With five of the top seven vote-getters in last year's Heisman voting returning, there is no shortage of offensive talent in the upcoming college football season. But which offensive unit, with a Heisman vote-getter or not, will be best in 2016?
Using ESPN's Football Power Index -- which is broken down into predicted offense, defense and special-teams components -- we can project the top offenses heading into the season. A detailed explanation of what goes into the predictions and why can be found here, but in short, past offensive efficiencies and the number of returning starters (with special consideration given to quarterbacks) are the biggest drivers.
It's important to note that FPI is not projecting yards or points; it's projecting a team's expected points added (EPA) per game. Unlike yards, which treat all situations equally, the teams with the highest offensive EPA per game will be efficient units that convert yards to points, avoid turnovers and control field position. The number associated with EPA per game below refers to the points per game an offense is expected to contribute against an average defense to the team's net scoring margin, with an average offense expected to contribute zero net points.
Let's run through the list.