It’s a new day in the realm of college football. The ACC is now the “All Coast Conference,” the Big Ten has gone nationwide, the SEC is consolidating power (and revenue), the Big 12 is desperate to keep up with the others, the Group of Five continues to shuffle teams around, and the Pac-12 has all but ceased to exist – is the inevitable Mountain West merger in the near future? Who will rise in this new age of the 12-team playoff and super conferences, and who will still be around when the SEC and Big Ten split off into the College Football Premier League (complete with relegation!) in 2027? I’ve chosen to celebrate by making some predictions which will in no way age poorly in around 6 weeks. Let’s dive in.
Big Questions
Who Comes out of Deeper SEC, Big Ten?
After a crazy few years of realignment and TV deals, a combined 34 teams now make up the two conferences that many consider to be the strongest in college football. Does the elimination of divisions result in new and interesting teams reaching new heights, or will the rich just get richer? Vanderbilt and Northwestern are certainly going to enjoy those conference revenue shares as consolation.
What Happens to Alabama and Michigan after the loss of their head coaches?
Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh are both gone – one to retirement and the other to the NFL. Can former Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer pick up where he left off with a College Football Playoff appearance, or is a step back inevitable? Sherrone Moore has experience as a head coach on an interim basis but what can he do to overcome the loss of the vast majority of last season’s offensive production?
Does the expanded playoff lead to more parity or more blowouts?
In theory, eight extra teams should eliminate ambiguity as to who deserves it most near the top of the power conferences, but things could still get ugly when the Group of Five or a dark horse conference winner gets involved. No one wants to see another Oregon-Liberty or Georgia-TCU in a playoff game, nor a Georgia-FSU level of opt-outs. Making all of the New Years Six games quarterfinals or semifinals was a good call (though I would have preferred more on-campus games) as it all but eliminates the possibility of opt-outs, but the first round may not be as close as we would like, specifically in the 5 vs 12 and 6 vs 11 games.
Who will be this year’s Florida State?
No matter the size of the playoff, there is going to be at least one team who feels snubbed come selection Sunday. Will it be an undefeated Group of Five team who loses out in favor of a 3-loss SEC team? Can a multiple loss conference champion make it in over a one-loss conference runner up? Will quarterback injuries once again be the deciding factor in the committee’s choices? All we can hope is that the controversy may be lessened by triple the amount of competing teams rather than multiplied.
Preseason Top 25
1. Georgia Bulldogs
2. Oregon Ducks
3. Texas Longhorns
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Ole Miss Rebels
- Michigan Wolverines
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Missouri Tigers
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Utah Utes
- Florida State Seminoles
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- NC State Wolfpack
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Clemson Tigers
- Kansas State Wildcats
- Arizona Wildcats
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Wisconsin Badgers
- Miami Hurricanes
- Kansas Jayhawks
- USC Trojans
- James Madison Dukes
On the bubble: Virginia Tech Hokies, Louisville Cardinals, West Virginia Mountaineers, Washington Huskies
Conference Predictions
SEC
Playoff Contenders: Georgia, Ole Miss, Alabama, Texas
Dark Horse Conference Threats: Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma
Bowl Teams: LSU, Florida, Mississippi State, Auburn, Kentucky, Texas A&M
Better Luck Next Year: Vanderbilt, Arkansas, South Carolina
Championship Prediction: Georgia over Texas
Big Ten
Playoff Contenders: Ohio State, Oregon
Dark Horse Conference Threats: Michigan, Penn State, Iowa
Bowl Teams: USC, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Northwestern, Minnesota, Washington, Rutgers, Maryland, Illinois
Better Luck Next Year: Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State, UCLA
Championship Prediction: Ohio State over Oregon
Big 12
Playoff Contenders: Utah
Dark Horse Conference Threats: West Virginia, Kansas St, OKST, Kansas
Bowl Teams: Colorado, Arizona, Iowa State, UCF, Texas Tech, TCU
Better Luck Next Year: Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Arizona St
Championship Prediction: Utah over OKST
ACC
Playoff Contenders: Florida State, Clemson
Dark Horse Conference Threats: Miami, NC State, Virginia Tech, Louisville
Bowl Teams: SMU, Cal, UNC, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Duke
Better Luck Next Year: Wake Forest, Boston College, Pitt, Stanford
Championship Prediction: Florida State over Clemson
Pac-12 (Pac-2)
Not a lot to look into here. Do the right thing and merge with the Mountain West.
Championship Prediction: Oregon State over Washington State
Group of Five
AAC: Tulane over Memphis
Sun Belt: JMU over Troy
C-USA: Liberty over Western Kentucky
Mountain West: Boise State over Fresno State
MAC: Toledo over Miami(OH)
As a reminder, the best Group of Five champion is allocated a playoff spot.
College Football Playoff Predictions
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Florida State
- Utah
- Oregon
- Texas
- Ole Miss
- Clemson
- Alabama
- Penn State
- Notre Dame
- Boise State
Bold indicates Conference Champion
Final: Georgia over Ohio State
Heisman Trophy Top 5
- Quinn Ewers (QB, Texas)
- Dillon Gabriel (QB, Oregon)
- Carson Beck (QB, Georgia)
- Jalen Milroe (QB, Alabama)
- Jaxson Dart (QB, Ole Miss)
Dark Horse Candidates: Shedeur Sanders (QB, Colorado), Cameron Ward (QB, Miami), Travis Hunter (WR/CB, Colorado)
See you on August 24 for Week Zero!
Lobos Power Hour 