si: dark horses to make CF playoffs

[gojetsgomoxies]

https://www.si.com/college-football/2017/08/11/sleeper-teams-notre-dame-nc-state-oregon

good article.. i think the writers have some guts in the teams they pick............ even if you think he's nuts to think NCS has any chance to make the playoffs, why not play NCS as an ATS team and he even describes why he thinks they are very good pick against lesser teams.

[BigdaddyQH]

NC State is 1-9 against Florida State and Clemson in the past 5 years. They have not defeated Florida State on the road in years. They are also 0-3 against Louisville. This team has no chance of winning the ACC, but they do have 16 starters returning so they may pull an upset at home against Louisville or Clemson.

Notre Dame has ZERO chance. They will be very fortunate to win 9 games against the likes of Georgia, USC, Miami, Stanford, and both North Carolina schools. They simply do not have enough talent on that team. The defensive front four is just about non-existant. More to follow.

[gojetsgomoxies]

i think you're correct but i certainly liked that the author didn't pick as michigan, FSU and washington as playoff dark horses. i.e they are dark horses because they aren't in top 4 pre-season ratings. my comment is hypothetical on the actual rankings but you get the idea.

[gojetsgomoxies]

one thing that has always interested me.. is oregon a good bet to go back to being a dominant pac-12 team or is the bloom off the rose? and i DON'T mean this season. i'm talking a few seasons out.
i know oregon will get much much better than they were last year...... but will they EVER get back to being a feared team that was leading semi-competitive teams by 35 points at halftime? .. seems like there are good arguments for both sides but obvious answer is that oregon will just become a perennial top 25 team once it improves.

[Riders23]

Washington State and Texas are my 2 darkhorse teams. Both teams have the talent to go undefeated we will see how the games play out.

The best thing Oregon did was hire Willie Taggart, they were quickly on their way to the pac 12 cellar, now they have a chance.

[Riders23]

Oh and I don't consider Auburn to be a darkhorse, but some might, I think they should be the favorite to win the national championship. I'm going heavy on it. 30-1 might be the best value you will get in a bet all year.

[gojetsgomoxies]

Riders23, i like your analysis, thank you BigDaddy too