Every summer since 2007 I have created an intricate set of college football predictions for each upcoming season. This year is no exception, as I will be using my blog over the next few weeks to publish my 11th annual college football preview guide. Without further ado, here are the teams I am predicting to surprise this season. These teams are ordered in the relative disparity between my picks and the experts average while also taking into account the significance of each pick.
| Surprise Teams | My Predictions: | Experts Predictions: | |
| 1 | Oklahoma State | 4th in nation (+12); 1st in Big 12 (+1) | 16th in nation; 2nd in Big 12 |
| 2 | Arkansas | 18th in nation (+14); 2nd in SEC West (+3) | 32nd in nation; 5th in SEC West |
| 3 | Washington State | 13th in nation (+14); 2nd in Pac-12 North (+2) | 27th in nation; 4th in Pac-12 North |
| 4 | Louisville | 5th in nation (+11); 2nd in ACC Atlantic (+1) | 16th in nation; 3rd in ACC Atlantic |
| 5 | UNLV | 74th in nation (+33); 3rd in MWC West (+2) | 107th in nation; 5th in MWC West |
| 6 | New Mexico | 55th in nation (+39); 2nd in MWC Mountain (+2) | 94th in nation; 4th in MWC Mountain |
| 7 | Army | 38th in nation (+41); | 79th in nation; |
| 8 | Georgia Tech | 32nd in nation (+4); 2nd in ACC Coastal (+2) | 36th in nation; 4th in ACC Coastal |
| 9 | Hawaii | 59th in nation (+42); 2nd in MWC West (+1) | 101st in nation; 3rd in MWC West |
| 10 | Idaho | 77th in nation (+34); 5th in Sun Belt (+1) | 111th in nation; 6th in Sun Belt |
Ramblings of the Ultimate Sports Sentimentalist 