5 reasons Big 12 football will be better than ACC in 2019
By Dante Pryor
1. The ACC has too many major rebuilds
The only major rebuild in the Big 12 is Kansas, and they’ve been a major rebuild since Mark Mangino left. Matt Rhule led Baylor to a bowl win in year two of what was supposed to be a major rebuilding project.
It was only three years ago the ACC featured both the national champion (Clemson) and the Heisman Trophy winner (Lamar Jackson).
In addition, the ACC had six teams win at least nine games that season. The mighty have fallen, quickly. Florida State is an absolute mess after their 36-year bowl streak was snapped last year.
Last season was so bad that there were petitions, Facebook pages and even GoFundMe accounts calling for Willie Taggart’s job. While many want to blame Taggart, this was the mess Jimbo Fisher left. Two years ago, it took a make-up game against Louisiana-Monroe to keep the streak alive.
From a locker room void of player leadership to a sub-par offensive line, Willie Taggart has his work cut out for him.
Speaking of major overhauls, first time Power Five coach Scott Satterfield has his work cut out for him at Louisville. It didn’t take very long to figure out Louisville players had no desire to play for Bobby Petrino. Although they were spurned by alum Jeff Brohm, Satterfield was a great choice to replace Petrino. However, Satterfield is taking over a team that lacks experienced impact players on offense. The positive thing about Louisville is that they are young and can grow with his culture and system, but that won’t translate to many wins this season.
Much like Chad Morris at Arkansas last season, Geoff Collins is overhauling an entire offensive roster to install a more pro-style system. Morris is transitioning Arkansas into an air-raid team from a power run offense, and Collins is transitioning from a triple-option offense. That’s going to take time.
North Carolina is by no means Georgia Tech or Florida State as far as a rebuild comes, but there are holes in recruiting, and history isn’t on Mac Brown’s side. Coaches just don’t fare as well the second time around.
There will be some transition at Texas Tech and Kansas State, but nothing near what teams in the ACC is facing.