The beginning of August brings a rush of excitement for one simple reason: The college football season will start this month.

Before the long-awaited games kick off, though, there are still plenty of questions to answer. Most pressingly, we're looking ahead to fall camp and waiting to hear the outcome of quarterback competitions all over the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The reality, however, is some topics will—and, in several cases, must—linger into the regular season.

We've highlighted six of the nation's largest storylines as the countdown to the 2022 season truly is on.

When Is the Next Wave of Realignment?

As expected, Oklahoma and Texas merely sparked this current and upcoming wave of realignment. That decision in 2021 led to a reshuffled Big 12, filtering down to changes in the American, Conference USA and Sun Belt, as well.

And then, the Big Ten pulled off a heist.

USC and UCLA announced their intentions to join the Big Ten, which created a shockwave felt across the FBS landscape.

For now, the situation seems to have settled. There are no reports of immediate moves elsewhere, and the Pac-12 hasn't scrambled to replace the Los Angeles schools. The topic will remain relevant, but it may be noticeably quiet for a couple of months.

Both marquee pairs and their respective future conferences managed to keep these conversations under wraps until acceptance was a formality.

Will another round of agreements happen midseason?

Who Wins the QB Battles?

While there are dozens of quarterback competitions across the FBS, a select group naturally draws the headlines.

Michigan and Cincinnati made the College Football Playoff last season but need a new starter. Cade McNamara is trying to fight off 2021 5-star J.J. McCarthy at U-M, and Cincinnati is choosing between Ben Bryant and Evan Prater.

Texas A&M is a potential Top Five team, but that upside is heavily contingent on Haynes King, LSU transfer Max Johnson or possibly even freshman 5-star Conner Weigman.

Not only is Texas a highly recognizable brand, but the Longhorns have Quinn Ewers—the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2021 cycle—competing with Hudson Card.

We have our suspicions in those competitions, but fall camp will officially decide the Week 1 starters.