On Wednesday Crystal Ball Run revealed the first half of its top story lines entering the 2012 college football season. Included was chatter about Heisman favorites, a ‘Bama repeat, and the future of the blue-turf-dwelling-team that America loves to hate, the Boise State Broncos.
Well, we’re back with Part II today, and back with even bigger and better story lines. Included are the coaches who reside on the hottest of hot seats, some new faces in new places, not to mention the return of a King. And no, we’re not talking about Elvis.
Now, let’s get to the top story lines!
5. Southern Comfort For Missouri and Texas A&M: If you’re a regular reader of my work, you know that well, I wasn’t a huge fan of the move of Texas A&M (and to a smaller degree Missouri) to the SEC. Not that the folks of College Station care what I think (crazy, but true!), but this was just something that never made sense to me. Sure the money may be good, and yes, I get that you’re mad at Texas over that whole Longhorn Network thing (trust me, I sympathize). But is it really worth heading South and East and getting beat down by Alabama and LSU annually?
Well, I guess we’re about to find out.
That’s because on the second weekend of September, Missouri and Texas A&M will be welcomed to their new home in the Southeastern Conference. Forget those high-powered spread attacks that they’ve seen these last few years in the Big XII; those days are long over. Instead the Aggies and Tigers will get some Southern-fried, defensive-oriented, smash-mouth football, the likes of which they simply have never seen. On September 8, Texas A&M hosts Florida and Missouri welcomes Georgia, and well, things will never be the same. Seasons will be filled with trips to Baton Rouge, Knoxville and Athens, instead of Waco, Austin and Ames.
How will they handle the move? Only time will tell.
But the entire college football world is eager to find out.
4. The Return of King Urban Meyer To The College Football Sidelines: Ohio State may not be bowl eligible in 2012, but it is of little relevance to the folks of Columbus. That’s because every Saturday this fall is going to feel like January 1 in Pasadena for the Buckeyes (you know, minus the 80 degree weather) as they welcome a new coach to town. That coach? Urban Meyer, and we’re guessing you’ve probably heard of him. And whether the rest of the Big Ten is ready or not, he’s comin’…to your cit-ay. And he isn’t coming for second place.
The new Ohio State coach has only been on the job for a few short months now, but already he’s made waves both in Columbus and beyond. He’s already put a solid staff and hasn’t wasted any time crushing it on the recruiting trail, with three verbal commitments from some of the top players in the Midwest. Plus, it’s not like Meyer is inheriting an entirely broken program; Ohio State won 12 games as recently as two seasons ago, and even despite a 6-6 2011 campaign plenty of talent returns next year.
Ohio State might not be bowl eligible in 2012, but in all honesty, it’s of little relevance to Meyer and his staff.
King Urban is in Columbus for the long-haul. And college football is better because of it.
3. The Hot Seats of Derek Dooley (And to a Much Smaller Degree, Will Muschamp): No good college football preview would be worth its weight without some good old-fashioned hot-seat chatter. And fair or not, nobody’s seat is hotter entering 2012 than Mr. Derek Dooley’s, the head coach at the University of Tennessee.
Now in all honesty, at least one writer (this handsome one right here), doesn’t think the hot-seat chatter is fair, or honestly should even be considered. Dooley inherited a fractured and broken program in the winter of 2009, and played the last two seasons with rosters so young they practically provided them warm milk on the sidelines instead of Gatorade. Not to mention that during this past season the Volunteers lost starting quarterback Tyler Bray to injury for a big chunk of the year, and their top playmaker Justin Hunter from the middle of September on.
Of course in the SEC excuses go over about as well as 400-yard passing games, and Dooley is quickly running out of them. He did no one any favors this off-season with a handful of questionable moves, most notably the DeAnthony Arnett scholarship saga. It also doesn’t help that defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox took off to Washington just as the Vols were developing into one of the bright young units in the league. Now the defense will be starting over, with a new, yet-to-be-named defensive coordinator (paging Sal Sunseri!).
Which means it all falls back on Dooley. Whether the hot seat chatter is fair or not means little at this point. Because after a 6-7 year one, and missing a bowl entirely in year two, year three needs to produce more wins than losses.
If not, Tennessee very well could be looking for their fourth coach in six years come next December.
(Also, if we’re talking hot seats, we’d be remiss if we didn’t at least mention Will Muschamp at Florida.
Yes he’s only coming off one year in the Swamp, but given the impossible expectations Meyer set in Gainesville, and given the way his team flat-lined down the stretch, there are many Florida fans wondering if Muschamp is the answer long-term. As my buddy Marc Ryan (a radio host in Florida) told me: “Muschamp inherited more talent and won less games in Year One than Ron Zook did. If that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know, nothing will.” Well, then.
Anyway, it’s hard to say definitively what to expect from the Gators next year. They should be again be one of the better defenses in college football, but on the offensive end, it could be more struggles. Charlie Weis is gone to Kansas, and new coordinator Brent Pease doesn’t exactly inherit a ton of talent. Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey are gone, and two young quarterbacks- Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel- will battle it out under center.
Of course if improvement from 6-6 isn’t found, the onus won’t fall on Brissett or Driskel or even Pease. Nope, it’ll fall on Muschamp.
We’re not saying he’s on the hot-seat… yet. But to firmly stay off it, improvement is needed.)
2. The Rise of the USC Trojans: Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade or so, you’re probably pretty aware that the SEC has been playing pretty good football of late. They’ve got six straight BCS National Championships and counting, and will enter the season with more than enough competent teams to make it seven (more on that coming). But if there is one team that could end that streak, it should be the USC Trojans.
Say what you want about Lane Kiffin (and really, it has all been said), but his coaching job in 2011 was one of the underrated performances of anyone, anywhere in the sport. To take a team that had nothing to play for but pride, and turn them into a 10-win outfit really does speak to excellent coaching by he and his staff. And finally off of sanctions in 2012, USC should be back to competing for a National Championship.
The reason? USC returns as much front-line talent as anyone. The sanctions sapped the Trojans depth, but their top 22 should make them a Pac-12 favorite and BCS title contender.
The star of the show is obviously quarterback Matt Barkley, who had a record-setting 2011 campaign with 39 touchdown passes which broke both the USC and Pac-12 records in that category. Of course it helps when you’ve got the best pair of wide receivers in college football (Robert Woods and Marquise Lee), and a 1,000-yard rusher in Curtis McNeal. The defense on the other hand won’t be deep, but does return almost everyone, and gave up 17 or less points in three of their final four games (the one they didn’t was against Oregon who- as we know- can score points in bunches).
Yep, the expectations are back at USC, not only to be good, but to be nationally elite. Can they finally end this SEC’s run of greatness?
It won’t be easy, especially since…
1. LSU Enters 2012 Better On Paper Than They Were In 2011: Which is a scary thing for the rest of college football.
Crystal Ball Run already documented this prior to the BCS title game, but it really is worth repeating: If you’d asked Les Miles before this past season, he’d tell you that his Tigers were built for 2012, not 2011. Here are just a handful of names who are expected to return, including many who have to return because they’re not even draft eligible: Tyrann Mathieu, Michael Ford, Spencer Ware, Kenny Hilliard, Tharold Simon, Alfred Blue, Barkevious Mingo, Michael Brockers, Sam Montgomery and Odell Beckham, not to mention the best pair of specialists in the sport: Brad Wing and Drew Alleman. All were keys to the Tigers 13-1 season in 2011. Also, it should help that the schedule will be much more manageable, with the Tigers hosting Alabama next year (instead of playing them in Tuscaloosa), with no game against Oregon or West Virginia in the out of conference season (they will play an improved Washington team however).
Of course most everything now revolves around the quarterback position. As bad as Jordan Jefferson was in the title game, he did play well for most of the 2011 season, but along with Jarrett Lee he’s packing his backs and heading for the pros (in this case, likely the CFL). Now the onus will fall on junior transfer Zach Mettenberger. The former Georgia Bulldog doesn’t have to be great at LSU, but just good enough not to lose them any games. And in the SEC, we know that is easier said than done.
Still, the Tigers are the favorites entering 2012. And they very well could give the SEC another 365 days of bragging rights.
How many days until kickoff again?
For all his opinion, insight and articles on college football and beyond, please follow Aaron Torres on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.
