With August finally here, the smell of the turf is beginning to permeate through college campuses around the nation as college football is set to return. There have been several noteworthy stories lately that seem to be buzzing through the college football community and here are just a few of what we felt were some of the most important of these developments.
USC-
The Trojans are one of the most fired up teams entering the 2012 season due to the fact that they are entering their first year free from NCAA sanctions that have kept them out of bowl games the past 2 seasons. They are returning quite possibly the best quarterback and the best duo of receivers in the entire country and just recently learned that they added a new piece to their already talented puzzle. This piece is former Penn State University running back Silas Redd who gained over 1,200 rushing yards last season and along with the Trojans Curtis McNeal will give USC a duo of 1,000+ yard rushers and receivers; to go along with a Heisman front running quarterback. With USC already the Pre-Season #1 in most polls this contribution will only reinforce how phenomenal this team could potentially be, now the only question is can they live up to it.
Penn State-
After months of speculation the sanctions against Penn State University have become official. These sanctions include a 60 million dollar fine that will go towards a program intended to combat child molestation. As well, they have a 4-year bowl ban and were forced to vacate all wins between 1998 and the current day. Finally, Penn State essentially has to cut the amount of available scholarships in half, from 20 to 10, over the next 4 years. With their star running back, Silas Redd, abandoning ship along with other important players the Nittany Lions could be permanently removed from any semblance of a “golden era” and are now a program that will be forever clouded in controversy.
LSU/Alabama-
Last years two best teams once again hold the top spots in the Coaches poll, with LSU owning a slight lead. The USC Trojans are right on their heels however as they have more first place votes but less overall points than the following two teams. If both of these teams can maintain these national ranking positions until playing one another we could likely see another all-SEC BCS National Championship Game.
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