Spring football practice is in full swing for some schools across the country with others getting back to the gridiron over the next month. Over the next week, the Orlando Sentinel will take a look at some of the key storylines for the Power 5 conferences like the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC. Today we focus on the Big Ten: So about that whole ‘sky is falling on the Big Ten’ …. The Buzz: After being dogged by critics much of last season for what was perceived as a lack of strength as a conference, Big Ten officials wound up having the last laugh after Ohio State dispatched both Alabama and Oregon to capture the national championship in the inaugural College Football Playoff. As it turned out, it wasn’t just the Buckeyes who were playing some of their best football in the postseason as Michigan State and Wisconsin also scored huge wins over top-ranked foes like Baylor and Auburn. As it turns out, the Big Ten appears on pretty solid footing heading into 2015 especially if programs like Michigan can return to prominence. Ohio State’s three-headed quarterback situation The Buzz: Ohio State heads into spring ball with the target squarely on its back as the Buckeyes appear to be the team to beat in 2015. Not to mention, the Buckeyes will enter camp with three solid players vying for the job as starting quarterback. Cardale Jones led the program to huge wins over Alabama and Oregon in the postseason and deserves as much of a shot at the job as anybody, but he’ll face stiff competition from J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller. Barrett is coming off an ankle injury that kept him off the field in the postseason however his record-setting 2014 season is hard to ignore. And Miller’s decision to remain in Columbus after sitting out last season while recovering from shoulder surgery leaves Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes with an embarrassment of riches at quarterback. A decision may not come until fall leaving the position one of the most talked about in college football this offseason. The Harbaugh Effect The Buzz: He was one of the most sought after acquisitions this offseason, but Jim Harbaugh’s track record of resurrecting football programs speaks for itself. He’ll have a tall order ahead of himself with a Michigan program that failed to reach a bowl game for the first time since 2008 and hasn’t won a Big Ten title outright since 2003…
Continue Reading: Ohio State and Michigan top our Big Ten spring football storylines to watch
