Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, January 12, 2016

So, Jim Harbaugh would like to hold part of spring practice in Florida? Why is this not a shock? This from the guy who conducted satellite camps last summer that caused an uproar. How do you think SEC schools will feel about this? Exactly.

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Good news from Indiana, as Kevin Wilson has inked a six-year deal that will keep him in Bloomington until 2021.

Wilson has the program on the rise, taking it to its first bowl since 2007. The next step: winning the school?s first bowl since 1991.

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Michigan State didn?t have Denzel Valentine for four games because of a knee injury. And, honestly, things went about as well as expected, other than that loss at Iowa in late-December.

Without Valentine, Michigan State stayed in the national top five, the race for a Big Ten title and for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Presented that scenario three week ago, Tom Izzo or anyone else at Michigan State would have jumped at it. I am not gonna argue against that.

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The Connor Cook era is over at Michigan State. He?s gone, prepping for the NFL draft, but he won?t take part in the Senior Bowl.

Now, Tyler O?Connor is ready to step up as the leader under center with Cook gone. O?Connor?s marching orders: replace the best QB in school history. That?s all.

He looked good in engineering that stunning win at Ohio State in November. The Spartans return five starters on offense and six on defense from last season's 12-2 team. Cook is part of a senior class that's 36-5. The outgoing senior class set the record for most wins, finishing 43-11. O'Connor is 34-of-54 passing for 374 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions in 14 appearances. In addition to Damion Terry and O'Connor, MSU's quarterback corps also includes redshirt freshman Brian Lewerke and incoming mid-term enrollee Messiah deWeaver.

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Add another name to the early NFL draft list: Nebraska DT Vincent Valentine. This for a d-line that also saw T Maliek Collins go pro early. That leaves two yawning holes up front for the Huskers.

Omaha.com notes that with Valentine's departure, the Huskers are down to six scholarship defensive tackles. Redshirt freshmen Carlos and Khalil Davis - who possess the ability to go get a sack on a passing down - and redshirt sophomore Mick Stoltenberg, recovering from a knee injury, will likely be asked to have an impact next season. Not counting 2016 commits, Nebraska has 79 of its 85 scholarship positions filled. Underclassmen have until Jan. 18 to declare for the NFL Draft.

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Could Ohio State opt to play JaQuan Lyle and A.J. Harris more together? Bill Landis of Cleveland.com takes a look. I think it would be a good idea. They have a dynamic ability.

Lyle and Harris played together for the final 14 minutes of the second half in the blowout at IU. Some would call that garbage time, because the Buckeyes had no shot of getting back in the game. Despite much better offensive production in the second half, the biggest dent Ohio State put in Indiana's lead was cutting it to 22 midway through. So there wasn't much to glean from any of what happened Sunday, except for the first prolonged look at Harris and Lyle playing together. Hey, at least it wasn?t a total loss, right?

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Purdue?s unexpected blowout loss at Illinois on Sunday hammered home the Boilermakers? issues on defense. And turnovers also remain a problem. Remember what I said about guard play a few weeks ago? Without good guards, a team has little shot to be a top squad. The Boilers are 3-3 in their last six games. Remember when some folks thought this was a Final Four team? It looks more like a 9-9 Big Ten team that?s a No. 7-9 seed in the Big Dance.

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Monday was the second anniversary of James Franklin?s arrival at Penn State. And, no doubt, the landscape has changed.

Pennlive.com notes that Franklin is 14-12 after two seasons, and he is entering his third with new coordinators, a new starting quarterback, and a defense that will need to be rebuilt. He's also entering the part of his contract that ups his pay to $4.2 million, plus bonuses, and some fans have wondered why exactly Penn State agreed to pay him so much for those results. Let?s call 2016 a ?big? season for Franklin.