Yesterday marked the arrival of spring for me. The clocks sprung forward and the daylight is now longer. For some, spring marks the beginning of the baseball season, for others it means March Madness. For me, it means College Football spring practices are starting. Over the course of two months, every program will conduct 15 days of practice where they can sometimes hit each other. If you want the specific rules, go to NCAA.org, and look up article 17.11.6 B in the rules section.
Although there are probably 1000 interesting questions that need to be answered, here are the offseason questions I am think about right now (broken by conference):
Big 12
1. Can Pelini rebuild the Nebraska defense that was shredded last year? The Black Shirts are ancient memory in Lincoln. My prediction is improvement will occur this year, but a solid defense is still a year or two away.
2. Can Muschamp rebuild Texas' defense (similar to Gene Chizik) and get the Horns back into title contention? Worked last time, no reason to think he can't bring the SEC speed to the Big 12.
3. Will Oklahoma find the mental toughness to stop losing one or two games each season that they should win? Offense should hum, defense needs some PRIDE.
Big East
1. Can Louisville rebound without Brohm's leadership? The defense was terrible in 2007, and I'm not sure one offseason is enough to correct the mistakes.
2. Will Cincinnati's fortunes continue without the turnover ratio? The Bearcats took advantage of turnovers last season and generally those good fortunes do not occur in back to back seasons.
3. Can Pitt win the Big East under Coach Wandstadt? Pitt won the weak Big East Conference in 2004 with Walt Harris at the helm, but most of the league has since passed Pitt. Bowl season maybe, BCS doubtful.
ACC
1. Will Clemson find the mental toughness that is necessary to win the ACC? Bowden's teams generally underperform and I see no reason why this would change in 2008.
2. What strides will NC State and NC make in year two of the Tom O'Brien and Butch Davis era's? I think both return to the postseason, and the FSU/Miami revival the ACC longs for may not happen b/c these two programs are on the upswing.
3. Will Beamer roll the dice and start Taylor over Glennon? Beamer should look to Ohio State in 2005. Zwick had the arm, Smith had the speed/leadership. The team solidified when Smith took full command of the team. Sit Glennon, play Taylor.
PAC 10
1. Who will win the USC Quarterback battle? My guess is Mustain, but Sanchez has more time in the system.
2. Will Arizona find a way to play in September the way they play in November? Stoops' teams always dig a early hole too deep to recover from late in the season. Must be tough to watch ASU go from average to high calibre team in eight months.
3. Will Washington take the next step and get bowl eligible? I think this will be a break out season for Washington. They will not win the PAC 10, but the will finish in the top half of the standings.
Big Ten
1. Will Ohio State find a way to handle speed off the ends, and make the defensive adjustments to handle a multiple threat(aka spread) offense? OSU is loaded this season and the game at USC in September should highlight whether OSU has a problem with just the SEC, or a problem with strong, quick defensive ends.
2. Will Michigan take a step back in year one of the Rich Rodriguez era? With the personnel losses expectations are low, but I think this team will surprise many pundits and finish in the top half of the Big 10 - third place is my prediction.
3. Will Iowa re-emerge as a Big 10 threat? Not likely. Kirk Ferentz is fantastic coach, but Bielema, Zook, Pinkel, Prince, Chizik and Mangino are making recruiting more difficult for Ferentz. The talent is just not as good as it was a few years ago.
SEC
1. Will Georgia live up to the hype? Georgia and USC were the backup quarterback queens last season, and this has caused some unwarranted promotion for preseason #1 in 2008. The SEC is brutal and going unscathed is unlikely. I'm not sure a two loss team will make the the BCS Championship this year.
2. Will Auburn's new OC and DC implement their philosophies in time to make a run at the SEC West title? Yes - but just barely. Auburn will be stoudt on D, but the offense still needs receivers. Special teams will be special. If Auburn limits the TO, an SEC Championship is possible.
3. How far can Houston Nutt take the Rebels in year one? Auburn, Alabama, LSU will be strong and MIssissippi State and Arkansas will be steady. Nutt will need some luck to finish above .500 in 2008.
The 2008 season is going to be great. All of the leagues will be better, especially the Big 10, PAC 10 and ACC. I see little if any drop off for the SEC. The Big East and Big 12 will be steady, but may fall back just a bit b/c I doubt Kansas and Missouri will be as special this season. Spring is here, and I'm thinking football. What could be better?
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