100 days away: 100 things to fire you up for the 2016 college football season

As the summer months bring the news cycle to a slow churn, college football fans get a chance to breath and reset our brains for the upcoming season.

With less than two months until media days begin and only 100 days until teams hit the field, here are 100 items that should fire you up for the unpredictable madness to come this fall.

The Stories (5)

1. Deshaun and Dabo show. Clemson exploded into the national consciousness last season, erasing "Clemsoning" from the lips of taunting fans with a 14-game run that left the Tigers one score short of Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship. Dabo Swinney became a household name with "Bring Your Own Guts" and countless locker room dances. Deshaun Watson was arguably the most prolific quarterback in the country and finished as a Heisman Trophy finalist.

The spotlight will be as bright in Death Valley as anywhere in the country, a situation that can break lots of ways for college football teams made up of athletically gifted but otherwise normal college students. Swinney and his staff prefer a big picture approach of the program, but it will be hard to avoid scrutiny of the minutiae in 2016.

2. Alabama's suffocating defense won't skip a beat ... and that's terrifying. Jonathan Allen is still a monster on the defensive line; Tim Williams will be one of the most dangerous pass rushers in the SEC; and Reuben Foster is a hard-hitting son-of-a-you-know-what that will get to fly around behind what will likely still be one of the best defensive fronts in the country. Defensive coordinator Kirby Smart and defensive line coach Bo Davis are gone (for very different reasons), but the personnel still remains strong thanks to unparalleled success on the recruiting trail. There are questions at quarterback for the Tide, but given the landscape in the SEC, it doesn't look like one of those years you'll need to average 30+ points per game to win.

3. From nearly fired to SEC West title contender? Alabama has better title odds (peep those below), but LSU has sky-high expectations heading into 2016. That's a fascinating spot for Les Miles just a few months after it seemed like "The Hat" was about to be hung up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Credit Miles for handling a messy situation in a classy way, but if LSU can't get over the Alabama hump again in 2016, we'll be right back in the same position come mid-November.

Miles and LSU have one thing that no other team in the country has in No. 7. Leonard Fournette. His tweet of a "side-eye" emoji after a Heisman finalist snub made LSU fans every excited for what might be a vengeful 2016 campaign from one of the hardest runners in college football.

😒
— 7⃣ (@_fournette) December 7, 2015

4. Tectonic shifts in the coaching landscape. Steve Spurrier, Frank Beamer and Gary Pinkel walked away from the grind of head coaching in college football. Longtime and familiar names like Norm Chow and George O'Leary are also off the rotating roster of head coaches. This offseason felt like a big shift in the coaching landscape. In total, 28 FBS programs will start 2016 with a new full-time head coach. That's one out of every 4.57 coaches and twice as many new faces in new places as we had in 2015. The shift provided opportunities for some mid-major head coaches and major conference coordinators to take on new challenges and a fresh start for Will Muschamp, Mark Richt and other established coaches now in new locations. Check out the full break down of coaching changes below.

5. The race to not be left out. The Big 12's omission from the CFP in 2014 led to panic and some yelling about the process. The Pac-12 received the short straw in 2015 but with much less national controversy thanks to a general consensus on the four deserving teams. But now the offseason has fans wondering what's up with the Pac-12, even though the league was in the national title game just one year earlier. That's the weird thing with this playoff math; there's as much attention put on who doesn't get invited than what happens in the playoff. That probably has something to do with the pay day that comes with a CFP appearance, but that's none of my business [insert funny Kermit meme].

The Contenders -- odds via Westgate SuperBook (10)

6. Alabama 6-1
7. Clemson 8-1
8. Oklahoma 8-1
9. Ohio State 8-1
10. Michigan 8-1
11. Baylor 12-1
12. Florida State 12-1
13. Notre Dame 15-1
14. Tennessee 15-1
15. LSU 15-1

The Notable Long Shots (30-1+) worth watching (8)

16. Michigan State 30-1
17. Ole Miss 30-1
18. Stanford 30-1
19. UCLA 30-1
20. Georgia 30-1
21. Washington 40-1
22. TCU 50-1
23. Louisville 60-1

The New Faces in new places (28)

24. Chris Ash, Rutgers: Former Ohio State defensive coordinator has a tough rebuild in the Big Ten East where he will take on the Buckeyes and the rest of a loaded division.

25. Dino Babers, Syracuse: MAC success in 2015 resulted in Babers landing a Power Five job. Now can he make the Orange the fastest team on (Carrier Dome) turf?

26. Matt Campbell, Iowa State: Thought of as one of the top mid-major coaches, Campbell has three nine-win seasons in the last four years and now his first chance to shine at the next level.

27. Jason Candle, Toledo: Campbell was promoted to head coach after being offensive coordinator; Toledo stuck with the program, promoting Jason Candle.

28. Tracy Claeys, Minnesota: Not a new face, but Claeys is officially official now and entering his first full season as top dog.

29. D.J. Durkin, Maryland: Maryland, like Rutgers, turned to one of the top coordinators in its own division for its next coach. Durkin has the pedigree with experience under Jim Harbaugh and Urban Meyer.

30. Willie Fritz, Tulane: Fritz's run through Central Missouri and Sam Houston State led him to Georgia Southern just as the Eagles made the jump to FBS. After 17 wins in two years, Tulane came calling, giving the longtime Division II/FCS coach a spot to face off against Tom Herman, Matt Rhule and the rest of the up-and-coming coaches.

31. Scott Frost, UCF: Frost has already brought Oregon-style uniform options to Orlando. If he can take this young Knights team and get them to Duck-level offensive production, it will be one of the stories of the year in the American.

32. Justin Fuente, Virginia Tech: No coaching hire went as smoothly or seemed to fit as well as Virginia Tech's transition from Frank Beamer's retirement to the Fuente era. Credit the administration, defensive coordinator Bud Foster (still on staff) and of course Beamer if this goes well.

32. Clay Helton, USC: Helton had the support of the players in a year that was blemished by off-field issues for former coach Steve Sarkisian and behind-the-scenes unrest from a change in leadership at athletic director. Helton is the Trojans' best chance at bringing stability for now.

33. Jay Hopson, Southern Miss: The former Alcorn State coach is coming off back-to-back SWAC titles and has been readying for a moment like this for a while. Hopson grew up in Mississippi, played at Ole Miss and was an assistant for Southern Miss in two different stints.

34. Mike Jinks, Bowling Green: BG appears to be keeping the focus on offense with the hire of Jinks, a longtime Texas high school coach before jumping to the college ranks under Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech in 2013.

35. Seth Littrell, North Texas: Littrell helped North Carolina put together one of its most successful seasons in program history with an offense that produced nine all-conference selections.

36. Bronco Mendenhall, Virginia: Mendenhall's exit from BYU seems surprising given his ties to the school, but he brought several assistants with him to Charlottesville in an attempt to revive a program that has struggled in recent years.

37. Scottie Montgomery, ECU: ECU's disappointing 2015 campaign led to the dismissal of notable alum Ruffin McNeill. Montgomery wasn't a Pirate, but the former Duke player and offensive coordinator knows the state well.

38. Will Muschamp, South Carolina: Muschamp is back in the SEC East, taking his third job within the conference in as many years as the coach of the Gamecocks.

39. Mike Neu, Ball State: Pete Lembo left his post at Ball State to take an assistant job at Maryland, bringing New Orleans offensive assistant Mike Neu into the mix.

40. Mike Norvell, Memphis: Norvell was on the list and the running for a few jobs in recent years before finally leaving Arizona State to take over where Justin Fuente left off. Don't expect the offense to dip under Norvell's watch.

41. Barry Odom, Missouri: Missouri had a turbulent year between the strike and Gary Pinkel's health-related retirement, but Odom's hire guarantees some consistency moving forward.

42. Mark Richt, Miami: Richt coached at Florida State and Georgia but never got to return to his alma mater until now, moving swiftly from from an exit in Athens, Georgia, to his new role in Coral Gables, Florida.

43. Nick Rolovich, Hawaii: Rolovich was a Hawaii quarterback and later Hawaii's offensive coordinator from 2010-11. He comes to the Warriors after being Nevada's OC, replacing Norm Chow.

44. Kalani Sitake, BYU: BYU kept it in the family with the hire of Sitake, an Oregon State defensive boss and former BYU player, to replace Mendenhall.

45. Kirby Smart, Georgia: Can Georgia become the Alabama of the SEC East? Hiring former Bulldog player and longtime Saban assistant Smart was a start.

46. Lovie Smith, Illinois: Smith's early March hire puts him in a tough spot, but the arrival of a trusted name is welcome news for Illini fans still reeling from the ill-timed dismissals of Tim Beckman and Bill Cubit.

47. Tyson Summers, Georgia Southern: Colorado State ex-DC is a Georgia native with years of coaching as an assistant in the south at UCF, UAB and even a year on the stage at Georgia Southern in 2006.

48. Matt Viator, Louisiana-Monroe: A member of the McNeese State staff since 1999 and coach of the program since 2006, there's no doubt Viator (78-33) is ready to take on the challenge of winning in Monroe.

49. Frank Wilson, Texas-San Antonio: A trusted Les Miles assistant since 2010, Wilson helped LSU become one of the top recruiting powers in the country over the last decade.

50. Everett Withers, Texas State: After time as an assistant at Ohio State and North Carolina (where he was also interim coach after Butch Davis), Withers found success as a coach at James Madison.

Deshaun Watson is the most recognizable player in college football heading into 2016. USATSI

The Heisman Favorites (10)

51. Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson: 5-1

52. Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU: 6-1

53. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford: 7-1

54. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma: 10-1

55. Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State: 10-1

56. Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss: 12-1

57. J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State: 12-1

58. Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia: 12-1

59. Seth Russell, QB, Baylor: 12-1

60. Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA: 15-1

The Sleepers (22)

A few names I would recommend circling on your own watch list for the season.

61. Bo Scarbrough, RB, Alabama: Scarbrough is a beast of human being, and with a Derrick Henry-sized workload that needs filling, there should plenty of opportunities for this punishing back to thrive.

62. Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon: Freeman could be one of the best running backs in college football if Oregon's offensive line gels.

63. Samaje Perine, RB, Oklahoma: Perine has been established as a key to Oklahoma's offensive for a while now. I have no idea why he doesn't have better Heisman odds but there could be some value there.

64. Jonathan Allen, DL, Alabama: Monster. Absolute monster. He's the key to keeping Alabama's defensive front among the best in the country.

65. Tim Williams, DL, Alabama: Bama's spring game wasn't very fun to watch because Williams kept blowing up the offense's plays when he was on the field. Unfortunately, he couldn't hit the quarterback.

66. Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M: In terms of individual impact, Garrett is the one player with a shot at gaining some kind of Heisman-esque recognition for his ability as a pass rusher. His run-stopping will be what Texas A&M needs most, though.

67. Derwin James, DB, Florida State: James has that same "it" factor that Jalen Ramsey showed during his freshman year at Florida State. They are very different players, but it was impossible to ignore how comfortable and successful both were in FSU's defense at such a young age.

68. Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama: Ridley's emergence in 2015 brought life to Alabama's passing attack and let fans know there would be a successor to the "Amari Cooper role" in Lane Kiffin's offense. As Ridley moves around in the offense, he'll get the right matchup that has Kiffin signaling touchdown well before the pass is in the air.

69. Greg Ward Jr., QB, Houston: Houston's potential CFP crashing is dependent almost entirely on Ward being able to stay healthy and maintain production from a 2015 campaign that saw him score 38 total touchdowns and lead the Cougars to 13 wins.

70. Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M: I'm a shameless fanboy and I will not apologize for it.

71. Jourdan Lewis, CB, Michigan: Jabrill Peppers may get more attention as the two-way player and highly-touted recruit, but I think Lewis is the most valuable part of the Wolverines' secondary.

72. Jamal Adams, DB, LSU: If LSU is going to have the breakthrough year many in Baton Rouge are hoping for, it's going to take a lot more than Fournette. The Tigers' defense can improve, and players like Adams and defensive lineman Arden Key (73) will be the ones to take them there.

74. Adoree Jackson, CB, USC: Jackson's Olympic-caliber athleticism makes him the kind of player you want to see on the field for every snap, even if all logical thinking points to conserving his energy for better things than our entertainment on Saturdays.

75. Wayne Gallman, RB, Clemson: The oft-overlooked running back has been a core part of Deshaun Watson's success and could be the key in establishing balance when defensive coordinators lock in on No. 4. He and offensive tackle Mitch Hyatt (76) are some of the best at their position in the ACC. I know it's easy to be dazzled by Deshaun and Dabo, but don't ignore the rest of this group in Death Valley.

77. Josh Dobbs, QB, Tennessee: Dobbs had some brilliant individual performances during the 2015 season, showcasing his dual-threat ability but the 2-3 start hindered what could have been a breakthrough year for the program. Dobbs should be fully operational from game one as the Vols take on SEC title expectations in 2016.

78. Raekwon McMillan, LB, Ohio State: More than a cool name and top recruit, McMillan has now established himself as an every-down star on the big-time college football level. He has great vision at the second level and is one of my favorite players to watch in the Big Ten.

79. Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami: Kaaya's big year is 2016. He's got a new coach in Mark Richt and a chance to show why NFL scouts have him among the top prospects for next year's draft.

80. Malik McDowell, DL, Michigan State: The Spartans developed a reputation for turning under-recruited talent into all-conference stars. McDowell was highly-recruited and started to show his big-time potential in 2015. Look for him from week one on in 2016.

81. Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State: Barkley is an absolute freak. The leaping touchdown dive from his freshman year in 2015 is one of my favorite highlights of the season.

82. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, USC: Even when playing with injuries, JuJu is still one of the best wide receivers in the Pac-12. He's got great body control and the ability to make catches in tough spots but probably needs to be fully healthy to thrive on a national level.