Since the season ended, college football has been riddled by numerous allegations of wrong doing. Just this week it was made public that the NCAA is looking into reports that West Virgina broke rules while Rich Rodriguez was running the program. Rodriguez is already under investigation for breaking rules about practice length while coaching for Michigan over the last two years. Former USC star Reggie Bush will be appearing in court on April 23rd to hear his disposition into the allegations that he and his family accepted a couple hundred thousand dollars in gifts from Llyod Lake. Lake is trying to recoup $291,000 from Bush in the civil suit. The case could mean further punishments on the Trojans. Maybe Pete Carroll knew what he was doing when he got out of Dodge.

Across the country college football programs are gearing up for spring ball and the 2010-11 season. Here’s a few players to keep an eye out for in the coming season.

 Dion Lewis -Pittsburgh -Sophomore - Running Back

Dion Lewis finished last year with the third most rushing yards in the NCAA as a freshmen for head coach Dave Wannsted’s Pittsburgh Panthers. Their were only three games all year where the Albany, NY native didn’t break the 100-yard mark. Lewis was named the National Freshmen of the Year by CBS and the Sporting News. Look out for Lewis to be in the Heisman race this season.

 Case Keenum - Houston - Senior - Quarterback

No one’s numbers last season in college football were anywhere close to the stats Case Keenum put up for the University of Houston. The senior helped the Cougars go 10-4 last season, but still has a lot to prove after a dismal performance in the Armed Forces Bowl against Air Force. Keenum probably could have been a high draft pick this season, but another year in college certainly won’t hurt his development.

 Von Miller - Texas A&M - Senior - Defensive End 

Mike Sherman and the Texas A&M Aggies will be glad to have Von Miller back in College Station for next season. Miller was projected as second to third round draft pick for the upcoming NFL Draft, but decided to return to school for his senior year and get his degree. Miller had the most sacks in the nation with 17 and can play either as a defensive end or linebacker. The Aggies defense this year should be pretty scary with Miller back.

A couple years ago, the Tennessee Volunteers reached out to Lovie Smith, the coach of the Chicago Bears, to be their coach. Now the Vols have found their way to have a big Lane Kiffin debacle. Kiffin pledged his fealty to the team and it just wasn’t enough. They weren’t good enough, their scouting just wasn’t quite good enough. Instead, Kiffin suddenly decided to choose the USC job. Meanwhile, a bunch of other possible coaches, including the coach from Duke and other places, have turned down the job in the last few days. For whatever reason, rumors surfaced yesterday that Lovie Smith was being approached. There were reports of a jet and a limo on the way to Chicago to meet him. Just now, howver, I heard that an athletic director from Louisiana might have just decided to take the Tennessee job, so perhaps all these different rumors amount to nothing at all.

The Georgia Tech Yellowjackets finally hit the top this year when they won the ACC and played in a bowl game. They hadn’t had that honor before, but they are finally feeling like they are a major player in the college football world. Let’s first give them a round of applause. They also have another problem moving forward though. They are going to lose three star players to the NFL draft. This isn’t all that surprising, because that’s what generally happens at this time of year, and lots of dominant teams end up struggling after the loss of top players each year. This year might be particularly tough for Georgia Tech, as they haven’t had the opportunity to have long-term success with anyone but these three players. I’m interested to see what they decide upon.

When Texas and Alabama took the field last night in California during the national championship, it looked like a good duel between Colt McCoy and McElroy and Ingrahm. But within a few minutes of kickoff, McCoy got a shoulder injury that led him to be sidelined for the rest of the game. He tried to come back, he tried to help call plays. But even the best play isn’t going to work if the talented player can’t be on the field. His replacement Garrett Gilbert was very good, especially considering that he hadn’t played much in a long time. He hasn’t started a game since high school probably. Meanwhile, McElroy and his team put together a very nice game, winning 37-21 in the end. Congrats to them and we wish both teams the best in the future.

The Boise State Broncos were against TCU this season in the Fiesta Bowl. They wanted to get a win, but they were stuck on their 33 yard line and a 4th down. They brought out a play that you almost never see. It’s called the “Riddler”, where the punter comes out and fakes a punt and throws a pass. It ended up being a 30 yard strike, getting the first down and setting up the winning touchdown. The Broncos were undefeated this season and it’s because they have strange plays like this. I have to say, the punter did an amazing job with that throw, since they don’t usually get a chance to make a pass, let alone with the pressure, from the defenders and from the situation. This would have been a huge problem if he’d missed his mark, because of the field position. But it was an exciting game and congrats to Boise State for their talented play and good coaching!

Even though there are dozens of games in the next couple of days in college football, there is one story that has been dominating the conversation recently. Texas Tech has been covered with the Coach Mike Leach scandal. One of his players, who happens to be the son of a famous ESPN correspondent, claims that he was made to stay in a dark room during practices after a concussion a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, the coach says that it was just a regular room that was kept dark and it’s better for the player who’s having headaches. Either way, the coach wanted to lead his team in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday, but he’s been fired. They’re desperately seeking an injunction to let him coach, but it seems doubtful now.

Otherwise, just enjoy some of the great bowl games, even though there are some coaching changes for some of the teams. There are some great possibilities for very talented teams.

Although he didn’t win the Heisman Trophy this year, he did get a good backup prize. Ndamukong Suh won the AP college football player of the year award for his various impressive performances including a fantastic show of talent in his team’s game against Texas. This is the first year that the AP has announced such a recognition but it’s definitely deserved for this player. It might sometimes be the same winner as the Heisman but it’s not necessarily going to be the case. Suh, however, came in 4th for the Heisman, for example, though he certainly was basically as deserving as any of the other candidates, just without the successful team or huge numbers throughout the season. Either way, it’s an honor for Suh and hopefully one of many to come in the future.

When Utah and California battle in the Poinsettia Bowl in just a week or so, it’s going to be a big competition. In recent years, Utah has been one of the best bowl competitors in the NCAA. When the bowl comes on TV, it might even be one of the best. These two teams aren’t the best, but they are an amazing matchup. Utah, in fact, had a stumbling start to the year, with a loss in week 3 to Oregon. But then they won 6 in a row. Especially during that last half of the season, they have created a lot of momentum that could well carry them to a good bowl win. But California has been a team that can win against anyone, though their season was up and down this year. I hope these two teams will give a great exciting battle for the Poinsettia Bowl that will make for great television.

The Cincinnati Bearcats had a rough patch the last week or so. They had the regular end-of-semester in college kinds of things. Then there was a banquet in honor of the seniors and at the end of the night, their coach Brian Kelly told then that it was all true that the team was going to lose him to Notre Dame next season, starting immediately. The players were of course disappointed and some of them angry. They’re being asked to change generals in the middle of the battle. But they have their interim coach and there is a replacement coach who will start next year. In the last few days, however, the team got right back out on the field to enjoy themselves and to practice for the first time since the switch. It was good for them to get back out there and run around a little bit. It got them back into their routine and it also got some of the steam off that they had developed over the last two weeks or so.