The Athletic: College football breakout team candidates

https://theathletic.com/2787273/2021/08/25/college-football-breakout-team-candidates-can-texas-am-win-the-sec-can-boston-college-or-ucla-crash-the-top-25/?source=freedailyemail&campaign=601983
SMU
Trend to break: SMU has not won a conference championship or finished ranked in the AP poll since 1984, before receiving the NCAA’s death penalty.
Breakout chances: The loss of quarterback Shane Buechele and the end-of-season 14-point defeat to East Carolina made it easy to forget about SMU heading into the offseason. Though Cincinnati is the clear favorite in the AAC, the Mustangs have the firepower to push the Bearcats and UCF if Oklahoma transfer Tanner Mordecai, Derek Green or four-star freshman Preston Stone emerges as a capable replacement for Buechele. Reggie Roberson, one of the nation’s most dynamic receivers, is back after missing much of last season with an injury, and the Mustangs have a deep pool of skill position players and all five starters back on the O-line to make the transition to a new quarterback easier.
Though the defense has a ways to go, new coordinator Jim Leavitt has proven capable of swift turnarounds before. Sonny Dykes has recruited as well as any coach in the G5, and that includes attracting a wave of Power 5 transfers. If Cincinnati slips up, SMU will be right in the thick of the race to take advantage.
BetMGM regular-season win total: 6.5