College Football Preview: FBS Independents

By Andrew Musur on September 6, 2015

The world of NCAA FBS Independent teams may not last much longer. With so many different conferences realigning and adding teams, there may come a point where every team in the NCAA is part of some conference.

However, many think Notre Dame will never join a conference due to the amount of revenue they make as an independent. Last season there were four teams that were considered to be part of the independents group: Navy, Army, Notre Dame and BYU.

This season that number will shrink to three, as Navy left to join the American Athletic Conference. Let’s take a look at the three independent teams that will be suiting up this season.

No. 1 Notre Dame

2014 Record: 8-5

2015 Prediction: 9-3

The Skinny: The Fighting Irish started off last season on a roll. Notre Dame won seven of their first eight games, but something happened in the middle of the season that changed that. Brian Kelly’s team ended up losing four of their last five and finished the season 8-5.

This year proves to be an extremely important one for Irish fans. Notre Dame is a team that returns a boatload of talent on both sides of the ball. Along with this talent the Irish also possess a great deal of leadership.

On the offense side of the ball the Irish will have to replace former starting quarterback, Everett Golson. Golson was allowed to transfer and participate in football activities immediately. The South Carolina native took his talent to sunny Tallahassee to join the Seminoles of Florida State.

But good news for Irish fans, Golson was not the end-all-be-all for Notre Dame in terms of quarterbacking. The Irish will have sophomore Malik Zaire come in and take over the offense. Zaire impressed in his only start last season. The Ohio native led the Irish to a Music City Bowl victory over LSU throwing for 96 yards and a touchdown. He also used his legs to pick up 96 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

Along with Zaire the Irish are stacked. 1,000 yard receiver Will Fuller is back and will be a huge asset for Zaire. The junior caught 15 touchdowns last season. Lastly, running back Tarean Folston also had a huge season a year ago. Folston ran for 889 yards and six touchdowns. The Florida native will be key in keeping pressure off of the young Zaire.

Notre Dame has all the key pieces to be a deadly team next season, but with a few tough games in there it’ll be interesting to see how the Irish fare.

No. 2 BYU

2014 Record: 8-5

2015 Prediction: 8-4

The Skinny: A year ago, BYU looked poised for a record breaking year. The Cougars were led by quarterback Taysom Hill until he broke his leg halfway through the Utah State game. Hill was on a roll up until that point, and who knows where the Cougars would have finished if that injury had never occurred. Hill is a big guy at 6-foot-2 and 234 pounds, but he has the ability to use his feet to pick up yards and score points.

The Idaho native ran for eight touchdowns and threw for another seven before his injury occurred. When healthy, Hill is a force to be reckoned with. The kid is a talented dual threat quarterback who has a nose for the endzone.

Along with Hill, the Cougars’ offense also returns their lethal running back Jamaal Williams. Williams was a 1,000 yard runner two seasons ago, but wasn’t fully healthy all of last season. In six games the California native ran for 517 yards and four scores.

Another important weapon for the Cougars is receiver Mitch Mathews. Mathews was huge last season catching 73 passes for more than 900 yards. If the trio of Hill, Williams and Mathews can get it going this season, watch out for BYU. They always play hard and if their talented ball players can stay healthy this Cougar team could do some damage.

No. 3 Army West Point

2014 Record: 4-8

2015 Prediction: 3-9

The Skinny: It has been a rough decade plus for the Black Knights of West Point. Army has been to two bowl games since 1996, their last coming in 2010 when they beat SMU in the Armed Forces Bowl. There isn’t a lot of positives for this Army team, but that doesn’t mean this couldn’t be a surprising year for the Black Knights.

Army is a rushing team, so it is essential for their halfbacks and line to be in tip top shape. The Black Knights are extremely inexperienced on the offensive side of the ball, but they do return two giant offensive lineman. Matt Hugenberg and Justin Gilbert will be essential in giving Army any sort of a running game.

Hugenberg and Gilbert are both seniors and will be playing with a chip on their shoulders this season. I don’t have a ton of faith in the Black Knights this year, but I’m rooting for them to prove me wrong.

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