10 Power 5 National Championship dark horse contenders

1 of 11

Nov 27, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies quarterback Jake Browning (3) throws out a pass during the first quarter against the Washington State Cougars at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports /

Each Power 5 conference has at least two darkhorse contenders to win the 2017 National Championship. Here are the 10 teams most likely to shock the world.

Entering the 2016 NCAA season, there are realistically only a handful of Power 5 teams capable of wining the third annual College Football Playoff next January. That said, who doesn’t like a good gate-crasher messing up a potential Playoff bid?

While each Power 5 conference (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) has roughly two teams that are very much playoff contenders, what about the others schools that seem locks to finish the year in the top 25? Will a few of them have what it takes to upset a superior foe in conference play?

Though the first two years of the College Football Playoff featured mostly blue-blood programs playing for the ultimate prize at season’s end, could 2016 be the year that a dark-horse contender emerges to steal someone’s spot in the National Semifinals?

With the 2016 NCAA season beginning on Labor Day Weekend, here are the 10 Power-5 schools that are most likely to shock the world, make the Playoff, and win a National Championship this January.

Next: 10. Baylor Bears.

Home/College Football Playoff