Offensive Line Experience 2018 College Football Offensive Line Experience By Conference
Letâ??s be honest everything starts in the trenches and if you have a good % of starts returning along the offensive line your offense should only improve. Iâ??m constantly looking for betting value and production along the offensive line vs. previous years are one of the key factors. Some of these teams will actually surprise you.
SEC
Florida has 112 career starts along the offensive line returning for 2018 and rank #1 in the SEC. They can only improve in 2018 considering they ranked 123rd in sack % allowed, and 63rd in yards per carry. Dan Mullen comes over from Mississippi State and improvements can be expected right away in my opinion.
Alabama has 102 career starts returning on the offensive line. Is that even fair? They should drastically improve in protecting their QB as they ranked 96th a year ago in sack % allowed. A lot of that had to do with the style of play of their QB Jalen Hurts who will be taking a back seat to Tua Tagovailoa who saved the day in the National Championship. They ranked 10th in rushing yards per carry and I bet those numbers improve as well with the return of a top 3 RB in Damien Harris.
Big Ten
Wisconsin has 150 career starts along the OL returning in 2018 and ironically that is #1 in the nation. We have seen a perennially dominant Wisconsin offensive line in years past, but the unit had not been as dominant in recent years. They started to look like a dominant group last year, but still only ranked 66th in sacked % allowed, and 26th in yards per carry. Both numbers are due to only improve and Wisconsin should be in the thick of things with an improved offense in 2018.
Purdue comes in second in the Big Ten Purdue with 118 career starts along the OL. Purdue was a surprise team in 2017, but mainly because of their defense. The offense started to turn the corner down the stretch and they should really be a lot better in 2018 in their second year in Jeff Brohmâ??s offense. They finished the season 44th in rushing yards per carry, and 72nd in the country in sack % allowed.
ACC
Boston College returns 139 total starts along the offensive line in 2018. This was a unit that was top 40 in both sack % allowed, and rushing yards per carry so the future looks really bright for the offense. Unfortunately they play in one of the toughest conferences. When we look at strength of schedule we will really dive in deep on whether or not this team has some betting value.
Wake Forest returns 131 career starts in 2018 and they were a team on the rise in 2018. They cashed our tickets at the window many times down the stretch as they scored 30+ points in 5 of their final 6 games, which is not typical of a Wake Forest team. Returning 131 starts along the offensive line has me excited that their will be some value in 2018 backing a team that should only be getting better and more consistent. They ranked 49th in rushing yards per carry and 24th in sack % allowed.
PAC 12
Washington, the best team in the conference the last two years returns the most career starts. This is actually bad news for a conference that has been down the past few years. As the 3 previous conference had 130+ career starts returning Washington the leader in the PAC 12 only has 97. The ranked 27th in YPC and 59th in protecting the QB a year ago.
Stanford follows that unit at 94 career starts, and with the best RB in the game returning in Bryce Love things could be very exciting now that they finally found their QB in K.J. Costello. Stanford could seriously be one of those surprise teams this year. I know 94 career starts does not sound like a lot, but this is a group that ranked 6th in yards per carry, and 28th in protecting the QB. They play in a the weakest conference of the power 5 and should have a shot to get into the College Football Playoff in my opinion.
Big 12
Kansas State first in returning starts at 113 and that is exciting news. Kansas State is always one of those teams that lives and dies by their running game, and the offensive line is a big key. They ranked 29th in yards per carry, and I expect they will creep into the top 15 this year. They need to make improvements on passing downs however ranking 106th in protecting the QB, but I feel that had a lot to do with inexperience at QB as they had 5 different guys taking snaps. The good news is their young QB Alex Delton got some experience and is a dynamic runner at QB to go along with Alex Barnes who is very underrated. Bill Snyder has a tough road schedule, but this team will have value as a dog like they always do every year.
Oklahoma comes in second with 103 career starts returning which really makes things unfair. However, with the loss of Baker Mayfield I actually think this team will be on the decline. Mayfield was a special player that had everyone playing better. Oklahoma should really be over value in 2018 and you should look to fade them. Iâ??m not a big fan of their QB Kyler Murray who is extremely one dimensional. He will likely get a lot of hype, but I really donâ??t think he can make accurate throws. Rodney Anderson returns for 2018 at RB and took over some games late, but donâ??t forget he had Baker Mayfield keeping teams honest.
NON-POWER 5
AAC
Memphis leads the league with 109 career starts ranking 11th in the country after ranking 11th in ypc and 26th in QB protection. A lot of that had to do with the play of their QB Riley Fergusson. It will be interesting to see if they are able to maintain the success without him with 7 returning starters. Tulsa comes in second with 101 career starts along the offensive line. They were 104th protecting the QB a year ago, but 25th in yards per carry. I could really see this team having value this year, because they went 2-10 last year and lost their QB and star RB, but they have some depth at RB, and they should only improve in 2018.
INDEPENDENT
Army has 117 returning starters along the offensive line. Army defeated Navy for the second year in a row, and are primed to defeat them for a third year in a row. We cashed big the last two years and Jeff Monken has really turned this team around. Theyâ??ll be breaking in a new QB but thatâ??s never usually a problem for a team running the triple option.
Mountain West
Wyoming returns 116 career starts, but they lost the best player that ever stepped through their University in star QB Josh Allen. However, they played without Allen last year and rank #1 in % of letterman returning. Allen had a down year last year anyway and there should be value with this team in 2018. It is important to note how bad their offensive line was a year ago though, ranking 122nd in yards per carry and 91st in QB protection. Nowhere to go but up!
MAC
Northern Illinois always a team that relies on their running game should be on the rise in 2018 if career starts returning along the offensive line is any indication. They come in with 111 returning starts which is 10th in the nation. They ranked 72nd in ypc and averaged nearly a yard less per carry vs. 2016. They also did not do a great job protecting the QB ranking outside the top 60 in the nation so if this unit can improve with experience there should be value betting on this team when you factor in they have one of the most dominant defensive players in the nation on their defense in, Sutton Smith. Worth mentioning is Miami Ohio who comes in with 100 career starts, and rank 18th in the country in returning letterman.
C-USA Florida International rank #4 in the country with 129 career starts returning. FIU was top 5 in returning players a year ago, and have lost some depth on defense ranking 129th in tackle % returning, but their offense should improve in what should be a wide open conference yet again.
Sun Belt or Fun Belt
Georgia Southern rank 15th in the country with 102 returning starts along the offensive line. I think they will have some value in 2018 after back to back years in 2016, and 2017 of mediocracy running the football. Georgia Southern very much known for running the ball previously rank 4th in the country in % of letterman returning and will have 9 returning starters on offense. If we see signs that the get back to running the ball more than throwing they will be a team to back.
