The fortunes of a college football team rise and fall throughout each season due to a long list of variables. Injuries and suspensions to the players on the team you root for have the most tangible effect on a won-loss record to be sure, but we fans also have to be aware of what's happening to the rosters of our opponents too. For example you definitely wanted to play Oklahoma last year after star WR Ryan Broyles went down with an ACL injury. In this off-season we have already witnessed a host of stars and solid contributors get caught up in situations requiring suspensions while other key players have gone down with injury. Unlike the NFL a college football roster is typically stagnant heading into August camps and coaches need to look at players off the two-deep to fill an unexpected need.
This summer, however, a new and somewhat unique development occurred which has allowed some programs to address areas of need with new talent. Texas coach Mack Brown is unhappy with his kicking unit? Come on down to Austin, Anthony Fera, who was, until recently, the kicker and punter for Penn State. Injuries and transfers weakened the RB depth at USC and so they plucked Silas Redd from PSU. The Sooners are still struggling with WR depth, due to suspensions and injuries, and so Justin Brown was brought in from Penn State. While everyone is debating the merits of the case against Penn State a few major programs are taking advantage of the situation to improve areas of weakness. And so some Nittany Lions will be playing next January after all.
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