The Netflix series Last Chance U has captured the hearts of college football fans. So what big time schools would be entertaining to watch as well?
There has not been a single series on Netflix more popular with college football fans than Last Chance U. The East Mississippi Community College documentary drew rave reviews through its first two seasons. However, it was recently announced that Last Chance U would change the focus of the documentary from EMCC to Garden City Community College in Kansas for Season Three. With the failure of EMCC to bring home a JUCO National Championship over the last two years, the directors of Last Chance U apparently felt it necessary to make a change with the series to a more successful program.
It’s cool to see college football from a JUCO perspective. That’s especially true of players who do not get the national spotlight unless they’re kicked out of a big school. Seeing FBS programs on that type of show would likely draw an even bigger audience. Even teams like the Ohio State Buckeyes, Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Alabama Crimson Tide, that are some of the more hated programs in the country, would make very entertaining shows.
Who would be the best chance for an FBS version of Last Chance U?
A show about a FBS program would require a different perspective than that of Last Chance U. A point of view similar to HBO’s Hard Knocks would be a good fit for a program like Alabama or Ohio State. Obviously, that level of college program would not be considered a last chance for the football spotlight.
There’s one underlying factor to every school that was put on this list, the level of audience that it would capture. Fans would love to see their favorite school be put into a show but the most exciting programs would be best for national programming. Which 10 schools would be the bests hosts for a Netflix series like that of Last Chance U?
10. Florida State
Head coach Jimbo Fisher is one of the most entertaining head coaches in the country. Him alone makes the Florida State Seminoles a marketable option. It would also be cool to trace back and see a little bit deeper into the recruiting process and what ultimately happened with former FSU quarterback De’Andre Johnson, one of the stars of the most recent season of Last Chance U.
From Jameis Winston to Deondre Francois, the excitement provided from the QBs alone at FSU would make this a worthy watch. The thought of seeing what Derwin James, Francois, Cam Akers, etc. go through on a day-to-day basis is very interesting.
More: Projecting the Seminoles’ 2-deep depth chart in 2017
With so many players always in trouble at FSU as well, seeing some of the backstories of the players aside from Johnson that end up in a place like EMCC would be interesting. Every FSU player seems to take a different path and much like Last Chance U, following each of those players that are bigger names on the team down whatever path they may take would keep an audience captivated for a very long time.
9. Michigan
There’s not much about the Michigan Wolverines that does not make headlines now. With head coach Jim Harbaugh at the helm, they’re always entertaining college football fans in one way or another. Three headlines that would captivate an audience from Ann Arbor this season would be the ongoing quarterback battle, the turnover on the roster and how new faces progress when thrown into action.
Seeing Harbaugh deal with all the new faces in the Michigan football program would make anyone tune in. Harbaugh is must see television, especially during a slow offseason. He turned Michigan around after a failed Brady Hoke experiment in less than one year.
Battles of Michigan vs. Michigan State and Michigan vs. Ohio State would be cool big moments, and possibly a great finale to this series. One of the most entertaining parts of every Michigan football season is “The Game” and the in state rivalry between UM and MSU.
The amount of talent that Michigan has on their roster combined with the lack of experience brings a lot of uncertainty. It seems like they will either fall flat on their faces or continue to be a major player at the top of the Big Ten.
8. Louisville
Bobby Petrino, by himself, would be entertaining enough for people to follow him around with cameras and actually put a documentary together. Petrino has had a wild ride through his coaching career and that trend seems to have followed him to Louisville.
Heisman Trophy winner and junior quarterback Lamar Jackson is one of the most polarizing players, if not the most, in college football. He racked up 51 total touchdowns in 2016, good for most in the nation.
Following Jackson through his offseason routine would make for an interesting storyline. You would not even need to put together a series for something like that. Just getting to see what life is like as the current Heisman winner would be awesome.
How someone like Jackson deals with the pressures of carrying a program on his shoulders and preparing for what could be another Heisman campaign makes you wonder. Plus, what if he did win it again?
7. USC
The USC Trojans are must-watch television no matter how they’re framed. From any point of view, what happens to USC year in and year out is something that almost every college football fan follows. They’re one of the blue blood programs and everybody has an opinion about them.
More: Projecting the Trojans’ 2-deep depth chart in 2017
Quarterback Sam Darnold and linebacker Cameron Smith headline a talented team that was ranked inside the top 4 in the Amway Coaches Poll. The hype for the Trojans is once again on another level. Another collapse under the weight of enormous expectation could mean an early end to the tenure of head coach Clay Helton.
However, a berth in the College Football Playoff would put USC back in the good graces of the city of Los Angeles and make them relevant contenders in the college football landscape again. It’s tough to compete for attention as a sports team in L.A. If you’re not competing for championships then not much attention is paid to you.
USC is on the brink of becoming relevant again in the eyes of the average L.A. resident. When the Trojans are on top then they seem to be the center of Hollywood. One documentary has already covered an entertaining period of USC football when ESPN’s 30 for 30 released Trojan War.
6. Auburn
The constant talk of Auburn as a National Championship contender and Auburn’s quarterbacks as Heisman contenders gets old. Neither end has panned out for the Tigers since Cam Newton brought a National Title to Auburn in 2010. Every season since has largely produced disappointing results, aside from losing to Florida State in the BCS Title Game just a few years ago.
Overcoming Alabama is the biggest challenge for Auburn and it could be done this season. Baylor transfer quarterback Jarrett Stidham gives head coach Gus Malzahn the weapon he needs behind center to take the Auburn offense to the next level.
Stidham’s decision to transfer from Baylor makes an interesting storyline that could be similar to that of Wyatt Roberts with EMCC. A player currently on the Auburn roster actually committed directly out of EMCC. Quarterback John Franklin III was expected to be the next big thing since Nick Marshall but did not pan out last season.
If Stidham does not work out in 2017, then Franklin III could get another shot at making the most of his time at Auburn. Either way, having a mountain like Alabama looming in the distance would continue to build expectation for the season finale.
5. LSU
Another team, like Auburn, that does not often live up to the hype in the SEC West is the LSU Tigers. A new head coach in Ed Orgeron could change LSU’s fortunes after an unfortunate end to the Les Miles era. Louisiana born, Orgeron would be a fun character to watch in a TV show about the LSU football program.
More: Projecting the Tigers’ 2-deep depth chart in 2017
However, the focus of a documentary about LSU would have to be on the defensive backs and the running backs. This year, the Tigers have running back Derrius Guice, defensive end Arden Key, and cornerbacks Donte Jackson and Kevin Toliver II. All those players could potentially be first round picks in the 2018 and 2019 NFL Drafts.
A National Championship could be in the not too distant future for the LSU Tigers. A fun point of view for them would revolve around the road to a National Title. Whether that take one year or five years or more, it would be like following the opposite storyline of EMCC. With EMCC, we expected them to win the NJCAA National Championship each season.
Winning a National Championship is not something that fans expect out of LSU each season anymore. Perhaps Orgeron could change that while we get to watch.
4. Notre Dame
Whether you love them or hate them, Notre Dame is in the headlines a bunch every single year. They have a massive fan base that largely stays loyal to the team through thick and thin. The 2016 season was one of the worst times that Notre Dame fans have experienced recently.
You would not even have to follow the Notre Dame team itself, just getting to know the fan base would provide the rest of the college football world enough fun. There’s very few fanbases as large or as annoying as the Irish. Even worse, Notre Dame fans know how annoying they are which makes them even worse to deal with.
More: Game by game predictions for the 2017 Notre Dame season
The recovery process of the Irish would make for the most amusing Netflix series. This show could not only be tailored to Irish fans, but to the entirety of the college football world. Even considering the size of the Notre Dame fan base, there’s quite a few more people who hate them than like them.
The brand name “Notre Dame” attracts a broad range of people and someone could definitely take advantage of that with a popular documentary series. They paint their helmets with gold flecks. There’s got to be more money to go around.
3. Clemson
Any former National Champion would be joyous for many to watch. This idea of filming a Clemson football journey might be coming a year too late, but most people were rooting for the Tigers to defeat Alabama in the National Title Game. There would be a lot of passion and energy in a series with the Clemson Tigers at this moment.
Head coach Dabo Swinney has Clemson on the cusp of being considered a blue blood in the eyes of college football fans. Winning a National Championship gives any program a big push in the overall respect given and the light that they are seen in.
The attempted replacement of legendary quarterback Deshaun Watson is the tallest task for Swinney and Clemson in 2017. The Tigers would not have made the run that they did in 2015 and 2016 if not for Watson. He nearly led them to back-to-back titles.
Success is something that almost any person wants to follow. That makes Clemson a given for a series similar to that of Last Chance U.
2. Ohio State
The Ohio State Buckeyes had a brutal end to their 2016 campaign. They were shut out by the Clemson Tigers, the eventual National Champions, in the College Football Playoff Semifinals. However, Ohio State has been a regular in the Playoff in the three years since it was first established.
Head coach Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes defeated Alabama and Oregon on their way to winning the first Playoff in 2015. Ohio State still has the same quarterback that led them to that National Championship just three years ago.
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Senior quarterback J.T. Barrett will go down as one of the best, if not the best, quarterbacks in Buckeye history. He’s had a storied career that dates back to him taking over for Braxton Miller at the beginning of his freshman season.
Barrett and Meyer’s final year together is a storyline that has been under-reported this offseason and could be something that is interesting to watch in 2017.
1. Alabama
Did you really expect any other school to top this list than Alabama? Of course not. The Crimson Tide top the preseason rankings once again, at least in the Coaches Poll. The consistent success and the stern personality of Nick Saban have defined the last decade for Alabama. Anything but National Championships has now become a disappointment to Tide fans.
Seeing the level of expectations placed on Alabama players during the season could be a surprising perspective for fans to see. Sometimes we forget that these people are also students that have to go to class and get good grades if they want to graduate.
If you fail to succeed as a starter with Alabama, then it seems they always have another five-star recruit to replace you. Alabama is as close to perfection as you will find in terms of a college football dynasty. They have not only defined success but have set a model for the rest of the college football world to follow.
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The Crimson Tide have consistently set aside talented conference foes like LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn and Tennessee. They’d probably keep rolling if the spotlight turned up even brighter than it already is, but it’d still be fun to watch.