Everybody saw the effect that Fitz Toussaint had on Michigan's offense when he really stepped up his game about midway through last season. Michigan's offense as a whole had a totally new look and feel to it. Defenses couldn't just focus in on Denard anymore, or Toussaint would burn them. If he can step up his game even more in 2012, this offense will be that much better.Begin Slideshow

As we all know, conference realignment has forever changed the way college football is for both now and in the future.Dollars are what are driving programs to toss geography aside in favor of lucrative television deals.With the merger with the Big 12 conference to form what will be called the Champions bowl starting in 2014, two of the most powerful leagues in college football ensure their stability moving forward.Here are five ripple effects that will ...

The Michigan football program and its fans have high hopes for the 2012 season, as they should—Denard Robinson and the Wolverines look like serious contenders.Which will make the early-season loss to Alabama all the more disappointing.That's right, I'm predicting a loss against the Crimson Tide and we're only in May.The problem for Michigan is that Alabama traditionally has a fast, aggressive defense that can't be stretched horizontally and is stout against any attempts to simply ...

When Terrell Stoglin parted ways with the University of Maryland following a year-long suspension, the majority of Terps fans panicked.Stoglin was the featured piece of the Terps roster in 2011-12. He accounted for quite a hefty portion of Maryland's offense last season, scoring 21.6 points per game en route to an ACC scoring title. SG Sean Mosley graduated last week, and G/F Mychal Parker was suspended (and has transferred) for the same student-athlete code of conduct ...

Despite finishing with a 7-6 record, the Gators weren't too far off from finishing with a 10-win season. Florida lost to Auburn due to special teams miscues and a botched call by the referees, while interceptions and a predictable offense cost the Gators against Georgia and FSU. 2012 is a new year, and with a new offensive coordinator and a top-ranked recruiting class, Gator fans have much to look forward to this season. After enduring two ...

While any SEC schedule can be perceived as a gauntlet after the league's six straight BCS championships, imbalance in schedule difficulty has increased as a result of the additions of Missouri and Texas A&M. Teams will now play just two inter-division games, a major benefit for the SEC East, which has surrendered conference supremacy after dominating the league for much of the '90s.Georgia rode a schedule void of 13-1 LSU, 12-1 Alabama and 11-2 Arkansas last season to the SEC Championship Game. South ...

Brian Kelly's first two seasons at Notre Dame have been a disappointment. The Irish have gone 16-10 and have yet to reach a BCS game, despite high expectations. Entering the 2012 season, Kelly has not yet picked a starting quarterback, and his eventual choice at the position could determine how much longer he has a job in South Bend.Much has been expected of Kelly's first two teams, as he inherited a lot of talent from ...

The last time Jon Luke Jacobs pitched for Auburn against the Florida Gators, he recorded just four outs and left the game with his team trailing 5-0. That won't bother him in his next start against the Gators, which comes today at 5:30 p.m ET in the opening round of the SEC tournament.  Jacobs said this about his dreadful outing: "Trying to redeem myself from the outing on Thursday night," Jacobs said. "I'm just going to try ...

After the Ohio State's football program was hit with a one-year bowl ban, probation and other penalties by the NCAA after the 2012 season, you'd think the Buckeyes would do whatever it took to stay out of the headlines. Unfortunately for new head coach Urban Meyer that hasn't happened.Ohio State has committed 46 secondary violations in 21 sports since last June according to a report in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. The school's football program committed nine of ...

It's always fun to see which college basketball players have breakout years, and for the 2012-13 season, there are several role players who could become top-tier performers.Some ballers rise to greatness because of offseason improvements, and others actualize their potential because they finally get a chance to contribute.Premiere programs like Ohio State, Syracuse, and North Carolina all have returning players who are poised to be stars in their respective conferences. But programs like Xavier, Marquette, ...