid all-around team in the second season under Deion Sanders is most noticeable defensively. Sanders turned to the NFL to hire new coordinator Robert Livingston away from the Cincinnati Bengals, and of course shuffled the roster a bit as well. The result so far has been a reduction in points allowed from 34.8 to 22 per game. Third-down conversion defense is better for the 6-2 reinforcements, sacks are up, tackles for loss are up, explosive play turnover is down. Colorado still has plenty of offensive weapons, but no longer needs to score 35 points every game to have a chance at victory.