CFB countdown: 25 questions for the 2024 season, Part 3

After a tumultuous offseason of upheaval, the 2024 college football season is officially upon us.

With significant changes across the landscape, theScore is tackling 25 pertinent questions to get everybody set for kickoff.

After previous installments covered conference realignment and the high-profile coaching changes, today's looks at some of the most important players in the country.

15. Can Colorado's star duo get wins?

The amount of attention Colorado received in Deion Sanders' first season coaching the program would have one believing the Buffaloes were one of the top programs in the nation. However, that couldn't be further from the truth, as abysmal offensive line play and the nation's 119th-ranked defense doomed Sanders' outfit once conference play hit. Then the blame game started, and out the door went offensive coordinator Sean Lewis and defensive coordinator Charles Kelly. Now, a new cast of characters has descended on Boulder, but it's up to the two most notable mainstays - Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter - to deliver on the Colorado hype.

Sanders and Hunter both offered plenty of highlight moments in their first season with Colorado, but those were few and far between after the opening month of the season. Sanders showed he's as talented as any quarterback in the country but was brought down by a besieged offensive line and a penchant for holding onto the ball for far too long. Hunter wowed the college football world by playing both cornerback and wide receiver in multiple games, even topping the 130-play mark on numerous occasions.

Now, a beefed-up offensive line and a host of receiving talent are on hand to help Sanders move the ball, with the talented passer looking to improve both his team's record and his draft stock - not necessarily in that order. Hunter has shown he'll dominate if he's able to stay on the field, and it's up to Coach Prime to pick his spots on both sides of the ball to help ensure his long-term health.

The star duo will certainly make headlines once again with Heisman consideration likely from the start of the season. However, the biggest question in Boulder is whether their play can translate to more wins as the program begins life in the Big 12.

14. Is Howard the answer for Ohio State?

The 2023 season was a puzzling one for Ohio State. The Buckeyes had six games in which they scored fewer than 25 points and finished with the nation's 35th-ranked scoring offense and No. 39 passing attack. That marked the first time since 2016 that Ohio State didn't field a top-10 offense. Perhaps most importantly in Columbus, all of this occurred in the same campaign that the Buckeyes fell for the third straight year to Michigan as their bitter rival won the national title. That clearly didn't sit well with Ryan Day, who made some dramatic changes. First was the departure of starting quarterback Kyle McCord to Syracuse. Then, the blockbuster moves of hiring Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator and landing Kansas State transfer quarterback Will Howard.

We've touched on Kelly's hire in a previous preview post, but it will be how Howard is deployed that could decide whether Ohio State can reign supreme in the Big Ten once again. The best bet is to expect a heavy dose of the 237-pounder in the running game. Howard rushed for 351 yards and nine touchdowns last season, a significant difference from McCord's negative-65 yards and zero touchdowns on the ground.

With Howard in the fold, expect Kelly to devise a game plan that sees the Buckeyes absolutely run over teams like his Oregon squads used to do. The addition of Howard and Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins to a backfield that already has returnee TreVeyon Henderson gives the offense the personnel necessary to do such a thing.

13. Which new starting QB will shine brightest?

There's a changing of the guard at the quarterback position in college football with Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix, JJ McCarthy, and Bo Nix all departing as first-round NFL draft picks. That leaves plenty of opportunity for young first-time starters to make the leap into the national spotlight - with five players in such a situation ranked inside the preseason AP top 20.

The two true sophomores on the list garnering the most hype are undoubtedly Nico Iamaleava of Tennessee and Jackson Arnold of Oklahoma. Iamaleava saw limited action behind Joe Milton in his freshman season but showed flashes of why he was a five-star recruit in starting the bowl win over Iowa. The 6-foot-6, 215-pounder threw for 151 yards and a touchdown while also scoring three times on the ground. Expect plenty of fireworks from Iamaleava in Josh Heupel's quarterback-friendly system.

How high is Oklahoma on Arnold? Consider the fact the program opted against bringing back Dillon Gabriel, who's now the Heisman favorite at Oregon. Like Iamaleava, Arnold was a highly-touted recruit who made his first start in the bowl game last year. While he offered plenty of reasons to be hyped about his potential, his final line of 361 yards passing and two touchdowns was dampened by three interceptions.

In a fun scheduling twist, the two quarterbacks will face off against one another in Oklahoma's first-ever SEC game. Tennessee makes the trip to Norman on Sept. 21 for the first meeting between the programs since 2015.

12. What about the other quarterbacks?

The other three passers in the preseason top 20 who are opening-day starters for the first time in their careers include Garrett Nussmeier at LSU, Avery Johnson at Kansas State, and Alex Orji at Michigan.

While Nussmeier may be new to starting, he's been at LSU for three seasons already and should slide right into Brian Kelly's system with plenty of talent at his disposal. Replacing the reigning Heisman winner Daniels won't be easy, but Nussmeier showed in the bowl win over Wisconsin last year that the offense should still cook. He finished the day with 395 yards passing and three touchdowns against the Badgers.

Johnson also has experience after seeing lots of action in certain packages last season for the Wildcats. He also starred in the bowl game, finishing with 149 total yards and three total touchdowns in a win over NC State. While he has work to do as a passer, he's an elite runner who found the end zone seven times on the ground in limited action last season.

Orji falls on the other end of the spectrum with zero pass completions to his name entering the 2024 season. He also hasn't officially been given the Wolverines' starting job, although ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Saturday on College GameDay that Orji has been taking the majority of the first-team snaps for the defending national champs.

"Well, (head coach Sherrone Moore is) playing a little coy publicly ... but sources have told me that Michigan has given Alex Orji the majority of first-team reps in practice," Thamel said, according to Matt Lounsberry of Sports Illustrated. "He's the expected starter right now within that program."

While he's unproven as a passer, Orji is one of the biggest quarterback running threats in the country. The massive 6-foot-3, 238-pounder should pace the Michigan offense with a punishing running style in the Big Ten.

11. Can Milroe make a Penix-type leap?

In just two seasons with the program, Kalen DeBoer took Washington from the 70th-ranked passing attack to the nation's best and turned Penix from an Indiana transfer fighting for the job to a Heisman finalist and top-10 NFL draft pick. His quarterback project with his new job at Alabama is to fine-tune the electric Jalen Milroe to a more consistent passer and boost his Heisman and NFL chances in the process.

It's clear DeBoer knows what he's doing with the quarterback position, as evidenced by his track record with Penix. DeBoer coached Penix for one season at Indiana and two with Washington, and the difference in Penix's production with DeBoer around is staggering.

The Crimson Tide receiver room is also stocked with talent to help Milroe even further, as Germie Bernard, Kobe Prentice, Kendrick Law, and star freshman Ryan Williams are set to thrive under DeBoer.

Milroe already finished sixth in Heisman voting last year without DeBoer's coaching, so that could be the difference in pushing him up both the award voting and draft boards. Should Milroe take a Penix-like leap in 2024, the Crimson Tide should be set up to contend for the title in the first season without Nick Saban at the controls.