It is never too early for college football. Well, it is usually never too early for college football.
Yes, the basketball tournament has ended and we are heading into spring yearning for some TLC from the MLB, but let’s be real here: we can’t get enough of football, and the leaves will be falling before we know it.
Based on the spring games this past weekend and those coming up, there could be many things to be excited about for the 2012 season. Michigan came up with an impressive offensive line, Boise State is fighting to become a top contender after losing Kellen Moore, and Clemson has the potential to play with a handful of freshmen.
But can the spring games give sufficient evidence that a specific team will be successful in the 2012 season?
Alabama finished off last spring undecided on their starting quarterback and wound up 12-1, while Ohio State was a spring offensive machine that ended 2011 without Jim Tressel, resulting in a lousy 6-7 record.
It does not make much sense that a game in the middle of April finalizes the fate of a football team for the upcoming fall, especially since strategies are fresh and coaching is often new and unexpected. Players have also left for the draft or given up football altogether, and freshmen are scrambling around the field, mainly absorbing the fact that they are finally living their dream.
There is no “it” factor that can come from the spring game, and many tend to say that a new season is like a clean slate. That being said, the slate should not restart until August, when playoff contention actually begins and everyone is under close watch of the NCAA.
But the spring games at least create speculation and curiosity about what will come of next fall, and they introduce us to new faces and undeniable college spirit. They stir online debates and inspire tailgates. If a game goes poorly, at least we have an entire summer to forget about it and have faith that the season will go well.
It’s unpredictable. It’s exciting. It’s cliche. Out with the old, in with the new. You win some, you lose some. Are you ready for some football? We are.
