10 Burning Summer Camp Questions for 2016 College Football Season
If you’re missing college football, take heart. We’re less than three months away from the beginning of the 2016 regular season, which kicks off on Friday, August 26, when Cal takes on Hawaii in Sydney, Australia, and gets going in earnest for everyone else the following week.
In reality, however, the game has become a year-round sport between recruiting, spring football, league meetings, expansion speculation and Jim Harbaugh subtweeting opposing coaches on his Twitter feed. There’s no break, and there’s always time to speculate about what lies ahead.
That’s what we’re doing here. Here’s a look at 10 of the biggest burning questions that will set fans’ minds ablaze this summer as we prepare for the 2016 season.
Have an opinion? Let us know in the comments!
Can a Group of Five Team Make the College Football Playoff?
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In college football’s current climate, you have a clear case of “haves” and “have nots.” The haves, of course, are the Power Five programs, while the “have nots” are the "Group of Five" leagues like the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West and the Sun Belt. These leagues do not have the same access to the New Year’s Six bowl games as the Power Five programs do, with only one guaranteed spot.
However, they’ve made the most of their opportunities. Two years ago, Boise State defeated Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl, and last fall Houston capped a 13-1 season by beating Florida State in the Peach Bowl. Can a Group of Five program crash the College Football Playoff party? It’s very difficult and requires chaos among the Power Five.
But this fall, we might see if it is possible. Houston returns 12 starters, headlined by dynamic quarterback Greg Ward Jr., but must replace three secondary starters, top receiver Demarcus Ayers and top tailback Kenneth Farrow.
That said, the Cougars have a schedule that could make a splash. They welcome Oklahoma for a high-profile opener and also welcome Louisville to Houston. Go undefeated, win the AAC and hope for all heck breaking loose in more powerful leagues and…we’ll see.
Can a Running Back Win the Heisman Trophy Again?
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The Heisman Trophy is given to college football’s most outstanding player, but in recent years, it’s become more like “college football’s most outstanding quarterback.” Since 2000, only three running backs (and no receivers) have carted the stiff-arm trophy home (Reggie Bush, who later gave back his trophy, in 2005, Mark Ingram in 2009 and Derrick Henry last fall).
Could 2016 build on Henry’s hard-running success as a Heisman running renaissance? Stanford tailback Christian McCaffrey finished as the runner-up to Henry last fall, rushing for 2,019 yards and leading the nation in all-purpose yardage. LSU’s Leonard Fournette is a powerful, nasty runner who rushed for 1,953 yards in just 12 games. Both will be strong Heisman contenders, along with Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson—2015’s third-place finisher.
There’s no guarantee, but 2016 might be the start of a Heisman trend that bends more toward the backfield.
Does Alabama Have Enough to Repeat?
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Under Nick Saban, Alabama has become college football’s premier program. The Crimson Tide has four national titles in Saban’s nine seasons in Tuscaloosa, including the 2015 championship, clinched with a back-and-forth 45-40 win over Clemson.
Tide fans have high standards: Nothing short of a championship is acceptable, and they’ll expect another this fall. In the past 20 years, only two programs have repeated as champions (Southern California in 2003-04 and Alabama in 2011-12; the Trojans split their 2003 title with LSU).
Twelve starters return from 2015, but there are some significant questions. Quarterback Jake Coker graduated, and Blake Barnett, Cooper Bateman and David Cornwell battled in spring to replace him. The offensive line is also an issue. Key starters in center Ryan Kelly and right tackle Dominick Jackson graduated, and recruit Charles Baldwin, a strong candidate to replace Jackson, was dismissed from the program for a violation of team rules.
Then, All-America left tackle Cam Robinson was arrested on drug and felony weapon charges in Louisiana, per USA Today's Dan Wolken, leaving his status for 2016 uncertain. His top backup, Korren Kirven, is a converted defensive lineman with one career start. On the defensive side of the ball, stalwarts like defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson and linebacker Reggie Ragland must be replaced.
Saban’s staff has recruited well, but will all the pieces come together, starting with a tough September that includes games against Southern California and Ole Miss? That remains to be seen.
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How Will Ohio State's Youth Movement Unfold?
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There’s no question Urban Meyer’s return to college coaching has been an unqualified success. The Buckeyes are 50-4 in four seasons under Meyer, including a national championship in 2013. But this season will be all about reloading in Columbus.
Twelve Buckeyes, including nine underclassmen, were taken in the recent NFL draft. Only eight starters return, including junior dual-threat quarterback J.T. Barrett, who’ll be leaned upon heavily as a team leader. A young roster will be full of players who’ll be expected to step into big roles early on. Meyer said in February, per Cleveland.com's Ari Wasserman, that he plans to "play 18 true freshmen" this fall.
"I'm going to force the issue with our position coaches," Meyer said. "Sometimes position coaches, they protect themselves by saying, 'The kid doesn't know what he's doing, so I'm not going to give him those reps.' So I'm not going to allow that this year."
Will signees like defensive ends Nick Bosa and Jonathon Cooper, back Demario McCall and linebacker Keandre Jones be ready to contribute? Ohio State’s hopes of another Big Ten title and College Football Playoff berth could depend on it.
Will the Big 12 Expand?
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The Big 12 has been a mathematical anomaly for going on six years now. From 1996-2010, the league had 12 teams, but the Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas A&M (and additions of TCU and West Virginia) departures turned the league into one that doesn’t live up to its own name.
Since 2011, it has been a 10-team league that has turned to a true round-robin, nine-game league slate that determines its champion. It is the smallest Power Five league and, along with the ACC, it's the only Power Five league without its own television network (although Texas does co-own the Longhorn Network with ESPN). League officials are always looking for ways to keep up with the richer SEC and Big Ten in revenues, and this week they announced that the Big 12 Championship Game will return in 2017.
Will a 12-team league return with it? Good question. All Power Five schools are tied into their current leagues until at least 2024, leaving Group of Five members as the strongest expansion candidates. Programs like BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado State and Memphis have emerged as potential candidates should the league decide to expand, and Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde broke down eight possibilities.
Will Scandals Bleed into the Regular Season?
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Sadly, it wouldn’t be a college football offseason without an off-field scandal consuming plenty of attention and oxygen. This summer, both Baylor and Ole Miss are dealing with situations that have gained the spotlight for unwanted reasons.
Baylor was pulled from gridiron mediocrity by Art Briles, but an exciting offense and on-field success overshadowed ugly attitudes towards women, sexual assault and dating violence. After an independent investigation showed that Baylor and its football staff had failed to react in a proper, timely fashion to reports of sexual assault and dating violence, Briles was suspended with intent to fire, university president Kenneth Starr was removed from his job and athletic director Ian McCaw resigned.
The Bears have a talented roster returning from a 10-3 team, but the scandal has rippled through the program. Seven 2016 signees have reportedly requested releases from their national letters of intent, per ESPN.com's Max Olson, and the 2017 class is down to one committed recruit. Former Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe has been named as acting coach while retaining Briles’ staff, but he faces a Herculean task in stabilizing the program and getting it moving in one direction this fall.
Meanwhile, Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss are dealing with an ongoing NCAA investigation into the program, which took an interesting turn during the first round of the NFL draft when offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil’s Instagram was hacked with incriminating texts of requests for payment of his mother’s power bill by staff members.
The program recently received an NCAA Notice of Allegations, but Ole Miss has requested a delay in meeting with the Committee on Infractions while it investigates the Tunsil texts. Either way, it’s guaranteed to be a subplot for what should be a promising 2016 season in Oxford, Mississippi.
Which First-Year Coach Will Make a Big Splash?
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The 2015 Florida Citrus Bowl was a fitting reward for a pair of powerful programs. A year ago, both Florida and Michigan decided that their current head coaches (Will Muschamp and Brady Hoke) just weren’t getting it done and decided on a new direction. Florida hired Jim McElwain, while Michigan lured Jim Harbaugh back to his alma mater.
Both were smart choices. Florida ended the season on a three-game losing streak but still finished 10-4 with an SEC East title, while Michigan improved from 5-7 to 10-3, with the attention-grabbing Harbaugh building a solid foundation for future success.
This offseason, 28 FBS programs made changes, some by choice and others responding to other programs poaching their coach. Which new coaches are best set up for similar success?
Look at Kirby Smart at Georgia. Nick Saban’s top lieutenant gets a program of his own, and while Georgia fans tired of Mark Richt after 15 seasons, he left significant talent behind, including 13 starters. Quarterback Jacob Eason could be an immediate-impact player, and if tailback Nick Chubb is fully recovered from knee surgery, the Bulldogs could look very different on offense in a very winnable SEC East.
Justin Fuente walks into a nice situation in Blacksburg, with a fast-paced offense that could enliven a program that felt stale in Frank Beamer’s final seasons. And at Memphis, where Fuente won 19 games in the last two seasons, Arizona State offensive coordinator Mike Norvell will keep the hammer down with a similar scheme, although NFL first-round pick Paxton Lynch won’t be around.
In Southern California, Clay Helton already has his players’ trust after leading USC to a Pac-12 South title that earned him the full-time role following Steve Sarkisian’s dismissal. Helton needs to settle on a replacement for graduated starting quarterback Cody Kessler, but he returns 14 starters, including dynamic all-around talent Adoree’ Jackson. The Trojans have a tough schedule (including Alabama and Stanford in September alone) but possess the talent to navigate it successfully.
Which Freshmen Will Make a Major Impact?
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Recruiting is the lifeblood of college football, with the NFL draft plucking away talented players after three seasons (or sooner if they happen to redshirt their freshman season or head to prep school). Coaches are constantly working to build relationships with talented players and build their recruiting classes, knowing that there’s a better-than-average chance they’ll need to plug them in early on.
2016 is no exception, featuring another deep group of signees ready to make a significant impact on their new programs. Will consensus top overall recruit Rashan Gary make a name for himself on Michigan’s defensive line? Can quarterback Jacob Eason beat out Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey to start in Kirby Smart’s first season at Georgia?
Will top offensive tackle Gregory Little step in capably to protect Chad Kelly at Ole Miss? And will Nick Bosa fill his brother Joey’s shoes as a feared Ohio State pass-rusher? Perhaps an off-the-radar recruit will surprise us all and become a highlight-reel fixture. We don’t know yet, which is part of the beauty of college football.
Which League Will Be Left Out of the College Football Playoff?
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With its current four-team field, the College Football Playoff is a high-stakes game of musical chairs. The playoff has been a huge hit in its two years of existence, but nobody wants to be left standing and left out when the music stops.
Unfortunately, with five Power Five leagues, that’s always going to be a reality (well, until the field is expanded to eight or more teams). Two years ago, the Big 12 was left out, and last year, the Pac-12 and champion Stanford fell short. The ACC, Big Ten and SEC have each made both of the first two fields, and all three leagues surely want to keep it that way.
The Big 12’s nine-game round-robin schedule and no league title game could be a factor, and the Pac-12 also doesn’t have a clear Top Five team entering the season, although the Cardinal are certainly a team to be reckoned with given the presence of Heisman Trophy runner-up Christian McCaffrey. But another season with a league getting left out (especially if it happens to be the SEC) will only amplify the calls for an expanded field.
Will the SEC Win Another National Title?
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For much of the recent past, the national title seemed to be an extension of the Southeastern Conference’s power. From 2006-2012, four SEC teams (Alabama, Auburn, Florida and LSU) combined to win seven consecutive BCS National Championships, cementing the league’s status as the nation’s preeminent football power.
Florida State and Ohio State changed the equation by breaking through for national titles in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Last year, Alabama won some respect back for the SEC by claiming its fourth national title in nine seasons under Nick Saban, outlasting Clemson 45-40. Was it a return to form, or just an anomaly? We’ll start seeing that play out this fall.
The Crimson Tide and LSU will be strong SEC West national title contenders, but others like Clemson, Florida State, Michigan and Oklahoma, to name a few, will have something to say about that claim for superiority. It’ll be fun to watch, without question.
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