With UCLA's scrimmage Saturday afternoon inside the Rose Bowl, the curtain came down on college football's spring season. Though no one officially won or lost anything in the past couple of months, some circumstances have caused perceptions to change about some BCS title contenders.
Here's a glimpse at who might have gained or lost ground this spring, and the way the odds have been reflected. (Odds courtesy of Bovado).
Gains
Oklahoma Sooners
Started: 18-1Now: 10-1
Many were pretty down on the Sooners after their national-title hopes in 2011 ended in a three-loss season. But then quarterback Landry Jones, already the school's all-time leading passer, decided to return. And then Mike Stoops was again hired by his brother to coach the team's defense. And then pundits looked around the Big 12 and asked "Who else is going to win it?" And so the fairly experienced and, to some degree, energized Sooners find themselves somewhere just outside the top tier of LSU, USC and Alabama.
To read the full blog from Travis Haney, plus get access to all of ESPN Insider's college football content, sign up and become an Insider.
Travis Haney
ESPN Insider• Joined ESPN as Insider's national college football writer in April 2012
• Previously wrote for The Oklahoman and The Post and Courier
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Travis HaneyTravis Haney joined ESPN in April 2012 as Insider's national college football writer. He previously covered the University of Oklahoma Sooners for The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman for one season, and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks for The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier for four. Additionally, Haney has contributed since 2003 to ESPN publications and projects, including ESPN The Magazine.
A native of Cleveland, Tenn., Haney's initial introduction to a college football cathedral was Neyland Stadium. He later graduated from the University of Tennessee, in 2003, and has spent time covering the Volunteers, the University of Georgia, Clemson University, and other schools. Safe to say, football, and football in the South, was injected into his bloodstream at a young age.
Haney is the author of three books -- Gamecock Glory and Gamecock Encore, which chronicled the South Carolina baseball team's run to the 2010 and 2011 national championships, and State of Disunion, a historical look at the Clemson-South Carolina football rivalry that he co-wrote with Larry Williams.
Haney resides in Charlotte, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter here.
