FAVORITE TEAMS

There’s not much to talk about with the obvious two bottom teams in the FBS Independent. UMass has so much fixing to do and New Mexico State’s schedule is too brutal for them to go bowling this upcoming season. So let’s move on to the other four.

Notre Dame will take a step back with a more challenging schedule. Losing one game won’t make them playoff contenders unless a lot of chaos happens. Road games involving Georgia, Michigan, and Stanford isn’t an easy win. Army’s schedule could make them a 10-win team for the third straight season. BYU has a challenging schedule from August 29th to November 2nd before ending their season against their rival San Diego State. Liberty returns 12+ starters, but can coach Hugh Freeze make them relevant for a bowl season?

ARMY BLACK KNIGHTS

Army’s offense should once again be a threat with quarterback Kelvin Hopkins and running back Kell Walker. They came within overtime of upsetting Oklahoma at Norman. If that’s not convincing, let’s see how things play out when they go to Ann Arbor on September 7th. What may not convince me that this time around is their defense returning only four starters. They dominated the past two seasons and was the reason they won 10+ games the last two seasons. Linebacker Cole Christiansen and cornerback Elijah Riley must be the example while the defensive line focuses on replacing three new starters. Army’s schedule shouldn’t be an issue for them to possibly win 10 games for the third time. Their challenging games are on the road against Michigan and Air Force, and against Navy for the season finale. Their only setback is their defense if it can’t replicate their past two season’s success.