Every single college football team will deal with question marks heading in to this offseason and while there is plenty of time to figure things out ahead of next season the reality is that there are some teams with question marks that might very well be too big to solve. The areas of concern could vary from team to team but most of them are focused on quarterback issues. It’s the biggest college football news of the moment, so let’s take a look at the four biggest programs that have the biggest question marks heading into this offseason.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Biggest Question: Replenishing The Roster
The Buckeyes will have their hand forced at the quarterback position where there is no longer any doubt that J.T. Barrett will be the starter but considering the way they bumbled their quarterback situation last season there has to be some concern about the question marks they face looking forward to next year. Ohio State lost nine juniors and redshirt sophomores to the NFL Draft including star running back Ezekiel Elliott and potential first-overall pick defensive end Joey Bosa while three-fourths of their secondary will also move on. That group is on top of the eight senior starters that helped win 50 games over the last four seasons so clearly the Buckeyes will face major question marks about the turnover. Urban Meyer has done a terrific job recruiting over the years and it’s impossible to write Ohio State off this early, but they lost a ton of talent this offseason and there is no doubt they face some major question marks as they look to maintain their dominance as Big Ten and National Championship contenders looking forward to next season.
Michigan State Spartans
Biggest Question: 14 Starters Moved On
One of the biggest college football news headlines starting the offseason surrounds Sparty and their quarterback. The defending Big Ten champion Spartans will have their share of question marks to address, beginning with replacing 14 starters from last year’s teams. Quarterback Connor Cook is gone following three years as a starter and Michigan State will also lose starting left tackle Jack Conklin along with its top two wide receivers and three-fifths of the offensive line starters. Contending for a Big Ten title isn’t about to get any easier for the Spartans this year and there is no doubt they will face an uphill climb trying to repeat as conference champions with a number of major issues to address this offseason.
Oregon Ducks
Biggest Question: Who’s The Next Signal-Caller?
Oregon learned how difficult it is to replace a Heisman trophy-winning quarterback when they lost Marcus Mariota to the NFL last season and while Vernon Adams Jr. played at a high enough level when healthy, he will not be on the roster this year and that means another new starting quarterback in Montana State’s Dakota Prukop. The addition of Prukop is a signal the Ducks aren’t comfortable with Jeff Lockie or the other passers they had developed over the years and while the quarterback situation is the biggest concern right now it isn’t the only one as Oregon still needs to address some issues on the defensive side of the football including the loss of star defensive end DeForest Buckner and several linebackers. The Ducks took a step in the right direction by hiring Brady Hoke as defensive coordinator and while that gives them a measure of instant credibility they still have some major question marks to address if they are going to contend in the Pac-12 next season.
Texas A&M Aggies
Biggest Question: Who’s The Quarterback?
There aren’t many teams notable programs that have lost three starting quarterbacks in the past year but that is what happened to the Aggies. Five-star signees Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray both transferred, moving to Houston and Oklahoma respectively and leaving head coach Kevin Sumlin with Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight battling Jake Hubenak for the starting quarterback job. It won’t help that Texas A&M will have a new offensive coordinator as well after replacing Jake Spavital and former UCLA coordinator Noel Mazzone so there are clearly some big question marks for the Aggies to deal with this offseason.
