Sunday, August 14, 2011

Breakouts



Every year there are players and teams that surprise people. Last year the Auburn Tigers ended the season as National Champions even though they started the season ranked 22nd in the AP poll. Tom Brady is now considered one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL, but he was drafted in the 6th round of the draft. Players and teams like this are often called breakout players or teams. Every year, analysts try to find who will be the next breakouts. In the ensuing paragraphs I will reveal my picks for breakout team and player in College Football.
For me the team to watch this year is Wisconsin. They may be ranked number 10, but they are flying under the National Championship chatter. The Badgers are coming off a disappointing loss to TCU in the Rose Bowl and will be saying goodbye to some key components on offense and defense. On offense the main losses are in the backfield:  quarterback Scott Tolzien and running back John Clay both left for the NFL. On the defensive side, their main loss is defensive end J. J. Watt. These are very important positions they are losing quality players at, but after taking a closer look, you begin to see that they will have these holes filled.

Any time you lose an experienced quarterback it's tough, but there are two reasons that this won't be as difficult for the Badgers. First off, they are a run oriented team. This will relieve some of the pressure off the new quarterback. Secondly and more importantly, the Badgers acquired quarterback Russel Wilson from North Carolina State. Wilson is an experienced senior who threw for over 3500 yard and 28 touchdowns while rushing for another 9. Wilson will fill the void created by Tolzien's departure. As for John Clay, the Badgers had two other backs in the rotation who each rushed for over 900 yards. J.J Watt was the star on the defensive line and his presence will be missed. Although they are losing Watt, they will return the rest of their defensive line as well as key players from their secondary and linebacking core.

After addressing these losses the Badgers will be able to build off of their success from last year. Entering the Rose Bowl they were often referred to as the hottest team in football. They had a dominant offensive and defensive line that allowed them to enforce their will on their opponents. In the final 7 games of the season Wisconsin put up a monstrous 338 points and scored over 70 points in three individual games.

To aid them even more, the Badgers pulled a very favorable schedule. Their first difficult game comes in the 5th week when they host Nebraska. These four weeks prior will give Wilson plenty of time to adjust to the Badgers system. They do have two back to back road games at Michigan State and Ohio State. Michigan State will be a very tough game, but with the recent troubles at Ohio State I feel that if the Badgers can best Michigan State they will be fine against Ohio State. The only other serious test they will face is Penn State. Joe Paterno will bring his Nittany Lions into Madison for the season closer. Other than these four games, I don't see the Badgers having much trouble. Don't be surprised to see the Badgers go undefeated through the season and find themselves playing for a National Championship bid in the first Big Ten championship game.

My breakout player this year is Arkansas Quarterback Tyler Wilson. He will be replacing quarterback star Ryan Mallett. Wilson really only played in one game, and that was against the future National Champion Auburn Tigers. When Mallett was taken out by a knee injury it was Wilson's time to shine. In two and a half quarters went 25 for 34 throwing for over 300 yards and four touchdowns. If this is any indication of what is to come, then 2011 will truly be a breakout season for Wilson.
 
Predicting who is going to break out of the ranks and do something special is nothing close to a science. There are too many uncertanties, but untill the seasons starts why not have some fun and make your own picks and maybe, just maybe you will be right.

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