Robert Griffin III Reveals His Top 5 'On the Rise' College Football Teams

We're in Week 2 of the 2024 college football season and we've seen some teams make some noise early on. With the College Football Playoff expansion to 12 teams, we could see some surprising programs make the postseason.

There are several teams to keep an eye on as the season progresses. To help narrow it down, former Heisman-winning quarterback, Robert Griffin III, shared the five teams he believes are "on the rise."

Griffin made his picks by posting about it on X, formerly known as Twitter. He chose two teams from the ACC, two from the Big-12, and one from the SEC. Griffin's five teams "on the rise" are the Miami Hurricanes, Tennessee Volunteers, Arizona Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, and the UCF Knights.

Each of these five programs have some positive momentum right now. They've all looked solid to begin this season and each team is structured well for the next several years.

Miami is currently 1-0 heading into Week 2 and were a popular pick to potentially win the ACC Conference Championship this season. With head coach Mario Cristobal leading the way, the Hurricanes have made vast improvements to the football program.

The Volunteers are one of the most exciting teams in college football this season. Josh Heupel has made some big changes since taking over as head coach in 2021. Tennessee has built up some hype this season thanks to starting quarterback, Nico Iamaleava.

Arizona named Brent Brennan as head coach after Jedd Fisch left for the Washington job. Brennan took over a solid roster that should turn heads in the Big 12 this season. If Brennan can maintain the level of recruiting Fisch left behind, the Wildcats can certainly become a playoff contender sooner, rather than later.

Meanwhile, Louisville is a team with several exciting players on the roster. Quarterback Tyler Shough has some electric weapons at his disposal with Ja'Corey Brooks, Chris Bell, and Jadon Thompson at wide receiver. Additionally, Maurice Turner is a reliable running back to keep the offense rolling.

Lastly, UCF might be the most surprising pick on Griffin's list. They're not as well-known as the other four programs but the Knights have built a solid roster. During the offseason, many sports analysts liked this team as a possible dark horse in the Big 12.

We'll see how it pans out for each of these five teams. Griffin might be onto something though as all five have looked good so far.

Related: Robert Griffin III Breaks Silence On Being Fired By ESPN