2020 Season Recap: The Teams That Bounced Back

All fans would love the success and improvement of their program to continue in a linear and predictable fashion. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case in college football. What often separates the programs that succeed from those that fail to improve their standing is the ability to bounce back from a disappointing season and avoid letting that become the trend. Here are a few programs that bounced back from a down year in 2019 to have a strong 2020 season.

Northwestern

In 2018, the Wildcats had a 9 – 5 season, going 8 – 2 in conference and winning the Big Ten West before losing to Ohio State in the conference championship game. They went on to beat Utah 31 – 20 in the Holiday Bowl and the program appeared to be on the rise. Northwestern entered 2019 with high expectations, but the team failed to launch and sputtered to a 3 – 9 finish. The offense was atrocious, scoring just 16.3 points per game for the season while struggling to find any sort of consistency at the quarterback position. The good feelings from the 2018 run were gone and Pat Fitzgerald was facing a crossroads for his program.

First, Northwestern hired a new offensive coordinator. Mike Bajakian was brought in to upgrade the offense and develop a quarterback that could lead the team going forward. The Wildcats found their quarterback in the off-season, convincing former Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey to transfer to Northwestern. Both moves proved to be key factors for the team in 2020.

2020 was the strangest of seasons, and it was almost a season that wasn’t for the Big Ten. The conference cancelled the season, then decided to start late. Northwestern lost star offensive tackle Rashawn Slater, who opted out due to Covid concerns and instead decided to prepare for the NFL Draft. With a disjointed preseason and without their best offensive lineman, Fitzgerald and company got to work on October 24 and put together a season to remember.

Ramsey stepped in as the starting quarterback and provided leadership, a steady hand to guide the offense and a flair for big plays when they were needed. On the offensive line, Peter Skoronski took over the left tackle spot as a true freshman and played well beyond his years, minimizing the loss of Slater and anchoring the offensive line. The offense improved by more than 8 points per game from 2019 and that was all the defense needed.

The defense was led by a veteran group of linebackers, but a star emerged for Northwestern in the secondary. Brandon Joseph earned a starting safety spot as a red-shirt freshman and did not look back. He made big plays all season, tallying 52 tackles and 6 interceptions in 9 games for the Wildcats. Joseph and the rest of the defense held opponents to just 15.9 points per game and gave the Wildcats a chance to win every game this year.

Northwestern bounced back from their 3 – 9 campaign in 2019 and won the Big Ten West again in 2020. Though they lost to Ohio State again in the Big Ten Championship Game, the Wildcats led in the third quarter and gave the Buckeyes all they wanted. Northwestern went on to dominate Auburn 35 – 19 in the Citrus Bowl. The Wildcats finished the season 7 – 2 and appear to be headed in the right direction again.

Northwestern Wildcats Gear

North Carolina State

North Carolina State enjoyed a strong 2018 season, finishing 9 – 4 overall and 5 – 3 in ACC play. Dave Doeren’s team had won nine games for the second straight season and though they were in the same division as Clemson, appeared to be developing into a potential contender in the ACC. 2019 was a gut punch to the program. The offense that had averaged over 32 points per game for back to back years faltered and managed just 22.1 points per game. On the other side of the ball the defense allowed over 30 points per game for the first time since 2013. The result was a disastrous 4 – 8 season that saw the Wolfpack win just one conference game.

Doeren adjusted quickly, hiring Tim Beck as his offensive coordinator and making Tony Gibson the full time defensive coordinator. The shakeup on the staff helped to re-energize the team and provided a necessary spark in 2020, though early on things did not seem so smooth. The Wolfpack scraped past Wake Forest 45 – 42 in their season opener and then lost by three touchdowns to a Covid depleted Virginia Tech team the next week. The team didn’t panic, but instead fought on and won three straight games to get their season on track.

The Wolfpack were on a roll, but they lost starting quarterback Devin Leary in the last of those three wins and turned the team back over to Bailey Hockman who had been benched in favor of Leary during the Virginia Tech game. The team struggled against North Carolina the next week, but lost a heartbreaker to Miami 44 – 41 the week after that. Though they lost the game, the Wolfpack clearly found their confidence against the Hurricanes. North Carolina State would win the next four games to close out the regular season. They did lose the Gator Bowl, 23 – 21 against Kentucky but the season was already a success.

North Carolina State finished the 2020 season with an 8 – 4 record. The offense got back on track and averaged 30.3 points per game for the season, while the defense went back to allowing less than 30 points per game, albeit barely at 29.2 points per game. The Wolfpack have now won 8 or more games in three of the last four season and are back on track to challenge in the ACC.

NC State Wolfpack Gear

Texas A&M

When Jimbo Fisher took over at Texas A&M he was expected to turn the Aggies into a championship contender. Kevin Sumlin had gotten off to a hot start but faltered over the course of his tenure and the team went 7 – 6 in his last season in College Station. Fisher led the team to a 9 – 4 record in his first season, but the team slipped to 8 – 5 last year. The Aggies were blown out by Alabama and LSU in 2019 and also lost to Auburn and Georgia. It looked like there were still several teams ahead of them in the SEC.

Fisher needed to get the programs trajectory back on track in 2020 after a down year in 2019. The Aggies were facing an SEC only schedule in 2020 and needed to out perform their 2019 season. Texas A&M did not hit the ground running this year, they struggled offensively in a 17 – 12 win against Vanderbilt to open the season and then lost 52 – 24 against Alabama. The Aggies rebounded and beat Florida 41 – 38 the next week and ran off a streak of eight straight wins to close the season. They were ranked fifth in the final College Football Playoff Rankings and beat North Carolina 41 – 27 in the Orange Bowl.

Texas A&M did not have a losing season a year ago, but the 2019 season felt like a set back after the improvement made in 2018. Texas A&M has been 8 – 5 more times than not this past decade and that’s a mold the Aggies are trying to break out of. Jimbo Fisher’s third season was a big success and the Aggies were Playoff contenders for the first time. Kellen Mond played smart football and protected the ball, while the defense continued their progression during Fisher’s tenure. Texas A&M beat Florida, LSU and Auburn in 2020 and was the second best team in the conference.

Texas A&M has recruited at a high level since Fisher’s arrival and the on field results in 2020 were promising. There may have been doubts coming into the season, but the Aggies eliminated all of them in 2020. Alabama is still king in the SEC, but Texas A&M has announced itself as one of the top contenders going forward.

Texas A&M Aggies Gear

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Kellen Mond image taken by Gamecock Central is licensed under CC BY 2.0.