Don’t worry, we didn’t forget about anything. Our Countdown to Kickoff Preview continues today with a look at five teams that have the talent to play a major factor in who ends up as the national champion in January. Some of the teams could even find themselves in the final four by the end of the season.

15. UCLA Bruins (10-3, 6-3, 2nd in Pac-12 South)

UCLA is coming off a very successful season under third-year coach Jim Mora. The Bruins had a couple of bad losses against Utah (28-30) and Stanford (10-31) but wrapped up the season with a big win over Kansas State in the Valero Alamo Bowl. This season, the Bruins are being passed up on by most experts because of the hype surrounding USC. However, the Bruins have the potential to make a run at the College Football Playoff.

Offense: Brett Hundley has finally left the Bruins but the coaching staff is comfortable with the quarterback battle in camp. Jerry Neuheisel currently leads the race after completing 26 of 39 in 2014 but true freshman Josh Rosen is nipping at Neuheisel’s heels. Rosen was a blue-chip quarterback and threw for 8,500 yards and 90 touchdowns in his two years starting in high school. Whoever wins the starting job, they will be able to rely on the talented UCLA running back Paul Perkins. The junior ran for more than 1500 yards last year with nine touchdowns. The offense also returns five of their top six leading receivers from 2014 including number one receiver Jordan Payton and slot man Devin Fuller who will make a big impact on the Pac-12 race. The offensive line has 121 career starts between the five presumed starters, including three-year starting center Jake Brendel.

Defense:  Tom Bradley enters as the new defensive coordinator for the Bruins in 2015 with a lot of hype surrounding his defense. Bradley was Penn State’s defensive coach from 2006-2011 when the Nittany Lions were known for their stingy defenses. UCLA’s defense will be lead by junior linebacker Myles Jack. Jack bursted on to the scene his freshman year and will now need to help replace Eric Kendricks who had 123 tackles for the Bruins in 2014. Deon Hollins returns on the outside of Jack after finishing last season with 9.0 sacks. The defensive line returns nose tackle Kenny Clark and star defensive end Eddie Vanderdoes. The secondary only had nine interceptions last year but have been working on making more key plays on defense. They are lead by senior cornerback Fabian Moreau who broke up eight passes last year with 46.5 tackles.

Schedule: The Bruins have a tough non-conference stretch to start the season, bringing Virginia and BYU to the Rose Bowl. UCLA travels to Arizona to start their Pac-12 schedule. Trips to Stanford, Oregon State and Utah will give the Bruins a tough test before finishing the season at the Coliseum against USC.

Prediction: 10-2 (7-2, 2nd in Pac-12 South)

14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-3, 6-2, 1st in ACC Coastal)

The Yellow Jackets showed their best football late in the year last season with big wins against Clemson, Georgia and Mississippi State and barely losing out on the ACC Championship against Florida State. There were signs of inconsistency though, losing one possession games to Duke and North Carolina in the middle of the season. Their three losses were by a combined 13 points. Head coach Paul Johnson continues to run the flexbone offense and last year showed no signs of slowing down. With the ACC being wide open this year, expect Georgia Tech to take full advantage of the opportunity and possibly finish in the nation’s top 10 again.

Offense: Georgia Tech was able to finish the year as a top-20 offense in 2014 while being extremely one-dimensional. They ran for 342 yards per game last year and averaged 38 points which was good for 12th in the nation. Justin Thomas returns at quarterback for the Yellow Jacket after throwing for 18 touchdowns last season. He also ran for over 1000 yards and 8 touchdowns. What he lost in the backfield may hurt Georgia Tech’s chances though. The Yellow Jackets return just one player other than Thomas that had a carry last season but bring in five true freshmen and a transfer from Stanford. Thomas will also have to find new go-to receivers after losing all but two guys from last year’s team. However, Thomas is the perfect fit to keep this offense elite and returning four starters on the offensive line will help.

Defense: The defense returns nine starters from last season and get back defensive tackle Jabari Hunt-Days who missed 2014 with injury. The issue up front is the lack of size. Georgia Tech has one of the smallest averages in all of the Power 5 conferences for a front seven. The Yellow Jackets don’t see it as a problem though, saying that quickness is just as important. Leading tackler PJ Davis returns at linebacker after finishing 2014 with 100.5 total tackles, 4 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and an interception. The secondary was an issue last year in all three of Georgia Tech’s losses, allowing a 73 percent completion rate in those games. Seniors D.J. White and Jamal Golden will be leading the secondary after combining for 8 interceptions last season.

Schedule: The Yellow Jackets’ season doesn’t really get started until week 3 when they travel to Notre Dame in what could be a top-10 matchup. The three following weeks include a trip to Duke, a home game against North Carolina and a trip to Clemson. Georgia Tech manages to get Florida State and Georgia at home this year but those road tests may be too tough for the Yellow Jackets to make a surprise appearance in the playoff.

Prediction: 9-3 (7-1, ACC Champions)

13. Arkansas Razorbacks (7-6, 2-6, 7th in SEC West)

The Razorbacks are entering the 2015 season with high expectations after showing great improvement in Bret Beliema’s second year. Arkansas has a lot of hype for a team that just won seven games last year but their talent level showed that the team was much better than their record. They played six games against teams in the top 10, going 1-5 in those games. Three of their losses came by one touchdown and their home loss against Alabama was by just an extra point. Arkansas could’ve had a much different season last year and they expect to see those close games in their favor in 2015.

Offense: You cannot talk about the offense in Fayetteville without first talking about the offensive line. The entire offensive line was on the cover of their 2015 media guide. There are 74 career starts between the returning linemen that are lead by senior center Mitch Smothers and junior tackle Dan Skipper. Quarterback Brandon Allen must feel pretty safe behind that line and it shows. Allen is the perfect game manager for the Razorbacks. He threw just five interceptions last season and completed 56 percent of his passes. Allen has his two favorite targets in Keon Hatcher and All-American tight end Hunter Henry returning. The two combined for 80 catches and 1063 yards, just under half of Allen’s total production. However, for Arkansas, it all comes down to the running game. Jonathan Williams may be out for the entire season with a foot injury and that would cause many teams to worry but not the Razorbacks. Backup Alex Collins ran for 1100 yards last year, averaging over five yards per carry.

Defense: The Arkansas defense saw a huge turnaround under defensive coordinator Robb Smith last season. The rush defense became one of the league’s best and the pass defense was good. They lose Trey Flowers and Darius Philon on the line but have plenty of experience to help replace them. Arkansas has nine defensive linemen that played last season returning to keep the rush defense stiff. The linebacking crew is lead by junior Brooks Ellis who had 50.5 tackles last season, 5.5 tackles for a loss with two interceptions and two forced fumbles. However, they just return four players with experience and have added just two other linebackers so depth could become an issue. In the secondary, senior safety Rohan Gaines will look to help improve a secondary that had a tendency to give up big plays last season.

Schedule: Arkansas has a tough schedule just like any other SEC school but the Razorbacks may have the toughest. A neutral site game against Texas A&M is followed up by road trips to Knoxville and Tuscaloosa in consecutive weeks. They get a bye week before getting Auburn at home. Their November slate features back-to-back road games at Ole Miss and at LSU before finishing the year with Mississippi State and Missouri at home.

Prediction: 9-3 (5-3, 3rd in SEC West)

12. Clemson Tigers (10-3, 6-2 in ACC Atlantic)

Clemson is coming off their fourth consecutive 10-win season under head coach Dabo Swinney and are looking for even more this year. The Tigers was again fell just short in knocking off Florida State in the ACC and also lost blowout games to the two Georgia schools. In 2013, the Tigers had one of the nation’s best offenses while last year, they sported one of the nation’s top defenses. Clemson has many returning pieces but will have to find a way to finally make the breakthrough if that want more than just another 10-win season. And this may be the year that Swinney gets everything lined up right.

Offense: On offense, Deshaun Watson seems like he is ready to take on the role of being a star quarterback. Last season, Watson saw limited playing time behind Cole Stoudt but when he did play, Watson was tremendous. The rising sophomore completed 67.9 percent of his passes, throwing for 1466 yards with 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions. However, injuries hampered his year and Clemson did not want to risk the future by playing him without being healthy. If Watson can stay healthy, he will have plenty of weapons to work with. Clemson returns their leading four running backs including sophomore Wayne Gallman. Gallman ran 161 times last year for 769 yards and four touchdowns without fumbling the ball. Mike Williams and Artavis Scott return to lead a loaded receiving core. The two combined for 133 catches for 1,995 yards. The problem last year lied with the offensive line, which is now losing four starters from 2014. That may not be all bad as senior center Ryan Norton will be surrounded by three four-star recruits and senior right tackle Joe Gore who already has three starts under his belt.

Defense: It will be near-impossible for this year’s defense to show the same production as the one from a year ago but they are going to try and Clemson could have the talent to make it possible. The defensive line is losing six of their top seven players but junior defensive end Shaq Lawson could help fill the hole that All-American Vic Beasley left. Lawson finished 2014 with 11.5 tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks. Five-star freshman Christian Wilkins comes in at defensive tackle and looks to make an immediate impact. Senior linebacker B.J. Goodson will be leading a young linebacking core that is filled with raw talent. The key will be finding which guys can surround Goodson and help make immediate impacts. Jayron Kearse leads a strong secondary that returns seven players who played in at least 11 games last season and now add Mark Fields who is expected to make a big impact as a freshman.

Schedule: Clemson doesn’t have an easy schedule but it may be too easy if they want to make the College Football Playoff. An undefeated year is possible but that may be the only way to see the Tigers in the final four. Clemson’s first test comes on a Thursday night at Louisville in week three before a bye week leads to a home meeting against Notre Dame. The Tigers also get Georgia Tech and Florida State at home but consecutive road games against Miami and NC State at the end of October could make or break the season for Dabo Swinney.

Prediction: 11-1 (7-1, 2nd in ACC Atlantic)

11. USC Trojans (9-4, 6-3, 3rd in Pac-12 South)

USC has been struggling to get back to the expectations of their fans but this year may bring the Trojans back. They lost three games last year by a combined 13 points, including a 38-34 loss at home against Arizona State that ended with the worst hail-mary defense of all time. However, two solid wins against Notre Dame and Nebraska helped give the Trojans a little momentum heading into the offseason. Second-year coach Steve Sarkisian has a lot of talent and is ready to compete for not only a conference championship but also a national championship.

Offense: This may be where USC has the edge against everyone else in the nation. Rising senior quarterback Cody Kessler is among many people’s Heisman favorites and has already been placed high on several boards for the 2016 NFL Draft. Kessler finished 2014 with more than 3,800 passing yards with 39 touchdowns and just five interceptions. His nearly 4-to-1 touchdown to interception rate along with completing 70 percent of his passes made him the most efficient quarterback in the country last season. Kessler does lose his favorite target Nelson Agholor but still has a great pool of young receivers to help the offense not miss a beat. Sophomores JuJu Smith and Steven Mitchell will be looked at as the playmakers for the team while possession-receiver Darreus Rogers had one of the Pac-12’s highest catch rates. The run game will need to be better to help the offense become lethal and junior tailback Justin Davis may be the starter once the season kicks off. Davis will be joined by Tre Madden, who has struggled with injuries in his career, and three four-star freshmen. All-American center Max Tuerk enters his senior year with all four other starters from 2014 which should help the run game and Cody Kessler stay healthy and consistent.

Defense: The Trojans lose their three main leaders from last year’s squad in defensive end Leonard Williams, linebacker Hayes Pullard and safety Gerald Bowman. The defensive line should be fine as they have five seniors to lead the way and add five-star tackles Rasheem Green and Jacob Daniel. Su’a Cravens returns to help lead an experienced group of linebackers that has eight guys who saw playing time last year returning. Cravens recorded 17 tackles for a loss last season, including five sacks and adding three interceptions. The linebacking crew also adds three five-star players in Porter Gustin, John Houston Jr. and Osa Masina, all who play different spots in the new 3-4 base defense. The defensive backs have plenty of depth and talent and is lead by senior cornerback Kevon Seymour who recorded 13 pass breakups last season. However, the secondary will need to get better at forcing turnovers as they only intercepted six passes in all of 2014.

Schedule: Road games against Arizona State, Notre Dame and Oregon don’t make playing in the Pac-12 any easier for the Trojans. They do get Arizona and rival UCLA at home but Sarkisian’s squad will not be able to drop more than one game if they want a chance at the College Football Playoff.

Prediction: 10-2 (7-1, 1st in Pac-12 South)


Caleb Turrentine is a contributor and a show host at WVUA-FM. Follow him on Twitter, @CalebTurrentine.