It’s almost July! The injury lists are as blank as they are likely to get. There are naught but zeroes in the loss column. Every team is a dark horse to win its conference – if not the whole dang thing.

College football fans across the country are equally optimistic that this is finally the year that ESPN will start paying attention to their team instead of Ohio State or Florida State or Alabama or Notre Dame or Oklahoma or whichever dadgum team the media might be guilty of overratin’ in service of its financial interests.

Their indefatigable belief is buttressed by some inarguable realities that point to this being the best year their program has ever had.

1) The defense has been simplified and/or complicated

Good news! Your team got a new defensive coordinator this offseason. Or, if you didn’t get a new defensive coordinator, the old one spent some time this summer observing a handful of NFL teams. Either way, the whole squad’s ready to come back this fall with a new approach to calling the defense. You see, this year everything’s going to be simplified, allowing players to be more instinctual and reactive. That, or everything’s going to be more complicated and, y’know, ~multiple~. Either way, opposing offenses are sure to be flummoxed by the new more basic and/or complex approach.

2) There’s a new strength coach in town

Remember all those games State blew in the fourth quarter? Not happening again this year, pal. The new strength and conditioning staff has whipped the boys into shape with a new workout plan (mostly doing stuff with giant tires) dedicated to building core strength and endurance. Instead of surrendering hard-earned leads, don’t be surprised to see the ‘Dogs pulling away from their opponents in the waning moments of games this year.

3) Team chemistry is at an all-time high

It’s no secret how divided the locker room was toward the end of the last season. But the good news is most of the bad influences either graduated or transferred during the summer, and everything we’re hearing suggests the team is rallying behind the new quarterback in way we haven’t seen since the current coaching staff was hired. For the first time in the past five years, this feels more like a team than just a collection of talented individuals.

4) Coach finally has the players that fit his scheme

The four- and five-star players that the last coach recruited were great and all, but they never really fit the new coach’s scheme. Three years into his tenure, the roster is finally more than 50% composed of guys the new staff recruited. Sure, these players weren’t rated as highly as the ones that were brought in under the old regime and many of them only had offers from Akron and Troy – but these are his guys, y’know?

5) The quarterback is finally starting to understand the offense

The four-star quarterback grabbed a redshirt during his first year on campus and surprised many by not winning the starting job a year ago. But sources close to the team are telling us that he’s finally starting to get a handle on the offense. He’s always had the arm to make all the throws but coaches used to tell us that his uncertainty was making him tentative in the pocket. That’s not the case anymore. He knows how to make his reads and isn’t afraid to let it rip if he likes what the defense is giving him.

Now it's your turn!

What did we leave out? Why's your favorite team ready to become elite in 2015?

