Five Teams that could Surprise the BCS

Last season we had a few surprises in the BCS Bowl games, most notibly Wake Forest and Boise State. Here are five teams that could "crash" the BCS party come January 2008. 1. Hawaii - Heisman Canidate in QB Colt Brennan...check. Manageable schedule...check. High flying offense...check. ESPN's Mark Schlabach says that Hawaii has one of the easiest schedules in all of college football. That may be true but head coach June Jones says that the Warriors weak schedule is no fault of their own. Either way with two Division 1-AA teams on it and its toughest game a home one against Boise State, the Warriors have a legit shot of ending the season 12-0. Would the BCS pass up an undefeated team, with a Heisman Candidate, and a high powered offense? I think not. 2. Boise State - The Broncos proved last year that they belonged in the BCS Bowl game by beating Oklahoma. They took part in probably the most exciting BCS game last year using three trick plays to hold on to beat the Sooners. They have a strong core coming back led by running back Ian Johnson who was the Nation's leader in scoring and rushing touchdowns. The Broncos do have to replace QB Jared Zabranksy. All eyes will be on the November 23rd meeting with Hawaii. Not only will it be for the WAC title, but it could be for a spot in a BCS Bowl game. Only question remaining is if Boise State wins another BCS bowl game which player on this year's roster will propose to his girlfriend after the game? 3. TCU - In the past 5 years the Horned Frogs have won at least 10 games 4 times and 11 games 3 of those 5 years. So this school is use to success on the football field. Unlike the previous two teams on this list, they have a tough non-conference opponent that will most likely throw a wrench in their BCS crashing ability. September 8th, the Horned Frogs travel to Austin to face the Longhorns. If they are somehow lucky enough to get through that game alive; games against BYU and Utah will also test them. TCU has the benefit of a tougher schedule on their resume, with that being said if they were to win every game, but Texas there could be an (very) outside shot at crashing the BCS party. 4. South Florida - Three names get thrown around when talking about the 2007 Big East Champion: West Virginia, Louisville, and Rutgers. Some people forget that the Bulls beat West Virginia in Morgantown last year and came within an eyelash of beating Rutgers. In 2007 they return 20 of 22 starters and 53 lettermen in total. Tough road games at Auburn and Rutgers should give the Bulls some trouble. But even if they do lose the Auburn they still have a shot at the Big East championship. Their home slate includes West Virginia and Louisville. Head coach Jim Leavitt hopes that QB Matt Grothe improves on his promising freshman season and their under publicized defense can continue to get stronger. It isn't far fetched to think that the November 17 game against Louisville could be for the Big East title. While Rutgers, Louisville, and West Virginia all beat up on each other; it could be the Bulls the sneak their way into the Big East title and a BCS Bowl game. 5. UCLA - So how can I call UCLA a surprise...well when you are in a conference with USC and Cal, it will be no cakewalk to get a BCS bid. The Bruins return 21 of 22 starters from a team that held USC to 9 points and Notre Dame to a low output. That was USC's lowest output in a long time. Ben Olson will be back at quarterback as he beat out Patrick Cowan in spring ball. So the Bruins have two quarterbacks with starting experience under their belts. In their favor they have Notre Dame, Cal, Oregon, and BYU all at home and have to travel far to play USC. Even if they do lose a conference game, they can keep themselves in the BCS running with a clean slate the rest of the way. We all know that offense wins games but defense wins championships. UCLA definitely has the defense if the Bruins play the way they did against USC and forget about giving up 44 points to Florida State in the Emerald Bowl.