Storylines to Follow for 2014 College Football Season
The BCS playoff era is in full swing.
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NCAA Football Set to Kick Off First Saturday Games of 2014 Season - Ahh…Week 1 of the 2014 NCAA football season is upon us! Having already kicked off quietly Wednesday with a full slate of games on Thursday and Friday, the season’s first Saturday brings quality match ups like No. 14 Wisconsin visiting 13th-ranked LSU and No. 6 Auburn up against Arkansas. Defending national champion Florida State with 2013 Heisman winner Jameis Winston will also lead the No. 1 Seminoles into Arlington, Texas, to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys. A new playoff system in place and a Seminoles team hungry to repeat as champs are just a couple of the many storylines shaping up for this season. BET.com decided to pen a few more sticking points to keep an eye out for in this Storylines to Follow for the 2014 College Football Season. Two hands up…Touchdown! (Photo: ADT Handout/Getty Images)
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Can FSU Repeat as Champions? - Florida State, with Heisman winner Jameis Winston, almost made it look easy last season, skating to a 13-0 regular season record before edging Auburn 34-31 in the BCS National Championship game to cap their undefeated 2013 season. What will Winston and the Seminoles have in store for his sophomore campaign? Can they repeat as champs or will an Alabama, Oregon, Oklahoma, Auburn or Ohio State have something to say about that? We will find out over the next few months. (Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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Can First-Year USC Coach Restore Program to Dominance? - USC was good enough to win a Bowl game last year, defeating Fresno State in the Las Vegas Bowl championship. Can first-year coach Steve Sarkisian lead the Trojans back to the biggest Bowl game of them all — the BCS national championship? Not only would that fully restore the program to dominance, but it’d also make Sarkisian a legend in Southern California. Sarkisian is already being tested via allegations against him and having to deal with strange situations.(Photo: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
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How Good Can Auburn Be? - Auburn lost running back and Heisman finalist Tre Mason and offensive tackle Greg Robinson, who was tabbed by the St. Louis Rams as the second overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Still, the Tigers return their core including senior quarterback Nick Marshall, who took some serious strides at the end of last season. It will be interesting to see if the Tigers can take a bite out of the national championship and once again pose the most serious threat to Florida State’s throne. (Photo: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
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Heisman Watch - Las Vegas odds makers are giving Jameis Winston 9/2 odds to win the 2014 Heisman Trophy and how can you blame them? All the dynamic quarterback did in his freshman season was lead the Florida State Seminoles to an undefeated record and BCS national championship win, while airing it out for 4,057 yards and 40 touchdowns. O-M-G. With numbers like those and good squad back, it's hard to imagine anything remotely close to a sophomore slump for Winston. While he's the favorite, it will be interesting to see if a healthy Marcus Mariota out of Oregon, UCLA's Brett Hundley or Baylor QB Bryce Petty can make a Heisman run of their own.(Photo: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
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How Will Charlie Strong Fare at Texas? - Mack Brown wasn’t just a head coach of the Texas Longhorns for 16 years. He was a Texas institution. Filling those kind of shoes for Charlie Strong won’t be easy, but the new Texas coach seems up to the task. Strong is well traveled, having had coaching roles for gridiron programs like Ole Miss, Notre Dame, South Carolina and Florida before serving as the head coach of Louisville from 2010-13. Everything is bigger in Texas and few college football coaching opportunities are bigger than this. (Photo: Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)
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Baylor QB Bryce Petty's Ceiling - Baylor’s senior quarterback Bryce Petty gave the Bears a taste of how great he can be last season, passing for 4,200 yards and 32 touchdowns and rushing for another 14 scores. Imagine what he has in store for his senior campaign. As he goes, the Bears will go. (Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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New Playoff System - The 2014 NCAA football season comes equipped with a brand new playoff format, in which a 13-member selection committee will pick four teams to participate in semifinals for the national championship and other bowl games. The injection of this new system definitely carries its fair share of implications. We wonder how it will impact the polling system. The BCS polls always stir up controversy…will the new playoff system do the same? And will it impact games late in the season like the polls did?(Photo: NCAA)
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Oregon QB Marcus Mariota Coming Back After Injury - Marcus Mariota was getting busy last season before suffering an MCL sprain and having to wear a brace. A year removed and in full health, the 6-foot-4 junior out from Honolulu looks to put together a 2014 campaign that will make him the top quarterback chosen in the 2015 NFL Draft. Opposing defenses — good luck in keeping this Duck in line. (Photo: Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
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Can Ohio State Rebound? - The Ohio State Buckeyes were dealt a huge blow on August 18, when starting quarterback Braxton Miller tore the labrum in his shoulder during a team practice, ending his 2014 season. Redshirt freshman J.T. Barnett may take over the starting QB role as the Buckeyes hope to still make this season a special one. (Photo: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)