Although the vast majority of colleges now belong to one of the 10 conferences there will be six teams who will play as independents in 2019. Being independent of a Conference was once quite commonplace and throughout the history of the game, 56 different schools have been independent at one time or another (including some who no longer have football teams). even as relatively recently as 1989, 26 teams were not affiliated to any conference, however the rise in TV money combined with the ease of getting a schedule of games together has led to its gradual demise.
1st Notre Dame
Notre Dame will be hoping to return to the Playoffs again in 2019
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Notre Dame is now the only FBS team to have never been affiliated to a Conference, however, they are part of the Bowl Committee and can be selected for the Orange Bowl in lieu of an ACC team under certain circumstances. They are also eligible for an at large bid to a New Year Bowl, and when bowl eligible are pretty much guaranteed a slot given their stature. They went 12-0 last year and made the National Championship playoffs – but were quite literally ran into by eventual Champions Clemson in the Cotton Bowl so ending 12-1. They will be pushing for a place again, but the schedule looks a lot tougher this time around.
Six players from the 2018 team were drafted in 2019 and one time starting QB Brandon Wimbush has transferred to UCF, however, losses like these which would push many teams into a rebuild have hardly dented the squad. The O-Line will miss Jerry Tillery, but the other four starters are back, and they have recruited so linemen of the future so they should be ok. Ian Book who finished the season as starting QB is back and although RB Dexter Williams is gone to Green Bay, one of Jafar Armstrong or Tony Jones should be able to step up. Leading receiver Miles Boykin is gone too but the WR stable is full with 6-4 senior Chase Claypool likely to step up as No. 1 target. The offense was more efficient than prolific last year and there is nothing to indicate they won’t be again.
The defense has lost a few pieces, especially at linebacker as both Te’von Coney and Drue Tranquill are gone. Also, it’s not clear who will replace Julian Love at Corner. Still with six defensive starters back they should be good, if not as good as last year.
The schedule is brutal in 2019 and the Irish have road games at Georgia, Michigan & Stanford all of whom start the season ranked in the top 25, and in the first two’s case viewed as genuine National Champion contenders. Add a trip to Duke and home games with Virginia, Virginia Tech & USC and suddenly 12-0 again looks like the impossible dream. Eight wins looks the floor in 2019 and an at large bid to one of the NY Bowls is on the cards again.
Predicted Record 10-2
2nd Army Black Knights
Army were a revelation last year going 11-2, which included taking Playoff semi finalist Oklahoma to OT in Norman and demolishing Houston 70-14 in the Armed Forces Bowl! They were also ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 1996 (AP 19) and that marked three consecutive years with an improving win-loss record. Not bad for a team which was 2-10 in 2015. Kevin Hopgood is back at QB and you know what that means – yes running the ball down the opponents’ throats and the very occasional deep pass. There are three starters returning on the O-Line, however, they will need to replace Full Back Darnell Woolfolk who had 14 TDs last year.
The defense which gets less work than most thanks to the Black Knights clock dominating playing style, will have a lot of new faces, however, the D-Line will get plenty of recovery time and the secondary welcomes back three starters including Elijah Riley & Jaylon McClinton who had good years in 2018.
Schedule wise Army have a chance at going 12-0 although that would involve taking down Michigan at the “Big House”. Seriously though outside of the Wolverines the slate is not that bad – Tulane at home – winnable? Then road games at Airforce & Hawaii are tough but not amazingly so. They could be 10-1 going into the annual clash with navy and if so that would take on a whole lot more significance. Would an 11-1 Army with a loss at Michigan be in playoff contention? Don’t be silly but an at large bowl bid would be on the cards. Whatever a bowl game looks assured and double-digit wins are possible.
Predicted Record 10-2
3rd BYU Cougars
Brigham Young University or BYU as it is normally abbreviated to had a strange 2018 finishing 6-6, but losing four games by one score. They finished up with a win in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (honestly it really is a bowl game) and the emergence of QB Zack Wilson at QB will give them hope of getting another Bowl invite in 2019. The running game was not great last year but they have Lopini Katoa who can step up and of course, Zach Wilson likes to take off a bit as well. The O-Line has four starters returning and the receiving corp looks competent. They should score a few more points this year.
The defense was great last year but Sione Takitaki is now in the NFL so they might take a small step back, but once again they will be good against the run and if the corners learn how to come up with an interception or two they will be hard to beat again.
The schedule is brutal to start with – Washington & Utah are probably the best teams in the PAC-12 and USC are no slouches either. Add to that an SEC match up with Tennessee and a 1-3 or 0-4 starts is possible. The next four games are no gimmes either with road games at Toledo, USF & Utah State, punctuated with a home tie against Mountain West powerhouse Boise. But it does get easier to finish and four straight wins to close the season looks probable. Getting back to a bowl will largely depend on how those first eight games go and it might be touch and go.
Predicted Record 6-6
4th Liberty Flames
The Flames stepped up from the FCS last year and did pretty well finishing 6-6. They didn’t make a bowl game despite securing a tie in with the Cure Bowl as too many teams were eligible, however, they could in 2019 id they get the required wins. That could be a tall order though.
The Offense was pretty good last year and a lot of the pieces are returning including Stephen Calvert and 1000 yard rusher Frankie Hickson. Antonio Gandy-Golden is back for his senior year and he caught 71 balls in 2018 and should be the no 1 wideout. The O-Line has lost a couple of starters but overall they should be fine this side of the ball.
The defense was bad to start with last year conceding 38 points or more 9 times, however, the secondary did improve a bit as the year wore on and three of them are coming back. They will need to get a whole lot better though if they are going to make that Cure Bowl date.
The schedule doesn’t look too taxing outside of their opener against Syracuse and the late-season trip to Virginia. They are not going to win all the others but they should hang around in a few. They look to have four winnable home games and a trip to UMass could make it Five. Can they pick up another win? probably so that Bowl date should be on the cards – December 20th for anyone who is interested.
Predicted Record 6-6
5th New Mexico State Aggies
The Aggies had a pretty torrid 2018 after leaving the Sun Belt the year earlier and repeating 2017’s Bowl win was never on the cards. Still, it was a rebuilding year and QB Josh Adkins is one bright spot to emerge. he took over after game three and got them all their wins and once he settled in, consistently put up impressive yards. Their season will largely depend on whether or not he progresses further. The running game really needs to improve too as they finished with just 1,264 yards averaging 3.6 yards per carry in 2018.
The defense was poor last year allowed 476 yards and 41 points per game on average, and they struggled against the run. There will be a few new faces in 2019 but that might not be a bad thing.
The schedule looks tough again with Washington State & Alabama both on the road to open and anything less than a total thrashing in both of those will be a good result. They also have San Diego State & Fresno at home and trips to Central Michigan, Georgia Southern and Ole Miss in consecutive weeks – suddenly the wins window is looking small. They don’t look like drawing a blank in the wins column but improving on last year looks a tall order.
Predicted Record 3-9
6th UMass Minutemen
Walt Bell is the man charged with turning the Minutemen’s fortunes around and with just 8 starters returning this looks like a rebuild job. Still, it is good that a young coach in his first position will face little in the way of pressure. There is not much to say about either the offense or defense with so few returners, and this will be a learning experience for all concerned.
They won four games last year but none were marque wins and they gave up 55 points plus on five occasions. They travel to Charlotte (one of last years wins) this year, and their best chance of avoiding a duck comes from games against Coastal Carolina, UConn, Liberty and Akron. they should pick up something from them but improving on last year looks near impossible.
Predicted Record 3-9
