In January 2009, Sam Bradford, the Oklahoma Sooners' Heisman-winning quarterback, rolled the dice when he announced that he'd come back for another year in school.

It was the football equivalent of splitting tens in blackjack.

At stake: Millions of dollars in NFL riches should Bradford suffer catastrophic injury or somehow manage to hurt his stock with draftniks, which was sky-high. In fact, you could argue that the scrutiny and inevitable second-guessing had put more pressure on Bradford to go pro than stay at OU.

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(Editor's Note: This is first in a series of articles previewing the 2010 season for the Oklahoma Sooners.)

When previewing the Oklahoma Sooners' quarterback situation prior to the 2009 season, I hit the "easy button" for a short analysis. Sadly, it turned out to be tellingly prophetic, if not overly optimistic.

When Sam Bradford went down in the first half of game one, the whole calculus of Oklahoma's season changed. Rather than living up one last round-up with the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Sooner Nation was asking untested redshirt freshman Landry Jones to fill his shoes.

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Most coaches and teams use media days as a chance to either "control the narrative" (see: Saban, Nick) or compete to see who can give the most non-answer answers. Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops is celebrated as a master of latter.

Surprisingly, though, Stoops and the OU players in attendance at the Big 12 Media Days actually handed out some telling tidbits.

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Ask your typical college pigskin fans what's the first thing that comes to mind when you say "Pac-10 football." The most likely answer – aside from "why are you asking me that?" – is "quarterbacks."

The Left Coast has garnered a well-deserved reputation for producing some of the best passers in the land year in and year out. In the last decade, USC alone has had three signal callers drafted in the first round of the NFL draft.

The guys under center such as Andrew Luck and Matt Barkley are still getting plenty of preseason hype out west. Quietly, however, a new stable of young running backs may be preparing to steal the show.

Guys like Oregon burner LaMichael James and Jacquizz Rodgers of Oregon State are already national names. Keep an eye on this crew of Pac-10 runners to emerge in 2010:

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Pimps and turkey insemination probably won't come up when Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops steps to the podium Wednesday during the Big 12's media days.

Even though the talk during Stoops' session with reporters will likely seem tame compared to what went down at last week's SEC hype-fest in Alabama, it won't be for lack of intrigue surrounding his team. In Stoops' case, the bigger questions will probably be directed more towards issues on the field than off. (Thankfully.)

Count on plenty of well-rehearsed coachspeak from Stoops and little in the way of illumination. Still, even though it will prove to be an exercise in futility, here are 10 questions that have to be asked of OU's head man:

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"Andrew Luck."

The name alone sounds like the stuff of legends. Factor in that he's a star quarterback at Stanford of all places and that he has the makings of a first round NFL draft pick – the guy sounds more myth than man.

Unfortunately for Cardinal opponents in 2009, he was all too real.

Mike Hook of Pregame.com and Homerism continue their discussion of the upcoming 2010 college football season. After looking into the Oklahoma Sooners in part one, the talk turns to the national contenders, as well as a few enticing sleepers. They also offer a few bold predictions for the season.

Mike and Homerism cover:

• Alabama's tough road ahead;
• Big 12 contenders Nebraska and Texas;
• Boise State's big battle with Virginia Tech on Labor Day;
• Florida's tough task replacing Tim Tebow; and
• the TCU Horned Frogs' rosy outlook.

Way back in February, I outlined a plan for how to deal with the agent shenanigans plaguing college sports, promising I'd beef it up at a later date. Well, with all the drama surrounding the NCAA's crackdown on illicit agent engagements, what better time to delve a little deeper?

To review, the idea is simple: Let college athletes sign contracts with agents.

The benefits seem pretty clear to me. First, it lessens the compliance burden on both athletic departments and NCAA investigators. Second, the players are compensated at no costs to the schools.

Of course, the idea raises its own set of thorny issues. Here are the main objections that I could come up with, as well as how to address them.

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He's the People's Choice for the Heisman Trophy. Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs joins Homerism for a very special podcast to discuss life on and off the field.

Dobbs offers insight into the life of an athlete at the U.S. Naval Academy, as well as what brought him to Annapolis. He also fills us in on his political aspirations and a special gift he gave President Barack Obama. Lastly, Dobbs discusses what winning the Heisman would mean to him.

In keeping with the recent handicapping theme, analyst Mike Hook of Pregame.com joins Homerism for a two-part preview of the national college football landscape. In part one, we look at some of the keys to being a successful handicapper on the national level. Also, Mike turns the tables on Homerism to help him get a better handle on the Oklahoma Sooners in 2010.

Other topics we cover include:

• Mike's take on the differences between handicapping analysis and run-of-the-mill punditry;
• the importance of scheduling in college football handicapping, as well as experience on the lines and coaching continuity;
• Mike's outlook for OU, including his concerns about the cornerbacks and special teams;
• the potential that San Diego standout receiver Kenny Stills could make a special immediately; and
• OU head coach Bob Stoops' reputation among the sharp bettors.