Coming off a seven-win season and a top-five recruiting class, Ole Miss heads into spring practice with momentum on its side. The Rebels return 15 starters, including quarterback Bo Wallace, linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche and receiver Donte Moncrief.

With spring practice underway across college football, most of interest will focus on quarterback battles or incoming freshmen that enrolled early to get a jumpstart on making an impact for 2013.

Year One After Paterno was a tough one to handle off of the field, but was a pleasant surprise on it. Bill O'Brien took over in the face of the worst NCAA scandal in history and Penn State was rewarded with an offense that was more creative and innovative than anything Happy Valley had seen since (at least) Michael Robinson's Orange Bowl run in 2005.

It didn't take Brady Hoke long to get Michigan back into contention for conference titles and BCS bowls. He also ended the long losing streak against Ohio State. Yet, the Big Ten championship and trip to the Rose Bowl has eluded this coaching staff as it enters its third season in Ann Arbor.

James Franklin has taken Vanderbilt where few thought it was possible for the program to go — to the middle of the pack in the SEC.

Reloading or rebuilding? That's the big question in Baton Rouge this spring. With a 34-6 record from 2010-12, LSU has been one of college football’s top programs in recent years. However, the Tigers will be hard pressed to win 10 or more games in 2013, as the team returns only 10 starters from last season.

Missouri's first trip through the vaunted SEC left Tigers fans disappointed for the first time in years. Gary Pinkel built this program into a Big 12 powerhouse and it appears he will have to start over again in the most powerful league in the nation. The good news is this team returns a lot of offensive talent and the entire program should be better prepared to battle against SEC defenses.

Florida lived on the edge like few teams last season. No matter the opponent -- from Bowling Green and Louisiana-Lafayette to Texas A&M and LSU, the Gators made Saturdays interesting. In Will Muschamp’s third season, the coach will take the record (11-2) but maybe not the stress of games that shouldn’t be as close as they were.

The 2012 season was the most nondescript and least heralded in some time at Boise State. And yet, Chris Petersen's bunch won at least 10 games for the seventh straight season and twelfth time in 15 campaigns. Despite losing seven All-Mountain West performers from the starting lineup, expectations will be higher in Boise, Idaho, in 2013 than they were a year ago.

After a 5-0 start last season, West Virginia was poised to be a contender for the Big 12 title, while quarterback Geno Smith was an early Heisman favorite.