Spring practice is typically a time to answer questions, not create them. But the NCAA allegations released last month against Ohio State coach Jim Tressel have removed the Buckeyes from the gravity of preseason predictions.
It's difficult to predict what the future holds for Jim Tressel and Ohio State coming out of spring practice.
Really, how can anyone peer into the future and find the Buckeyes? First, the NCAA suspended quarterback Terrelle Pryor and four other players for the first five games of the season. Second, the university announced that Tressel would serve a similar suspension. Finally, the allegations that Tressel misled the NCAA and did not act honestly mean that five games is now the floor for what he will serve.
Ohio State is in limbo. So is the rest of the Big Ten Conference -- Wisconsin and Iowa are both rebuilding; Penn State must mature; Michigan State must prove it can recover from its devastating bowl loss to Alabama.
Limbo is a pretty good word to describe the rest of college football. What I learned from spring practice is that after Oklahoma, Alabama, the Pac-12 North duo of Oregon and Stanford and maybe Boise State, there are no obvious national championship contenders.
And that's OK. Auburn came out of relative nowhere to win the crystal football last year. After a tumultuous (Ohio State, Fiesta Bowl) offseason, the best thing that the 2011 season offers is unpredictability.
Oklahoma has returning players at nearly every position from the team that went 12-2 and won the Big 12 championship. The Sooners are unproven at running back and in the secondary. But the spring showed that they have talent waiting to step into the lineup -- at tailback, January enrollee Brandon Williams looked as promising as heralded -- and they have a favorable schedule. The second game of the season, at what will be a highly ranked Florida State, comes early enough (Sept. 17) that the loser of the game will remain in the national championship race.
Alabama had the most players selected in the first round of last week's NFL draft (four) and lost quarterback Greg McElroy, a seventh-round pick of the New York Jets. But the Crimson Tide have capable replacements and the motivation of a cause. Head coach Nick Saban is best known for keeping his team focused. The devastation wreaked by last week's tornadoes will throw a wild card of emotion into Saban's preparation.
The tilt of the inaugural Pac-12 season will be to the north. Oregon and Stanford finished last season in the top five and are likely to pick up where they left off. A resurgent Washington looks as though it will continue to improve. In the South, there are more questions than answers. Will USC win its NCAA appeal? Will Utah survive the schedule upgrade? Will Arizona rebound from its late-season collapse?
Florida State may return to the national championship picture, which is more than anyone else in the ACC can say at this point. But redshirt junior EJ Manuel started six games in place of an injured Christian Ponder the past two seasons. Manuel is expected to make a smooth transition into the Seminoles' offense.
Any team that emerges from the Big East into the BCS discussion will be a dark horse. Boise State moves into the Mountain West Conference as a favorite over two-time defending champion TCU, both because of the Horned Frogs' youth and because the MWC made sure the two teams would play in Boise. TCU, which is leaving for the Big East next year, got no schedule breaks. With senior Kellen Moore at quarterback, the Broncos will be in the national hunt.