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 13th annual college football preview guide which will contain 19 entries in all (see July 12th article for full schedule). 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 | California | 20th in nation (+32); 2nd in Pac 12 South (+3) | 52nd in nation; 5th in Pac-12 South |
| 2 | Virginia Tech | 14th in nation (+19); 1st in ACC Coastal (+1) | 33rd in nation; 2nd in ACC Coastal |
| 3 | Purdue | 32nd in nation (+18); 2nd in Big 10 West (+2) | 50th in nation; 4th in Big 10 West |
| 4 | Baylor | 19th in nation (+17); 3rd in Big 12 (+2) | 36th in nation; 5th in Big 12 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 28th in nation (+9); 3rd in SEC East (+1) | 37th in nation; 4th in SEC East |
| 6 | Missouri | 15th in nation (+7);2nd in SEC East (+1) | 22nd in nation; 3rd in SEC East |
| 7 | Navy | 86th in nation (+15); 3rd in AAC West (+2) | 101st in nation; 5th in AAC West |
| 8 | East Carolina | 69th in nation (+42); 4th in AAC East (+1) | 111th in nation; 5th in AAC East |
| 9 | Nevada | 53rd in nation (+41); 2nd in MWC West (+1) | 94th in nation; 3rd in MWC West |
| 10 | Tulane | 45th in nation (+39); 2nd in AAC West (+1) | 84th in nation; 3rd in AAC West |
Ramblings of the Ultimate Sports Sentimentalist 