With the 2015 college football season around the corner – just over two months remain until the first week of games – we’ve decided to take a look at some potential darkhorse playoff teams.

These are teams that may have experienced struggles last season, but look primed to turn things around in 2015, something that occurs every year. Two examples from last season would be TCU and Georgia Tech, as the Horned Frogs improved from 4-8 in 2013 to 12-1 in 2014, while the Yellow Jackets went from 6-7 to 11-3.

For a team to be considered for this exercise, it had to finish last season with a record of 8-4 or worse. With that being said, here’s a look at five darkhorses for 2015, listed in alphabetical order.

AUBURN TIGERS

A trendy pick to qualify for the 2015 College Football Playoff, a lot of folks expect the Tigers to be much better in 2015 and for good reason. Auburn was much better than its record last season would indicate as four of its five losses came against teams that finished the year ranked in the Top 13, with three of those being played on the road. They were victimized by a brutal schedule, but this year’s slate is a little less severe, with no road games against teams that finished last year ranked. Injuries and poor defense contributed to the Tigers’ struggles as well, the latter of which should be corrected with the hiring of Will Muschamp at defensive coordinator. The offense returns just four starters, but as long as Gus Malzahn is in charge, scoring points won’t be a problem. The expectations are high for QB Jeremy Johnson, a potential Heisman Trophy candidate if he lifts the Tigers back into national title contention. With a talented stable of running backs and a receiving corps led by one of the nation’s best wideouts in D’haquille Williams, Johnson will have plenty of weapons at his disposal. Don’t be surprised if Auburn makes its way back into the national title picture in 2015.

NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH

It was a tale of two seasons for Notre Dame in 2014. After racing out of the gate to a 6-0 start and looking like a national title contender in the process, the Irish dropped five of seven to close the season. Injuries played a part in that late-season skid, but the Irish will get a lot of those players back in 2015. They’ll also get back KeiVarae Russell, an outstanding CB who had started 26 straight games prior to a season-long suspension last season. Russell’s return will add to an already talent-stacked Notre Dame defense, led by All-American LB Jaylon Smith and standout S Max Redfield. On offense, Malik Zaire was expected to compete with Everett Golson for the starting QB job, but Golson opted to transfer to Florida State, leaving Zaire as the starter. He’ll have the benefit of playing behind arguably the best offensive lineman in the country in All-American LT Ronnie Stanley, along with a bevy of playmakers at the skill positions, including RB Tarean Folston and WRs Will Fuller, Chris Brown and Corey Robinson. With 17 returning starters, the Irish are one of the most experienced teams in the nation and if they can stay relatively healthy, they’ll be very tough to beat, though they will have to navigate one of the tougher schedules in the country.

OKLAHOMA SOONERS

Under HC Bob Stoops, Oklahoma has tended to perform better when the preseason expectations aren’t so high, as is the case this year, with the Sooners set to begin the season ranked outside the Top 10 following a disappointing 2014 campaign. New OC Lincoln Riley will install the Air Raid offense, but you can still expect a heavy dose of RB Semaje Perine, after an incredible true freshman season (1,713 yards, 21 TD) which culminated in him being named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. The starting QB hasn’t yet been announced, but all signs point to Texas Tech transfer Baker Mayfield. Whoever wins the job will look to get the ball in the hands of WR Sterling Shepard, a speedy playmaker who led the Big 12 with 19.02 yards per catch in 2014. On defense, the Sooners are led by All-American LB Eric Striker and All-Big 12 CB Zack Sanchez. An outstanding pass-rusher with 15.5 career sacks over the past two seasons, Striker headlines one of the top LB units in the nation that also includes Dominique Alexander, Jordan Evans and Devante Bond. As for the schedule, getting off to a 9-0 start isn’t out of the question – if they can get past Tennessee, Texas and Kansas State – but they’ll need to do just that as the season concludes with a brutal 3-game stretch featuring road dates with Baylor and Oklahoma State and a home game against TCU.

PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS

A talented quarterback and an outstanding defense is a solid recipe for football success, but poor offensive line play doomed Penn State last season. Just two FBS teams allowed more sacks than Penn State’s 44 last season, as QB Christian Hackenberg spent entirely too much time with pressure in his face. This led to Hackenberg having a disastrous sophomore campaign, completing just 55.8 percent of his passes and throwing fewer touchdowns (12) than interceptions (15). He did, however, cap the year off with an incredible 371-yard, 4-TD performance in the bowl game and remains one of the most gifted passers in college football. With one of the best WR groups in the country – DaeSean Hamilton, Geno Lewis and Chris Godwin – and an offensive line that will have some continuity with four returning starters, the offense should be much improved from a season ago. The other side of the ball features seven returning starters from a unit that finished second nationally in total defense (278.7 YPG). They’ll miss Big Ten leading-tackler Mike Hull, but LB has always been a strength for the Nittany Lions. All-Big Ten DT Anthony Zettel will lead the way for a defense that should once again rank among the best in the country. The schedule sets up favorably as five of the first six games are at home, but Penn State will have a tough second-half of the year with road dates against Ohio State and Michigan State. The key to success in James Franklin’s second season as head coach will be keeping Hackenberg upright. If the Nittany Lions are able to do that, they can play with any team in the country.

STANFORD CARDINAL

After four straight seasons with at least 11 wins, Stanford stumbled to an 8-5 record in 2014, mostly because of a stagnant offense. One of nine returning starters on offense, three-year starting QB Kevin Hogan will look to get things back on track on that side of the ball. The Stanford offense revolves around fantastic offensive line play, but that unit uncharacteristically struggled at times in that area last season. Four starters return up front, however, so the offensive line should be much improved in 2015. Despite the poor record, Stanford was still stout defensively, ranking third nationally in total defense (282.4 YPG), which led the Pac-12 by more than 100 yards per game. But the Cardinal defense will have to replace several key contributors, as just four starters return. One of those returning starters is LB Blake Martinez, who finished with a team-high 103 tackles in 2014. Since 2010, the Cardinal has finished every season ranked among the top two teams in the conference in total defense, so don’t be surprised if that trend continues. As far as Pac-12 schedules go, things could not have worked out much better for the Cardinal, as the road slate includes just one team that went to a bowl last season.

