Forde-Yard Dash: The Secret to Success for 10 Standout Teams

From Texas A&M’s offensive line to Colorado’s defense and more, here are the units and players that have been instrumental in the turnarounds of some of the nation’s best teams.

Texas A&M has gotten tougher on the line of scrimmage under first-year head coach Mike Elko. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where Nevada has played nine games without yet recovering an opposing team’s fumble: First Quarter: Twelve (Or More) Angry People. Second Quarter: Each Conference’s Ad for the CFP.

Third Quarter: Ten Secrets of Highly Successful Teams 

Among teams experiencing breakthrough seasons, some things have changed year-over-year to enable the improvement. The Dash zeroes in on some of them, from the obvious to the more subtle.

Texas A&M Aggies (21)

Mike Elko inherited a soft team up front, and that clearly wasn’t going to last long. At SEC spring meetings in May, he hinted at what was to come with the A&M offensive line: “I don’t think they’re very excited about the reputation they have in the Texas A&M community from last year. I think they’re very hungry to change that narrative.” Consider it changed.

Despite losing potential feature back Rueben Owens to an injury in the preseason, the Aggies lead the SEC in rushing yards per carry (5.31) and are second in rushing yards per game (221.5). Offensive line coach Adam Cushing did great work under Elko at Duke and that has carried over to this unit. And quarterback Marcel Reed, newly returned to the lineup, is a better running threat than Conner Weigman. 

Tennessee Volunteers (22)

This is a vastly improved defensive team, ranking third nationally in both yards allowed per game (259) and points allowed per game (11.6)—and they still haven’t had the pleasure of facing the No. 15 offense in the SEC (Kentucky this week) or No. 12 (Mississippi State next week). The Vols still have not allowed 20 points in a game this season.

Coordinator Tim Banks, who should be getting some head-coaching looks in the job market this offseason, added some key pieces to the secondary. Oregon State transfer Jermod McCoy has a pair of interceptions, five passes broken up and is fourth on the team in tackles. Freshman Boo Carter had a big impact in a tight win over Florida. Middle Tennessee transfer Jakobe Thomas made some disruptive plays in the victory over Alabama.

Arkansas Razorbacks (23)

Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino arrived in the offseason to save Sam Pittman and has done his job so far. Petrino has always been an underrated run game guy, and the Hogs are backing up his acumen in that area with a two-headed transfer attack. Running back Ja’Quinden Jackson (from Utah) and quarterback Taylen Green (from Boise State) are combining for 134 rushing yards per game. Overall the Hogs have improved their rushing yards per game by 60 over last year, and yards per carry by 1.73.

Cignetti has relied on a high volume rushing attack, filled with four transfer running backs, as the anchor of Indiana's offense. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana Hoosiers (24)

Curt Cignetti’s transfer legion is running the ball, stopping the run and getting into the opposing backfield. Indiana leads the Big Ten in both sacks and tackles for loss, with the Hoosiers’ top eight players in TFLs all transfers from Group of 5 conference schools. Nobody in the Big Ten has run the ball more than Indiana’s 391 attempts, with their top four running backs also all transfers—either from the ACC or Cignetti’s old school, James Madison. But the offensive line is largely a collection of holdovers who have simply gotten better.

Penn State Nittany Lions (25)

James Franklin has had a succession of NFL-level tight ends, from Pat Freiermuth to Brenton Strange to Theo Johnson, and he often has used them as multi-purpose players. But new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has taken it to a mad scientist level with Tyler Warren, the biggest breakout star at that position in the country. Warren has caught four touchdowns, run for a TD and thrown for a score while lining up all over the field (including at center, memorably, on one brassy scoring play against USC). The amount of time opposing defenses have to expend preparing for Where’s Warren? scenarios during the week—and then accounting for him on every play—has to be taxing. 

Miami Hurricanes (26)

The arrival of transfer quarterback Cam Ward has produced a massive upgrade in passing efficiency for the Hurricanes, from a rating of 140.52 last year (52nd nationally) to 175.92 this year (sixth). Ward has dialed back his mistakes recently, throwing zero interceptions and losing no fumbles the last two games after five turnovers in the previous three contests. In recent years, Miami had been a place for quarterbacks to briefly thrive and then wither; so far Ward is keeping everything going splendidly. The ‘Canes might have the cleanest path to 12–0 of any remaining unbeaten.

Pittsburgh Panthers (27)

While going 3–9 last season, Pitt was a dead-even fourth quarter team—the Panthers scored 58 points and allowed 58 points. Thus far this year, Pitt is outscoring its opponents 83–23 in the fourth—an increase in scoring average in that quarter from 4.8 points to 11.9. Quarterback Eli Holstein has been a crunch-time wizard, producing his highest efficiency rating this season in the fourth quarter (a blazing 212.23). Pitt will be sweating out Holstein’s availability this week for a showdown game at SMU; he left the undefeated Panthers’ blowout of Syracuse last week after hitting his head on the turf on a scramble.

Williams has burst on the scene with an interception in each of Iowa State's last four games. / Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Iowa State Cyclones (28)

Coordinator Jon Heacock’s traditionally good defense has taken it up a notch this year, leading the nation in pass efficiency allowed and ranking ninth in points allowed. Typical of a Matt Campbell team, the undefeated ‘Clones are largely transfer-free defensively, with players moving up through the depth chart and excelling when they get their chance. The breakout star is sophomore defensive back Jontez Williams, who has interceptions in four straight games—the most recent of which sealed a dramatic win over Central Florida. Iowa State also is getting early production from a pair of freshman linebackers, Rylan Barnes and Cael Brezina, who have only been part-time players thus far.

BYU Cougars (29)

They’re better in almost every area, but the pass defense stands out up to this point. The undefeated Cougars are third nationally in interceptions with 14, with at least one in every game and at least two in each of the last five games. Eleven different players have picked off passes through eight games. Five percent of opposing passes are being intercepted by BYU, which is allowing 10 fewer points per game than both of the last two years.

Colorado Buffaloes (30)

Their evolution into a more solid all-around team in the second season under Deion Sanders is most notable defensively. Sanders turned to the NFL to hire new coordinator Robert Livingston away from the Cincinnati Bengals, and of course shuffled the roster a bit as well. The result to date has been a reduction in points allowed from 34.8 to 22 per game. Third-down conversion defense is better for the 6–2 Buffs, sacks are up, tackles for loss are up, explosive plays surrendered is down. Colorado still has a lot of offensive weapons, but it no longer has to score 35 points every game to have a shot at winning.