5 Dark Horse Teams that Could be the Next Colorado in 2017

Moving forward, let’s look at Texas Tech a bit more. Four of the Red Raiders’ seven losses in 2016 came by a touchdown or less, including the record-setting contest against Oklahoma. While Texas Tech fielded one of the top offenses in the country, their undoing was a young defense that lost nearly half of its 2015 production and was forced to rely on multiple true freshman over the course of the year. That defense allowed at least 40 points in eight of Texas Tech’s 12 regular-season games, resulting in a losing record for a team that ranked sixth in scoring offense.

Kliff Kingsbury could lose quarterback Patrick Mahomes II, who has been rising in recent NFL Draft projections. Yet few teams have managed to have as much success plugging new quarterbacks into its system than the Red Raiders, who have ranked in the top five in passing offense each of the past five seasons and haven’t ranked outside the top 10 in the 21st century. If a defense that went through plenty of growing pains can step up in 2017, Texas Tech could contend for the Big 12 title and make a run at the College Football Playoff thanks to a schedule that includes FCS semifinalist Eastern Washington, AAC power Houston, and Pac-21 dark horse Arizona State.