The University of Oregon is trying to replace a Heisman Trophy winner; the SEC is full of quarterback battles itself, and the most intriguing quarterback dispute comes from Ohio State. These and many more storylines are shaping the 2015 college football season into yet another one for the history books. Here are the top five storylines to watch for in 2015.
5. The Great Big 12 Conundrum
The Big 12 found itself on the outside looking in of the inaugural College Football Playoff. With two teams in a virtual tie atop the division and no conference championship game to break the tie, the CFP committee was forced to leave both Baylor and Texas Christian University on the doorstep of the playoff.
You all know the story; TCU ran the table with the exception of a 61-58 defeat at the hands of in-state rival Baylor. Since then, there have been plenty of reminders for the Horned Frog Faithful.
For Baylor, the season hinged on a 41-27 blowout loss the following week as the West Virginia Mountaineers were able to spoil all of the Bears fun.
The pair of losses spelled disaster for both teams, as well as the conference as a whole.
In the offseason, the Big 12 was not able to find a way to design a playoff, so the system stays the same . . . for now at least.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said that he believed the Big 12 would move towards a 10-team playoff in 2016 if the NCAA enacts a new rule to allow a 10-team playoff to exist.
The biggest question facing Big 12 fans, specifically those of TCU, Baylor, and Oklahoma, is will the lack of a 13th game keep one of these teams out of the playoff again?
That answer will likely hinge on the final records. If more than one team finishes the season 11-1 again, the result will likely mimic that of 2014.
My Take:
I see TCU as a potential undefeated team this season. Trevone Boykin is my favorite to win the Heisman. The experience from last season, being three points away from the playoff, and the trolling from Baylor in the offseason will be enough to motivate TCU to find a way to the playoff.
4. Oregon Must Replace Heisman Winner Marcus Mariota
Marcus Mariota was as consistent as it comes from the signal caller position. Starting as a freshman under Chip Kelly in 2012, Mariota hit the ground running. He threw for 2,677 yards, 32 touchdowns, and only six interceptions.
Those stats grew each of the next two years.
Mariota completed 68.3 percent of his passes last season for 4,454 yards and 42 touchdowns, all while only throwing four interceptions.
Mariota also had over 700 yards on the ground all three seasons, finishing with an average of 6.6 yards per carry.
The dual threat Hawaiian is now in Tennessee with the Titans preparing to play on Sunday.
Oregon, however, is without a surefire quarterback.
They have two great options.
Vernon Adams is the frontrunner after transferring from Eastern Washington University in the offseason. Adams has already been added to the short list for postseason awards in 2015, including the Heisman.
But how will he play against the ferocious PAC-12 that includes USC, Arizona, Arizona State, and UCLA among others?
That’s the biggest question mark.
He just arrived on campus after finishing summer classes at EWU, but could it hurt the gunslinger? Possibly, head coach Mark Helfrich is still calling this a two-horse race.
The other quarterback in contention is Jeff Lockie, Mariota’s long-term understudy with the Ducks.
Lockie, a redshirt junior, has one year of eligibility left, and unless he can impress the coaches, that could be a determining factor.
The Ducks have an impressive battle at QB for the first time in quite some time.
My Take:
This is easy. Go with Vernon Adams as soon as he’s ready. That’s a decision the coaches will have to make, but if he knows the playbook well enough to start week one, he should. He has a live arm and legs to boot, he is smart under center, and he has enough experience to have faith in. Easy choice . . . for me.
3. SEC Reign Done?
The Southeastern Conference watched it’s long reign of winning national titles finally end last season when Ohio State was able to secure a National Title for the Big 10. The crazed fans of the south weren’t a bit happy with it.
The conference that had prided itself as the best in the nation had a disgusting end to the season that included Alabama’s loss to OSU in a CFP semifinal, and an overall 7-5 record in the bowls. Included in that 7-5 was a lowly 2-5 record for ranked SEC teams.
The conference was kicked while it was down, and now the SEC is looking for a rebound. It won’t be easy, though, there are question marks around all of the contenders.
Alabama has another QB battle two years departed from A.J. McCarron as they’re looking for a solid signal caller to place under center. For now, it looks like the former FSU transfer Jake Coker’s spot to lose.
Similar quarterback discrepancies exist at Florida, Georgia, LSU, and Ole Miss. But those situations will eventually all work themselves out.
The SEC’s biggest problem is the fact that it ate itself last season. The SEC West was one of the best divisions in college football, but all of the teams simply beat each other up. Even Arkansas got in on the action and should be even better this season.
The SEC East has been the weaker of the two divisions, but with Tennessee looking poised to compete, Florida getting a new coaching staff, and the consistently tough Bulldogs and Tigers of Missouri, the SEC East won’t be a division to scoff at in 2015.
For the SEC to once again fulfill the claim as college football’s premier conference, they need to have one or two teams emerge relatively unscathed this year, that’s always a huge question.
Should they rebound, the consensus is that it will be Alabama, Auburn, or Georgia, the three most frequently picked SEC Champions in pre-season evaluations.
My Take:
Despite what numerous outlets are trying to sell as the death of the SEC, the conference will be back and just as good as ever in 2015. The SEC was fantastic in 2014, even though the SEC didn’t win a title. The West was a juggernaut where injuries eventually became the story. Alabama had one of it’s weaker teams in recent memory and still nearly made it to the championship. And a team like Georgia had it’s season derailed by Todd Gurley’s autograph scandal, and later his ACL injury.
Don’t overreact, the SEC will be just as powerful in 2015 as they were during the BCS era.
2. Jim Harbaugh’s Effect on Michigan
The Big 10 as a whole is rooting for Michigan to return to the upper echelon of college football. The conference, despite OSU winning a title, is still looked down upon. This is simply because of the lack of competition.
Michigan has always been a constant in the top 25, until the last few years that was the norm. But Michigan fell into laughing stock territory last season. As a result, Brady Hoke was fired. Jim Harbaugh, the exuberant head coach from the San Francisco 49ers, was brought in.
Harbaugh returns to the college game, where he last coached at Stanford. As you should remember, he was pretty good.
Coming to the Big 10, he immediately brings legitimacy to the conference and Michigan. Watching how the program develops and changes under him will be interesting over the course of the next five plus years.
But in 2015 the question remains; how Michigan will play and how they will change? If they can emerge as a contender, the Big 10 will forever be in Harbaugh’s debt, even Ohio State.
My Take:
Harbaugh is going to bring Michigan back to national prominence, and it all starts this season. I doubt they compete for the National Championship, but they will be a team that competes every week. Big Blue fans rejoice, the savior is here.
1. Ohio State Quarterback Battle
Speak of the devil, the Buckeyes will be ecstatic (sort of) to see the Wolverines on the rise. It gives them, and the conference, more stock when the playoff conversation is broached. But they will gladly blow Michigan out one more time if it means another title run.
Beating Michigan and the rest of the schedule shouldn’t be a huge task for the most talented team in the Big 10, if not the country.
However, the biggest question mark in all of college football looms over the Ohio State quarterback position.
Braxton Miller took his name out of the running a few weeks ago when he announced that he would work on developing as a receiver/H-Back. That left the race to Twelve gauge and J.T. Barrett.
Who will come out on top? Urban Meyer doesn’t even know.
Whoever leads the Buckeyes out of the tunnel in Blacksburg, Va. will be the starter, and I doubt we know who it is until then.
With Barrett, you get a mature quarterback who developed last season.
After the debacle against Virginia Tech to open the season, he rebounded to find, eventually, his name in the Heisman discussion.
Unfortunately for Barrett, he had a season-ending injury occur against Michigan. The team would then turn to Cardale Jones, what he did was equally as incredible as Barrett.
Jones led the Buckeyes to a win (read blowout) against Wisconsin in the Big 10 championship game, a victory over the Crimson Tide, and the National Championship victory over Mariota and the Ducks.
3-0 in the three biggest games of the season, all while playing lights out, is a good way to toss your hat into the ring.
My Take:
Jones and Barrett both have great resumes, but Barrett got them to the Big 10 Championship Game. He was able to dominate the conference after the upset against Va Tech. Jones was incredible for three games, and he will be incredible when it’s his turn. But Barrett, with more experience and an amazing presence in the pocket, is the choice Meyer will ultimately make.
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