100 Days Out: College football names, games, storylines as we count down to the

Each offseason, dating back to 2014, we here at CBS Sports have compiled some of the biggest names, games and stories to commemorate the 100-day countdown to college football‘s kickoff. It’s a great point in the offseason calendar as we’ve just crossed the midway point and soon will begin breaking down the win totals and making official predictions for what’s about to unfold this fall. 

This year, the annual 100-item guide to getting pumped for the season ahead focuses on the storylines, stars, burning questions and bold predictions, plus the annual breakdown of top nonconference games and the College Football Playoff picture.

What this doesn’t feature is too much consternation about name, image and likeness, the transfer portal, CFP expansion, NCAA governance or other big-picture, existential questions about the future of college sports. These are significant off-field issues, and I’m glad smart people are writing those stories and asking those tough questions, but they’re going to take a back seat to the players and teams competing on the field once the season starts 100 days from today. 

So, it’s a sharpened focus on the season ahead that we’re proud to celebrate the beginning of the offseason’s end with 100 names, games, stories and more to get you excited for the 2022 season. 

Big storylines

1. Lincoln Riley tries to put USC back atop the sport: We’ll get more into the full list of new coaches below, but it’s impossible to avoid the buzz around one of the biggest coaching moves in modern college football history. Riley has utilized the transfer portal to immediately make the Trojans contenders to win the Pac-12, this while carrying the charge of leading the program back to national title contention. There are former Oklahoma Sooners on the field and on the sideline to add to the drama of the exodus — a move from one blue blood to another being somewhat of a rarity for a coach, especially at this stage in his career — making how the season goes for Riley and the Trojans one of the most interesting stories in the sport.  

2. Does Brian Kelly “fit” at LSU? The only “culture fit” that matters at LSU is winning. Much has been made about how the former Notre Dame coach and Massachusetts native might mesh with Bayou culture, but that’s likely heightened by him taking over in the wake of the Ed Orgeron experience. Kelly has been a winner everywhere he’s been, and now he’s got more resources and in-state talent than he’s ever had as a coach. As long as he is delivering wins, LSU will embrace Kelly. Nick Saban is from West Virginia, and both he and Les Miles rose the coaching ranks outside of SEC country, proving you don’t have to be as Cajun as Coach O to lead the Tigers to a title. 

3. What’s next for Georgia? Outside of the NFL Draft weekend, when Georgia broke the modern record with 15 players selected across the seven rounds, things have been pretty quiet for the reigning champions. Replacing five first-round picks on defense would be a massive issue for most programs, but at Georgia — thanks to the way Kirby Smart and his staff have recruited — there is another wave ready to step in and play right away. But having that talent does not guarantee elite results, as evidenced by all of those frustrating years between titles for talent-rich Georgia teams that came up just short. No program in the country looks more prepared to be the “next Alabama,” but to fully take on that role, you need to be winning more often than once every 40 years. 

4. No shortage of elite quarterbacks: After the NFL Draft circuit highlighted what was deemed a bad year at the quarterback position, college football is set to deliver a monster group in 2023-24 with many of those prospects leading some of the best teams in the country this fall. Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Alabama’s Bryce Young are at the front fo the line and will garner the most attention, but second-year stars like Texas‘ Quinn Ewers and USC’s Caleb Williams are equally likely to have fans considering the way-way-way too early mock drafts after watching these quarterbacks flourish on Saturdays. 

5. Passing of the torch at Clemson: This offseason, Dabo Swinney told his team the torch had been passed following a wild couple of months for a program that had become predictably steady. On the field, Clemson had salvaged its season with six straight wins through widespread injury issues to finish with 10 wins after starting 4-3. Then, both defensive coordinator Brent Venables (Oklahoma) and offensive coordinator Tony Elliott (Virginia) got head coaching opportunities, and their exits prompted other shake ups on the sidelines. Clemson did its usual routine of promoting from within or tapping familiar faces to fill out the staff, and the new blood has given a spark to what was already a program competing with an extra edge of looking to reclaim its position as…