TEAM ON THE RISE
East Tennessee State made a three-win improvement from the 2015 season – its first as a program in more than a decade – to last season, which included a pair of wins over FCS Top 25 opponents (Kennesaw State and Samford). The Buccaneers started their program from scratch, signing a big class and redshirting all the players in 2014, so they took a lot of early lumps. Now the players on the field are mostly juniors, and they could be a tough out for any and every opponent.
TEAM ON THE DECLINE
After a two-year stretch in which it went 14-1 in league play, graduation and transfers hit The Citadel hard, especially in key places. The Bulldogs do return senior quarterback Dominique Allen and some other offensive players, but one of the best defenses in the SoCon and in the country suffered some big losses. They do return conference preseason defensive player of the year Kailik Williams.
DARK HORSE