Biggest Questions Facing Your Football Team?

Tim Griffin wrote an article trying to address the needs for each conference team coming out of spring practice. It surprised me how many teams have questions on their OL. Here is my take on the biggest questions facing each program coming out of the spring:

Baylor: The big question for the Bears is who will replace departed 1st round draft pick Jason Smith. Defenses are going to gameplan to stop Robert Griffin and the BU OL is going to have to hold up to keep their star healthy.

CU: Can anyone tell you who is going to start at QB for the Buffs? CU was unable to move the ball last year and needs a triggerman to make Dan Hawkins offense work. If the Buffs do not win 8-9 games this year Hawkins could find himself out of a job. Darell Scott being healthy for the season and providing a running game would help.

ISU: The Cyclones need help all over the field. They could use improved play at every position. While it is pointless to focus on one position, I think improved play from their DL would provide the biggest lift for a team that really struggled on defense last year. Christopher Lyle gives them an anchor, but he cannot do it all by himself.

KU: The Jayhawks lost stud LB James Holt to graduation. You cannot just plug someone in and expect them to replace a playmaker like Holt. KU returns the top passcatching duo in the nation in Meier and Briscoe. They will need to replace their entire starting LB corps and improve on defense because the opposition is going to try to play keep away in order to keep the potent KU offense on the sideline.

KSU: Who is going to play QB for the Wildcats? I do not really care. I watched Bill Snyder win with a 40 percent passer in Jonathan Beasely at QB. The biggest question I have is how long will it take Snyder to bring his defense and special teams up to par so it will not matter who is under center? No one can answer that question until the juco transfers arrive on the field in August and Snyder can see what he has. In 2010 I expect to see the kind of defense, special teams, and big play ability at WR that were the signature of Snyder's KSU teams.

Mizzou: Jeremy Machlin will be tough to replace as will fellow first round pick Ziggy Hood. However, the triggerman to the Mizzou offensive machine, Chase Daniel, will be the toughest peice of the puzzle to find a replacement for. Daniel almost single handedly transformed the Mizzou program from a 7-5 bowl team to a 10-win national contender. His loss to the program cannot be overstated.

Nebraska: As NU returns to a more traditional ground based attack, the question is who is going to run the ball for the Big Red? Marlon Lucky was a nice RB but IMO the Huskers have not had a gamebreaker at RB since Deangelo Evans was kicked off the team. NU needs an elite RB before it can return to its status as an elite program.

OU: Really not a lot of holes on this team. Whipe the dumbfounded look of your face and consider the fact that an O-line that features Trent Williams, Jarvis Jones, and Stephen Good and faces the OU DL in practice every day will be just fine. The biggest question to me is who is going to step up at WR opposite Ryant Broyles? Maybe Adron Tennell will finally fulfill his immense potential and become a go-to guy.

OSU: With the loss of Brandon Pettigrew to the draft, the Cowboys lost one of the three playmakers they had on offense last year. While OSU fans can talk till they are blue in the face about balance and rushing for 2000 yards and passing for 2000 yards, the fact of the matter last year was that they ran the ball with Kendall Hunter, and passed it to either Dez Bryant or Brandon Pettigrew and that was their offense. I give the OSU coaches credit for managing to put up such lofty stats with basically three players on offense, but I am curious as to what is going to keep teams form double and triple covering Bryant this season on obvious passing downs.

tu: The sips took a big hit on the DL with Brian Orakpo and Roy Miller exahusting their eligibility. The biggest question to me, is who is going to replace the clutch plays that Quan Cosby made last year. The guy caught a TD pass against OU while laying flat on his back in the endzone. Malcolm WIlliams is a hell of an athlete, but I have never seen him do that (or anyone else for that matter). Boom MFer Muschamp will find a DL that will play to his standard. I just have a hard time seeing tu replace those 3-4 gamechanging plays that Cosby made last season.

A&M: For the love of all that is holy, do you think we can find a LT somewhere? The Aggie OL was horrendous last year, and we could see much of the same this year if we do not find someone to play LT. If we find a LT, all of a sudden the interior looks pretty solid with Michael Shumard at his natural LG position, Kevin Matthews at center, and Evan Eike at RG. If no one steps up at LT, it is muscial chairs time on the OL once again. Patrick Lewis and transfer Matt Allen can play center or guard for us. We need to find someone to allow Jerrod Johnson to set up in the pocket.

Tech: When Michael Crabtree got injured and missed parts of games last fall, the Tech offense looked human. When Crabtree was on the field (he was never completely healthy last season) the offense was a point scoring machine. The bad news for Tech fans is that Crabtree is gone to the NFL and it is not likely they will find another WR like him in this decade. Tech will still put up 500 yards passing on bad teams, but they will be nowhere near the threat they were on offense against good teams.