College Football: 5 Surprise teams that could contend for a New Year’s Six Bowl

5. Florida Gators

This may not be a surprise to some just by the name of the team, but the Florida Gators haven’t been the same since the Urban Meyer era. In the seven years since his departure, the Gators have been one of the more inconsistent teams. They’ve had three seasons atop the SEC East but gone 22-26 in the other four seasons.

With former Mississippi State Head Coach Dan Mullen taking over, the Gators are set to climb back up the SEC ladder and compete for a conference championship. A big question for the Gators is at the most important position: quarterback. However, Dan Mullen is one of the nation’s top coaches at developing quarterbacks and should have the answer.

A couple bonuses to the quarterback situation is that all five starters on Florida’s offensive line are returning and the backfield is loaded with talent. These two factors put together will take off a lot of pressure for whoever is named the starter.

Now for the defensive side of the ball. The Gators will have one of the best secondaries, not not only in the SEC, but in all of college football. That will play a huge role in their games against Georgia and Missouri. The SEC East is up for the taking and a win over Georgia should do the trick to get the Gators over the hump and into the SEC Championship game and a New Year’s bowl game.

Next: Preseason Top 25 rankings

The sky is the limit for these surprise teams. Whether they be a longshot or a rebuild, each of these teams has a legitimate chance of shocking the college football world throughout the season. Now some of you may argue that some of these teams don’t have a chance and that they’ll barely finish above .500, but isn’t that what makes them such a surprise?