4 College Football Sleepers

The college football season will always be noticeably more chaotic than other sports leagues due to the structure of disconnected conferences and bowl games. As a result of this, there always seems to be a few schools that defy their consensus rankings and expectations. Here are 4 teams that could do that in 2020.

1). Texas

The finishing of the 2018 season led to extremely high expectations for the Longhorns for the 2019 season. However, they failed to deliver. Texas finished with just 8 wins, one of them being a narrow victory over a below average Kansas team. Texas will bring back the majority of it’s defense this year and most importantly, Sam Ehlinger will return for his senior season. While the Sooners may be the favorites once again, the Big 12 is still up for grabs.

2). Arizona State

Returning QB. Strong offensive front. Impressive recruiting class. Year 3 for Herm Edwards. The 2020 season is setting up to impress for the Sun Devils isn’t it? We saw a glimpse of how good this team could be last year after an upset win over Oregon. Had it not been for the unexpected mid-season slump, Arizona State would have been ahead of schedule with double digit wins. The Sun Devils are a certified sleeper team next season, but they'll have a tough schedule to beat to get to the promised land: the Pac-12 Championship.

3). North Carolina

With a young roster, North Carolina has played in eight games decided by a touchdown or less, a testament to the team's resiliency. Quarterback Sam Howell had a season to remember, setting multiple FBS and ACC records as a true freshman. It should be noted that while UNC has improved recently, they are still in the same conference as generational talent Trevor Lawrence of Clemson. Despite this, the Tar Heels have an opportunity to make a big splash next season, so buy in on them while they're cheap.

4). Texas A&M

Left for dead after falling from inside the Top 15 to outside of the rankings this fall, Texas A&M gets the luxury of shielding itself in the weeds a bit before entering Jimbo Fisher's third season in 2020. Quarterback Kellen Mond is one of the better players at his position in college football's toughest conference, but still hasn't emerged as the playmaker many thought he would be. The Aggies' coaching staff expects that to change as a senior, Mond's third season as the starter. While Mond's numbers have been almost identical in each of the past two years, he'll have a five-star freshman Demond Demas and a loaded tight end arsenal to throw to next fall. A&M may not be LSU good, but if the offensive line performs, the Aggies could very well be in the thick of the SEC West race entering November.