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 hours to publish my 17th annual college football preview guide which will contain 18 entries in all.  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	30th in nation (+34); 5th in Pac-12 (+3)	64th in nation; 8th in Pac-12
2	SMU	24th in nation (+35); 1st in AAC (+1)	59th in nation; 2nd in AAC
3	Maryland	21st in nation (+14); 3rd in Big Ten East (+1)	35th in nation; 4th in Big Ten East
4	Liberty	33rd in nation (+53); 1st in C-USA (+3)	86th in nation; 4th in C-USA
5	Coastal Carolina	23rd in nation (+49); 1st in Sun Belt East (+2)	72nd in nation; 3rd in Sun Belt East
6	Texas Tech	20th in nation (+7); 3rd in Big 12 (+2)	27th in nation; 5th in Big 12
7	Ole Miss	8th in nation (+11); 2nd in SEC West (+2)	19th in nation; 4th in SEC West
8	West Virginia	59th in nation (+11); 9th in Big 12 (+3)	70th in nation; 12th in Big 12
9	Boston College	63rd in nation (+13); 8th in ACC (+2)	76th in nation; 10th in ACC
10	Central Michigan	89th in nation (+23); 2nd in MAC West (+2)	112th in nation; 4th in MAC West

The Golden Bears are my # 1 surprise team of 2023, as I am picking them to finish in the top 4 of the Pac-12! Cal brings back 17 returning starters, has a stud dual threat QB in Sam Jackson (previously at TCU), and most importantly, no one is paying them one bit of attention. I know this team is coming off three straight losing seasons, but 5 of their 8 losses last season were by one score or less, including narrow defeats to UCLA, USC, Notre Dame, and Washington. Watch out for the Golden Bears this season!