Every offseason, Bill Connelly, an ESPN college football analyst, assesses every FBS programme based on return production. With at least 73% of its statistical output from ’22 returning, Michigan (ranked No. 5), Texas (ranked No. 19), and Washington (ranked No. 22) were among the top three in the country last year. Florida State was ranked first after going undefeated in the regular season and winning the ACC championship prior to its contentious exclusion from the College Football Playoffs. Alabama stood out as an anomaly, ranking at 125th with 40% of its production coming back, underscoring the outstanding job Nick Saban performed as coach in his last season.
Virginia Tech may make significant progress this year. The Hokies are back to 86% of their output from the previous season, with 95% of that coming from the offensive line, which is the best percentage in the nation. With 88% of output coming back, Northwestern’s defence (76% overall) is the best in the league. Overall, the Wildcats rank sixth.
Conversely, Air Force, which finished 9–4 in 2023 and reached its highest ranking of No. 19 in the AP Top 25, is expected to see a significant decline. The Falcons are ranked 134th overall, have only 25% of their productivity returned, and have the lowest defence in the league.
runner-up nationally With several of its talents headed to the NFL, Washington, which lost coach Kalen DeBoer to Alabama, is near the bottom of the offensive rankings (19%). Situated just two spots below national champion Michigan, the Huskies are ranked No. 130 overall. With quarterback J.J. McCarthy becoming a professional and Jim Harbaugh making a comeback to the NFL, the Wolverines are in a similar situation.
Alabama, which is ranked No. 115 and is the third team in the College Football Playoffs with a new coach for ’24, is once again beginning over.
Texas, on the other hand, will transfer from the Big 12 to the SEC, keeping coach Steve Sarkisian and returning a sizable portion of its ’23 squad. Texas is ranked No. 25 in returning production, the highest ranking among the CFP teams from the previous season, led by quarterback Quinn Ewers.
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