Coming off a 12-1 season and the departure of a couple of key players, an 8-5 record in 2012 was about what most expected from Oklahoma State. The Cowboys finished with five victories in Big 12 play, with three of their four losses coming by a touchdown or less.

Fans in Fayetteville (and some uninformed SEC media members) had no idea how important Bobby Petrino was to the Arkansas program. After a heart-breaking offseason, the Razorbacks did little during the fall to prove they could survive without their fired head coach. The offense plummeted to 89th nationally in scoring and 49th in total yards following Petrino's ouster.

Even though Oklahoma finished 10-3 and made an appearance in the Cotton Bowl last year, coach Bob Stoops wasn’t satisfied. As a result, the Sooners had a shakeup on the coaching staff, with three new faces coming aboard for 2013.

This offseason marked the first time since the 1980s that Wisconsin had to go through a true coaching search. Athletic Director Barry Alvarez took his time and settled on a respected football mind in Gary Andersen. The former Utah State coach has stated he won't change the schemes too much in Madison, but this spring will be important as he looks to put his stamp on the program.

Tennessee enters spring practice with its fourth different head coach since the 2008 season. Needless to say, it's impossible to compete for championships in Conference USA without stability on the sidelines much less the SEC. Erasing the Derek Dooley era from Volunteers' fans memories is now the job tasked to Butch Jones.

Coming off an 11-2 season with a victory over LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, optimism is running high at Clemson. The Tigers are the early favorite to win the ACC in 2013 and will likely be a top-10 team in most preseason polls.

With no clear favorite entering spring practice, the Big 12 should be college football’s most intriguing conference to watch when preseason picks are released for 2013.

Another year brings more changes for the Big East. And if you are having trouble keeping up with the changes, you certainly aren’t alone. West Virginia departed for the Big 12 before the 2012 season, while Pittsburgh and Syracuse are joining the ACC in time for 2013. Louisville and Rutgers will have new homes in 2014, as the Cardinals are joining the ACC, while the Scarlet Knights are joining the Big Ten.

USC was billed as a national title contender last season but finished with a disappointing 7-6 mark and ended the year with a three-game losing streak. The Trojans are still under NCAA sanctions, so coach Lane Kiffin doesn’t have a full complement of players.

After three consecutive 7-6 seasons, the pressure is starting to build on Washington coach Steve Sarkisian. The Huskies were expected to take the next step into top 25 contention last season, but they opened 3-4 with a difficult schedule and lost their final two games.