2014 College Football National Title Odds: Sleepers to Win the 2015 National Title Game

2014 College Football National Title Odds: Sleepers to Win the 2015 National Title Game: The college football landscape will undergo a major shakeup in 2014 as the BCS system is replaced by a four-team college football playoff with the participants being chosen by a selection committee. While the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles and always-powerful Alabama Crimson Tide still figure to frontrunners for the national title under the new format, the fact that four teams will have a chance to play for a championship increases the chances that a surprise team will make it into the mix. With that in mind, here is a closer look at few teams that could crash the new playoff system and compete for a national title in 2014.

It has been a long road, but head coach Jim Mora Jr. has the UCLA Bruins back among the top programs in college football, and his 2014 team should be his best yet. After all, he returns 16 starters from last year’s team, including dual-threat quarterback Brett Hundley, who could be the top pick in the NFL Draft. Hundley will have two of his top-three targets from a year ago to throw to, and the offensive line has four starters back. Defensively, UCLA uses an unconventional 3-4 scheme where five defensive backs are often on the field, but with four of those five DBs back along with four of the front six, the unit has plenty of experience and talent. Perhaps most importantly, UCLA gets Oregon, Stanford and USC at home. The pieces are in place for the Bruins to make a title run.

Armed with a new stadium and suddenly-raucous fan base, the Baylor Bears seemed poised to build on last year’s Big 12 title and BCS bowl appearance. Of course, it also helps to have Heisman finalist Bryce Petty returning under center, along with six other starters from an offense that was the best in the country last year. Granted, the Bears will be replacing several starters on defense, but the defensive front should remain strong thanks to a couple of highly-touted transfers at the two end spots. The questions will be in the secondary, but if the unit can hold its own, Petty and the offense and the pass-rush will do the rest. The Bears get Kansas State and Oklahoma State at home, and their chance of running the table and making the college football playoff could come down to a road meeting with Oklahoma.

Although they always seem to be one win away, the South Carolina Gamecocks have still managed to win 11 games in each of the past three seasons. Granted, this year’s team won’t have Jadeveon Clowney leading the pass rush or Connor Shaw under center, but 16 starters are back. Among the returnees is star running back Mike Davis and four starters along the offensive line. Even quarterback Dylan Thompson has some experience, filling in when Shaw dealt with injuries. On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore Skai Moore heads a loaded linebacking corps, and a pair of experienced safeties heads the secondary. A road game against Auburn isn’t ideal, but the Gamecocks dodge Alabama and LSU. South Carolina has been in the mix in each of the past three seasons, and given the talent on both sides of the ball, that shouldn’t change in 2014.

When quarterback Braxton Miller went down with a shoulder injury, the Ohio State Buckeyes lost the engine that drives their high-powered offense. However, the Buckeyes will still likely be favored in every game with the exception of a road contest against Michigan State. Running back Ezekiel Elliott and receiver Devin Smith are just two of the speedy playmakers that head coach Urban Meyer will have at his disposal, and the defense should feature one of the best fronts in the country with Noah Spence and Michael Bennett leading the way. Quarterback J.T. Barrett will have to make smart decisions in relief of Miller, but he will have eight games to get comfortable before the Buckeyes face the Spartans in what should be a season-deciding matchup. The Buckeyes are no longer the frontrunners in the Big Ten, but they aren’t completely dead in the water either, especially with an overall soft schedule.