This was a very pleasant surprise:

What if fighting through the regular season and earning a win in the Big Ten championship game meant ... hosting Alabama at the Horseshoe in December? Or bringing Oklahoma to the Big House after Christmas? Or making Les Miles and LSU drop into Madison, Wis., with the snowflakes?

That's the idea the Big Ten is pondering, according to the Chicago Tribune, with one of the greatest roadblocks to an expanded college football playoff now thinking of ways to turn the postseason toward the Big Ten's favor.

The specifics of one percolating Big Ten plan, according to the Tribune, are intriguing: the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the final BCS standings hosting semifinal games on their home campuses. But the general theme -- the Big Ten is open to a playoff -- is the greater consideration.

Like most other fans of college football, I've been agitating for a playoff system for years, and unfortunately the Big Ten has been one of the roadblocks to reforming the idiotic BCS system.

The best part of the proposal from my perspective is the home stadium proposal. I prefer an eight-team playoff, where we would have a home stadium advantage for the top four teams, with the semis being played in two of the bowls.

But this proposal is also a giant leap forward, and it doesn't disrupt the bowls at all.

With the home stadium proposal, we would eliminate the massive advantage built into the current bowl and BCS system for the SEC and other southern teams like USC and Miami. Sure, the SEC is the best conference, but they can build their teams strictly for warm weather. Now there would at least be the possibility that a speed team from the south would have to prove they could beat and Ohio State or Wisconsin on the road.

The top two teams would have a huge advantage with home games, but that's the point.

Here's another quote:

"We have to listen to the fans; we cannot be tone-deaf," Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips, the chair of the Big Ten's Administrators Council, told the Tribune. "The Big Ten is open and curious."

For the first time, I'm actually optimistic that college football is going to fix the BCS and create a playoff. The BCS was a huge improvement over the old system, as we got some epic matchups like Ohio State/Miami and USC/Texas for the National Championship. But there were too many years where the system fell short.

If we can go to four games, then moving to eight games in the future won't be too difficult.

Urban Meyer made quite a splash with a monster recruiting class at Ohio State, but some of his fellow coaches in the Big Ten weren't too happy that he came in and "flipped" players. The whining from Bret Bielema and Mark Dantonio seemed a bit much according to David Whitley, who pointed out that recruits had every right to change their minds after a coach of Meyer's caliber joined Ohio State.

But Whitley makes a larger point - that the Big Ten has much more honorable recruiting practices than the SEC. Yes, the SEC is currently winning all the titles, but Whitley points out some pretty pathetic actions by Les Miles and Nick Saban. The oversigning has gotten out of control.

Hopefully the push by the Big Ten towards 4-year scholarships will put even more pressure on the SEC to clean up its act.

Sporting News draft analyst Russ Lande writes that Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore is in danger of being undrafted following a poor week in Mobile for the Senior Bowl.

Coming to Mobile, Moore needed to really step up, but things could not have gone much worse for him. Not only did he measure under 6 feet, but he showed below-average arm strength and lacked accuracy on passes longer than 10 yards. He did not show the arm strength to make all the NFL throws with good velocity and had a long delivery and release, which made it easier for defenders to break, close and make plays on his passes. Moore will have to be amazing at the Combine and his pro day if he hopes to get drafted.

This isn’t all that surprising of a report. Moore isn’t the type of quarterback who will force defenses to cover the entire field because his arm strength is limited. His lack of size also becomes a problem when a defense is able to create pressure from the interior and push the pocket into his face. He simply has a lack of physical skills that cannot be overcome, even by a great combine or Pro Day performance.

But that doesn’t mean that Moore won’t prove to be a quality backup or provide depth at the next level. He’s very accurate with the football, has good pocket awareness and he’s able to decipher information quickly. Thus, he shouldn’t be discouraged if he isn’t drafted because he does have a future in the NFL if he gets in the right system.

Lose out on one prominent college football head coach? No problem, just hire another.

Just days after Chip Kelly spurned them by deciding to stay at the University of Oregon, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have hired Rutgers’ Greg Schiano to be their next head coach. He takes over for Raheem Morris, who was fired after a disastrous 2011 season in which the Bucs lost their final 10 games while stumbling to a 4-12 record.

The three finalists to take over as coach of the Bucs were apparently Panthers’ offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski, fired Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman, and Schiano. Just 45 years old, Schiano gained the respect of his peers and media members after impressively transforming Rutgers into a Big East power. Since 2001, the Scarlet Knights have gone to six bowl games, winning their last five. Schiano led them to a win in their most recent bowl game, a 27-13 victory over Iowa State in the 2011 Pinstripe Bowl.

What’s interesting is that Kelly and Schiano couldn’t be more different in terms of offensive philosophies. Oregon has had one of the most dynamic offenses in college football under Kelly, who runs a zone-read scheme that is unlike any system currently in the NFL. Schiano, meanwhile, has always run a “smashmouth,” run-first offense that uses a heavy dose of running back committees.

The contrast in styles makes you wonder whether or not the Bucs knew what they wanted in their next head coach. Did the Glazers just want to make a splash hire following their Morris tenure? Were they focused on a disciplinarian? Did they want to use the same blueprint as the 49ers, who obviously just had a ton of success following the hiring of former Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh last year?

Schiano is a great football coach and appears to be less of a gamble than Kelly, whose offense may not have survived in the pros. But it’s odd that in the end, the Bucs’ top two choices had such contrasting styles (at least offensively).

You draftniks ready for another year of speculation, frenzy and intrigue leading up to this year’s NFL draft? Here are five players to keep an eye on this Saturday the 2012 Senior Bowl kicks off from Mobile, Alabama.

Nick Foles, QB, Arizona
The consensus ranks Stanford’s Andrew Luck and Baylor’s Robert Griffin III as the top two quarterbacks in this year’s draft, but who will be the third signal caller to come off the board? Some like Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill but keep an eye on how Foles plays this weekend. He’s a big kid at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds and made strides as a senior this past year despite playing behind two freshman tackles. Arm strength definitely won’t be a problem but his accuracy and decision-making has often been questioned throughout his collegiate career. Once Luck and Griffin come off the board in the top 10 picks, Foles could be selected anywhere between the first and third rounds. Thus, this is one player that could definitely improve his draft stock with a strong showing in Mobile.

Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina
Top-rated defensive tackle Devon Still of Penn State will miss the Senior Bowl with a sprained big toe, so here’s Ingram’s chance to steal the spotlight. This isn’t regarded as a very strong draft for pass rushers but Ingram is a raw talent that can get to the quarterback in a variety of ways. He’s a three-technique defensive lineman who proved he could consistently beat blockers on the inside while at South Carolina. That said, 4-3 and 3-4 teams will take a long look at him because he exhibits a fast first step and good burst off the ball. He does a nice job of shedding blockers in the run game as well so again, he’ll intrigue teams that run a 3-4.

Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State
USC’s Matt Kalil and Iowa’s Riley Reiff are projected to be the top two tackles taken off the board but Adams is already gaining some attention in Mobile because of his frame. He’s massive at 6-foot-7 and 323 pounds, with an 82 1/2 –inch wingspan and huge 11-inch hands. Despite his size, he’s a good athlete with natural bend and is being viewed as a left tackle at the next level (as opposed to some college prospects that are forced to move to the right side because of limitations in their game). He was suspended the first two games of the 2009 season for violating team rules, was cited in January of ’09 for misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia (chargers were eventually dropped) after being stopped for running a stop sign, and was part of the group that was suspended for “Tattoogate.” But he has all of the physical tools to become a top 15 pick in April.

Joe Adams, WR, Arkansas
The top receiver in this year’s draft, Justin Blackmon, is a junior, while Kendall Wright, Michael Floyd and Nick Toon have all been declared out of the Senior Bowl with various injuries. Thus, Saturday is a great opportunity for a guy like Adams to impress. He returned a punt for a touchdown in Arkansas’ victory over Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl, which was his fourth punt-return TD of the season. He’s a perfect fit in the slot because of his quickness and vertical ability, as well as the fact that he has trouble disengaging defenders at the line. He needs to improve as a route runner but NFL teams will definitely look at him as a returner and a potential No. 3 wideout.

Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama
Jenkins was overshadowed earlier in his college career by former top-10 pick Joe Haden (Browns) at Florida and then was kicked off the team his senior year following his arrest on misdemeanor marijuana charges (his second run in with the law). If he can stay out of trouble this kid has a ton of natural talent and could be a steal in the second or third round. He played a lot of man at North Alabama and has the ability to develop into a very good cover corner at the next level. Because of character concerns he’ll likely fall further in the draft than he should, but he’s got first-round talent.

For at least the second time in franchise history, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been “jilted at the altar.”

Those infamous words came out of the mouth of former owner Hugh Culverhouse, who uttered them after Bill Parcells broke a handshake agreement to become the Bucs’ head coach in 1992. If Culverhouse were still alive to this day, he may have said the same thing about Chip Kelly.

According to a report by KGW NewsChannel 8 in Portland, the Bucs were in the process of finalizing a deal on Sunday night that would have made Kelly their next head coach. The St. Petersburg Times confirmed the report and for roughly 10 hours it appeared as though Kelly would bring his explosive zone-read offense to the pros.

But on Monday morning, Kelly reversed field and decided not to accept the Bucs’ head-coaching job. While he said he was flattered by the Bucs’ interest, Kelly ultimately decided that his heart was in Oregon and thus, a deal that was reportedly “done” on Sunday evening had fallen through. Once again, the Bucs are now back to square one in their search for Raheem Morris’ replacement.

But for a moment, we can at least discuss what it would have been like had Chip Kelly’s offense been brought to the NFL. As offensive coordinator in 2007 and ’08, and as head coach since 2009, Oregon has had one of the most dynamic offenses in college football under Kelly. He’s aggressive, innovative, and he isn’t afraid to try something new. He’s also known as a disciplinarian, which would have been a far cry from the way Raheem Morris ran things in Tampa.

His hiring would have also reeked of Steve Spurrier.

Dan Snyder gave Spurrier $25 million to bring his “Fun ‘n’ gun” offense to the NFL and the experiment lasted only two years as the Redskins went 12-20 over that span. Washington finished in the bottom of the league in every major offensive category under Spurrier, including total yards per game, passing efficiency and yards per attempt.

But Spurrier never acquired enough talent to run his offense either. He thought he could win with Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel and Patrick Ramsey, but all three usually wound up looking out of their ear holes because Washington’s offensive line couldn’t keep them upright. It’s easy to say that Spurrier’s offense didn’t work but it’s not like he put himself in position to win with the talent he surrounded himself with.

There are many current NFL coordinators that fail to attack defenses on a weekly basis and their conservative ways continue to hold their teams back. At the very least, Kelly would have installed an aggressive scheme and introduced some new elements to the pro game.

Would it have worked? We won’t find out any time soon.

All of this scoring can be fun, but after a while it's just not as impressive when it seems like everyone is doing it. After West Virginia dismantled Clemson 70-33 last night, the whole bowl system looks even more ridiculous. Perhaps if these games meant something we'd see some more defense.

I think it's a joke that Alabama gets a rematch with LSU in the National Championship game, but at least those teams know something about how to play defense.

USC quarterback Matt Barkley just announced at a 1 PM PST news conference that he will be returning to play for the Trojans in 2012 and will not enter the 2012 NFL Draft. Barkley felt that he was ready for the NFL but stated that he had "unfinished business" at USC. The USC marching band was on hand at the announcement so that took away some of the suspense leading up to his announcement.

This is great news for a top-flight program that has had to endure a two-year bowl ban and the loss of 30 scholarships over three years. But even with that USC finished with only two losses in 2011 under Lane Kiffin and destroyed UCLA 50-0 in its last game of the season, leading to the resignation of Rick Neuheisel and the hiring of Jim Mora.

Barkley posted some huge numbers this season and had NFL scouts drooling in what was shaping up to be an epic year for quarterbacks in the NFL Draft. He completed 308 of 446 passes for 3,528 yards, 39 touchdowns vs 7 interceptions and with a completion percentage of 69%. Barkley worked in a pro-style offense at USC which made him even more attractive to many scouts.

Without Barkley in the draft, Robert Griffin III will get even more buzz as the likely #2 quarterback taken after Andrew Luck. Many teams like the Miami Dolphins, the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Browns might be looking hard at a quarterback in the first round so it will be interesting to see how Griffin does at the combine and how tall he measures out at (he's listed at 6' 2"). There are other prospects as well like Landry Jones, but with Barkley there seemed to be real debate developing over whether teams would prefer him or Griffin after Luck.

Barkley enters to 2012 season at USC as one of the clear favorites for the Heisman Trophy, so this golden boy will be all the rage next year. USC has 17 starters coming back for next season so the Trojans will be in the mix for the Pac-12 championship. Also, Barkley can purchase up to $5 million in insurance under the NCAA's Exceptional Student-Athlete Disability program.

College football needed some good news in an otherwise lame 2011 calendar year of bad news, so this is an early holiday gift for fans.

Everyone knew that Robert Griffin III was a great athlete coming out of high school, and that his athleticism would make him a very good college quarterback. But his improvement this year with accuracy in the passing game has thrust RG3 into the Heisman Trophy discussion and is also putting him in the first round of the NFL draft according to draft experts like Mel Kiper, Jr. and Todd McShay.

RG3 was a track star in high school so he got a lot of attention from big schools coming out of high school. When Griffin makes plays with his legs observers aren’t surprised. Draft experts saw him playing in the NFL but thought he might have to change positions as other athletic college quarterbacks have done in the past like Josh Cribbs. They underestimated Griffin’s work ethic and determination as he kept working on his game.

Griffin had plenty of success at Baylor heading into the 2011 season but he also faced serious adversity as well. In his sophomore season, RGIII suffered an isolated tear to his ACL in his third start of his sophomore year. He had to miss the entire season. While we’ve seen many players come back from ACL injuries, you never like to see a speedy athlete suffer that kind of injury.

Griffin came back of course, but heading into the 2011 season, few people expected much from Baylor, and Griffin wasn’t being discussed as one of the best quarterbacks in college football. But Griffin showed tremendous improvement this year as a passer. His accuracy became a real weapon, and suddenly Baylor became a force in the Big 12. He capped off his amazing season with a 48-24 thrashing of the Texas Longhorns. Texas has a tough defense, yet RG3 had a brilliant game.

Griffin connected with Kendall Wright for a 59-yarder on the first play of the game. Texas hadn’t given up a TD pass of over 20 yards all season. Griffin was 15 of 22 passing for 320 yards and two touchdowns. He ran for two more touchdowns.

Robert Griffin III and the Baylor Bears are a great story in what has been a tough season for college football. Experts thought Griffin would be a good, yet one-dimensional player. Now those same experts are arguing he deserves the Heisman Trophy and might go in the first round of the NFL draft due to his passing ability. He still has that great speed, but now everyone is talking about his arm.

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Has there ever been a worse year in college football? Even before the season started all we heard about were stupid scandals involving silly things like tattoos. Then we had the tragic events at Penn State. And now we have the annual joke called the BCS, though this year it's worse than usual. While many of us will concede that the SEC has been producing the best teams in recent years, do we really need to watch two of them play for the national championship?

This system is so lame and corrupt that you have to be either a complete idiot or an overpaid hack on one of the BCS bowl committees to defend it.

Hopefully T. Boone Pickens will start throwing some money around and pull every political string he has to change this system. A real playoff system might be too much for the corrupt conference hacks to muster at this point, but at least we should get to a plus-one system. In the future a final four could easily be expanded to an 8-team playoff.

Oklahoma State proved Saturday night that it, not Alabama, should be playing for the BCS national title against LSU.

The Cowboys thoroughly dominated their rival Oklahoma, which just so happened to be a top 10 team. Offense, defense, you name it, OSU dominated it. The win was the kind of performance we needed to see from a team in the one-loss pack, as someone needed to distance themselves from the others.

Well, it should be that way, anyway. I'm doubtful it will, however.

It was decided when Oklahoma State lost to Iowa State that Alabama and LSU would be playing each other again in the BCS title game, and nothing was going to change the voters minds to change that. Not even this blowout victory. It was well before the Iowa State/OSU game, however, that folks decided Alabama and LSU were the two best teams in the country, and many said it wasn't even close.

That very well may be true. LSU's schedule, which includes a neutral site win against Oregon and a road win against West Virginia, helps prove that it is undoubtedly the top team in the country this year. The Tigers are also the country's only unbeaten team, which helps make things easy.

But Alabama's best win is an overtime loss to LSU. Seriously. The Tide beat Arkansas, and did so handily, which was also a big win. Outside of that, the Tide have two wins against teams with winning records (Auburn and Penn State). Oklahoma State, meanwhile, has six wins against teams with winning records. Sure the Iowa State loss was bad, but it also came on the road and the day after Oklahoma State lost two women's basketball coaches in a plane crash. It's awful to use that as an excuse, but it's certainly something to think about.

Beyond that, however, there's also the fact that the BCS' goal is to crown a national champion. They say the goal is to find the top two teams, but in reality, it's to find the top one, and we already know that's not Alabama. The Tide had their chance to knock off LSU, and had it at home, but couldn't do it. In a college football world where big-time nonconference games are a rarity, we'll never know who the best team is if we allow divisional rematches in the BCS title game. Especially when there are deserving teams, capable of beating other top 10 teams by more than 30, sitting out there, waiting for their opportunity.

It didn't take long today for the Bowl Championship Series to get a significant shake up. Sure, we already know who's going to play in the national title game -- because if we've learned nothing this year, it's that every game matters ... unless you play in the SEC -- but the other games still were up for grabs today.

Houston, which had gone through the season unbeaten and found itself in the top 10, had the inside track to the Sugar Bowl as the top non-AQ school in the country with a ranking inside the top 12. I'm not sure if today's loss to Southern Mississippi would knock the Cougars outside of the top 12 (it probably should), but it doesn't matter, as they're not Conference USA champions, meaning they'd have to get in as an at-large. Good luck with that.

So who gets the spot? Well, if Houston falls behind Michigan, it's likely enough to get the Wolverines into the top 14, making them a shoe-in for an at-large spot. Then again, Michigan is likely to get there anyway, and most projections have them playing in the Sugar Bowl against Houston already. TCU would be the non-AQ school with the best chance, as it sits at No. 18 in the BCS standings right now, and only needs to get to No. 16 to earn an auto-bid. Head spinning yet? If a non-AQ school wins its conference and finishes in the top 16, it can get an automatic berth in a BCS game provided the champion from at least one AQ conference is ranked below it. Thank you, Big East.

If TCU doesn't jump two spots (which is possible but not all that likely), then an at-large selection would fill the slot. The most likely choices are Boise State, Kansas State and, if it loses today, Oklahoma State.

As for the Big East, Cincinnati's win against UConn leaves a three-way tie at the top of the league, so the final BCS standings will determine who gets the bid. Barring something crazy, that will be West Virginia, which is currently the only Big East team in the top 25, sitting at No. 23.

By God, I had a winning week last Saturday.

After what seemed like a good 62 months of solid .500 efforts, I won three of four last Saturday as Oregon, Wisconsin and South Carolina all covered. (Georgia Tech was my main loss as they struggled to keep up with Georgia.) That puts my season record at 29-21-2 against the spread this year and with this being the final week, it looks like I’ll finish above .500 on the season. FANTASTIC.

Georgia @ LSU, 4:00PM ET
Like most morons with an opinion, I think the Tigers will handle the Bulldogs rather easily in the SEC title game today. Aaron Murray has had a fantastic season for Georgia but LSU’s defense makes quarterbacks of all talent levels look silly. And while the Dawgs’ defense has been solid, I think the Tigers will eventually wear down Georgia in the second half. Usually LSU is a bad bet as a double-digit favorite but the Tigers are on a mission this year. They’ve easily been the best team in the nation.
THE PICK: LSU TIGERS -13

Virginia Tech @ Clemson, 8:00PM ET
For weeks I waited for Clemson to have one of its Clemson-like games and choke on applesauce. But following their back-to-back wins against Maryland and North Carolina in mid-October I said you know what? The Tigers are for real. Stop waiting for them to crash and burn because it’s not going to happen. The very next week they crapped themselves in a lousy 31-17 effort versus Georgia Tech as I ate massive amounts of dirty, dirty crow. The Tigers haven’t been the same since that loss to the Yellow Jackets and the Hokies haven’t been the same since they lost to Clemson 23-3 earlier in the year. VA Tech hasn’t lost since that October 1 game against the Tigers and I don’t expect Frank Beamer’s squad to lose tonight either.
THE PICK: VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES -6.5

No. 10 Oklahoma @ No. 3 Oklahoma State, 8:00PM ET
I really, really like Oklahoma State. I think the Cowboys are extremely fun to watch and Brandon Weeden gives me hope that at 29, I can still quarterback a BCS team to a major bowl as soon as I get around to it. Do you feel a “but” coming on? Because it is. BUT, the Cowboys haven’t beaten the Sooners in nine years. For whatever reason, OK State has a complex when it comes to Oklahoma and I like getting the hook. It makes me feel secure, like health insurance. (Although my health insurance company loves to bend me over so hopefully the Sooners won’t do the same.)
THE PICK: OKLAHOMA SOONERS +3.5

Michigan State @ Wisconsin, 8:17PM ET
Talk about a lack of respect for the Spartans: Wisconsin is a 9.5-point favorite in this game? Michigan State might not have the same talent offensively but the Spartan defense should keep this game close throughout. I was one of the people who said the Badgers would roll against the Spartans back in October but MSU showed something that night. Whether you thought the Spartans’ Hail Mary should have counted or not, Sparty proved that it could hang with the Badgers. Granted, that game was in East Lansing but MSU has a habit of playing well when nobody expects them to win.
THE PICK: MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS +9.5

Check out College Football Point Spreads at Bullz-Eye.com.

Bruce Feldman and others are reporting on Twitter that Mike Leach will be named as the new head football coach at Washington State.

Leach has been sitting tight waiting for the right opportunity after he left Texas Tech in a controversial breakup at the end of the 2009 season. He's been hanging out in Key West and doing some announcing. Leach is widely considered to be one of the best offensive minds in college football and he turned the Texas Tech program into consistent winners. His overall record at Texas Tech was 84–43.

Meanwhile, Washington State has become an embarrassment in the PAC-12 under Paul Wulff, going 9-41 over the past 4 years. To put it in perspective, Wulff is coming off his best season with the Cougars at 4-8. Washington State isn't considered to be on of the marquee programs of the PAC-12, but the school has had some excellent teams over the years and has produced some good quarterbacks like Drew Beldsoe and high draft picks like Ryan Leaf.

Leach has helped to develop some excellent college quarterbacks. He coached Tim Couch at Kentucky and Couch became the #1 pick in the NFL draft. At Oklahoma he coached Josh Heupel and he coached Graham Harrell at Texas Tech. Michael Crabtree was considered the best receiver in college football under Leach's supervision.

It looks like a great fit for both parties involved. Leach will bring a high-powered offense and some attitude to a program that has hit rock bottom. The PAC-12 is competitive, but Leach comes from the equally competitive Big-12 where he battled the likes of Oklahoma. Leach probably won't elevate Washington State above USC and Oregon, but he'll likely make them competitive. He should also do well with recruiting given his history of coaching scoring machines.

Leach also brings some baggage as well, so he's a high risk/high reward candidate. The Adam James incident was ugly for Leach and for Texas Tech. For that reason, he didn't get serious consideration from the biggest programs. For example, I couldn't see Leach being considered for the open UCLA job. But Washington State is perfect. Given their recent history, what do they have to lose? At the same time, it's a big enough program where Leach could do some serious damage and build a dangerous football team.

Ohio State has scheduled a press conference for 5:15 to announce Urban Meyer as the new head coach of the Buckeyes. This is naturally a coup for Ohio State, even though the hire comes with some risk. We've seen that Urban Meyer can be a little flaky, and all indications are that he'll be trying to achieve a work/life balance with this new job that he never achieved in Florida. Can he be as successful without be obsessive with his devotion and time? We'll see. Will he stick it out if things get tough? Who knows.

That said, it's a great fit as Meyer is from Ohio and this is his dream job.

Todd McShay has an excellent analysis of Meyer's approach to coaching and his offense and how that fits with the current Buckeye roster. You need a membership on ESPN to read the whole thing but it's definitely worth it. McShay is an excellent analyst and I always learn something reading his stuff. Bottom line - Meyer will probably work right away to recruit more versatile and speedy playmakers to fit into an already talented roster. But, it looks like he has his quarterback:

So what does all that mean for the Buckeyes' talented true freshman QB, Braxton Miller? It means it's time to go to work.

I think Miller is loaded with talent and he has the ideal physical skill set to excel in Meyer's system. He has a big, sturdy frame and still has room to add muscle. Miller has very good arm strength (check out his 54-yard TD strike against Michigan) and he's a more sudden athlete than former Buckeyes QB Terrelle Pryor.

From what I'm told, Miller also has a strong work ethic, leadership potential and toughness (both mental and physical). If that proves to be the case, winning a national championship and a Heisman Trophy are attainable goals for Miller. But he needs to be willing to pay the toll -- and it won't be cheap.

Miller showed a lot this season, and he also showed where he needs to put in serious work. He is a great runner. He's very elusive with devastating cutting ability. Terrelle Pryor was a beast once he got going, but Miller is better in tight spaces. He can also throw the ball, but he missed three open throws against Michigan that would have changed the game. He has to work on his accuracy, and since he was a true freshman we can all expect him to improve in that area.

The Buckeyes will be replacing their starting center and two starting tackles next year, so there will likely be some growing pains. But the overall roster is stacked with talent. If Meyer can bring in a couple of playmakers, the Buckeyes will be dangerous right away.