The countdown is past the halfway point, and that means the process of ranking all 120 major college teams changes direction a bit.
It was sort of difficult to slot several teams over the last installment or two. But suddenly, it seems like there's about 15 teams that belong in this grouping.
No matter. They'll pop up soon enough. For now, here's five more teams to consider ...
No. 60 CENTRAL FLORIDA
Bruce will be loose. And that will do wonders for the Knights this season.
"Bruce" is Bruce Miller, the returning Conference USA defensive player of the year. The defensive end had 13 sacks last year and is major college football's active career leader in the category with 27.
So the Knights have a pass rush, and they ranked fourth nationally against the run last year. Defensively, these guys are in great shape.
The schedule also stacks up well, too. Central Florida plays only four teams with winning records from a season ago, which should make getting back to a bowl game for the third time in four years just a little bit easier.
And if you're looking for an early-season mild upset, you could do much worse than taking the Knights over visiting N.C. State on Sept. 11. It has all the makings of a true toss-up game.
No. 59 TEMPLE
The Owls know exactly what they'll get from one backfield position and can't be too certain what they'll receive from another.
Temple went 9-4 and reached its first bowl game in 30 years last fall, and did so with a rotation of quarterbacks who weren't exactly superstars. Chester Stewart completed 40 percent of his passes and had three touchdowns and three interceptions. Vaughn Charlton checked in just north of 50 percent with 10 TDs and 11 interceptions.
Charlton, who started the EagleBank Bowl loss to UCLA and followed up a strong first half with a 1-for-7, 6-yard, two-interception performance after the break, is now at tight end. It would seem it is Stewart's job to lose.
Fortunately for him, he has sophomore Bernard Pierce to hand it off to much of the time. That strategy worked wonders for the Owls, who got 16 touchdowns from Pierce a season ago.
Pierce (along with three other stud rushers) cracked the top 20 all-time list of freshman runners last season. It's a list that has Hall of Famers, all-pros, Heisman winners and plenty of representation from Wisconsin. In short, it bodes well for Pierce's future --- not to mention the Owls' immediate prospects:
1,925: Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma, 2004
1,863: Ron Dayne, Wisconsin, 1996
1,801: Jamario Thomas, North Texas, 2004
1,799: Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh, 2009
1,732: Chance Kretschmer, Nevada, 2001
1,655: Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech, 2009
1,616: Herschel Walker, Georgia, 1980
1,586: Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh, 1973
1,569: P.J. Hill, Wisconsin, 2006
1,546: LaMichael James, Oregon, 2009
1,475: Alex Smith, Indiana, 1994
1,474: Tyrell Fenroy, Louisiana-Lafayette, 2004
1,466: Anthony Davis, Wisconsin, 2001
1,455: Michael Hart, Michigan, 2004
1,429: Marshall Faulk, San Diego State, 1991
1,388: Damion Fletcher, Southern Mississippi, 2006
1,364: Jamal Lewis, Tennessee, 1997
1,361: Bernard Pierce, Temple, 2009
1,341: Emmitt Smith, Florida, 1987
1,334: Knowshon Moreno, Georgia, 2007
No. 58 OKLAHOMA STATE
Do. Not. Trust.
The Cowboys were a popular choice to be a top-10 party crasher, and then made naysayers (guilty as charged) look like idiots when they opened with a defeat of Georgia.
The Pokes promptly lost to Houston, later got hammered by Texas and Oklahoma and eventually lost the Cotton Bowl to another program that overhyped in the preseason (Mississippi).
There isn't that sort of spotlight on the Cowboys this year, especially since graduation gutted the program of most of its stars (as well as the offensive line, which per Phil Steele brings back just 12 career starts).
The Big 12 South is still tough, the Cowboys have to deal with Nebraska and chances are good Tulsa or Troy could poach an early-season win in Stillwater. A return to a regular season in the neighborhood of 6-6 is in order for T. Boone Pickens U.
No. 57 BAYLOR
Yet again, it's all about Robert Griffin in Waco.
The quarterback suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the third game last fall. The Bears were 2-1 with Griffin, 2-7 without him.
Some of that speaks to the difficulty of having to deal with Texas and Oklahoma and the rest of a loaded division. But the reality is, Griffin could be worth the two extra victories needed for Baylor to reach a bowl game for the first time since 1994.
Griffin will have as favorable a schedule as he'll find on deck, too. Baylor avoids Nebraska and Missouri from the North, gets three winnable nonconference games (plus a trip to Texas Christian) and plays what would have been a road game against Texas Tech at JerryWorld in Dallas.
Despite the back-to-back 4-8s, Baylor is on the cusp of becoming sort of relevant. The Bears will need Griffin to return to his 2008 form to make sure it happens this season.
No. 56 MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Dan Mullen era got off to a decent start, with a 45-point outburst in the opener and a 41-27 hammering of Mississippi in the Egg Bowl.
It was the first time the Bulldogs scored 40 points twice in a season since 2000. And it's going to be awful hard to replicate that feat this year,
The Bulldogs will break in a new quarterback and tailback, and the front four on defense is inexperienced as well. The talent level is improving in Starkville, but it could be a year of treading water.
The big reason for that? Alabama, Auburn, Louisiana State and Arkansas are quite the imposing quartet, and Mississippi State also draws Florida and Georgia from the East Division. Fun times.
This could be a case where a team gets a little better and winds up with the same results as a year earlier. For the Bulldogs, that would be a 5-7 record.
The one bright side? Ole Miss probably won't be a nine-win outfit, so the chance for in-state supremacy --- and perhaps escaping the SEC West cellar --- very much exists.
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