Staff Writer
Say good bye to the Bowl Championship Series that has been in place for 15 years. Each year there were four BCS bowls and one National Championship game, but year after year an outcry occurred regarding certain BCS bowl game matchups. The fans and most coaches demanded a better playoff system. Well, now America has the playoff they want.
The new era of college football postseason will kick off this year with the College Football Playoff. This will consist of the four best teams in the country who are chosen by the College Football Playoff selection committee. These four teams will then face off in a “Final Four” type playoff similar to college basketball where the #1 seed plays the #4 seed and the #3 seed plays the #2 seed. The winners then face off in the National Championship Game.
With the new playoff system comes a more intriguing regular season with more teams having a chance to make it to the CFB Playoff. Two weeks into the season, here are my predictions conference by conference. (5 power conferences)
ACC
Champion- Florida State
I don’t see any team in the ACC who can contend with the defending champs,
Florida State. Not only do they have a great recruiting class, but they also
have the reigning Heisman Trophy winner in Jameis Winston. Virginia Tech is
probably the biggest contender to Florida State in the ACC, but they do not get
the chance to play them in the regular season. However, we will see these two
teams in the ACC Championship Game. Virginia Tech definitely will have a shot
at taking down Florida State at a neutral site (especially if Virginia Tech can
go into Columbus and beat Ohio State), but ultimately I see Florida State
winning the ACC for the second straight year.
SEC
Champion- Georgia
The SEC is and has been the most competitive conference in the nation
for the past decade. Unlike the ACC, you could make the case for many teams to
win the conference. Alabama is always a safe bet because of their coach and
recruiting. Auburn, the defending SEC champ, has their starting QB returning
and will look to defend their title. Texas A&M has built a new program
post-Johnny Football and it showed as they went into South Carolina and not
only beat but destroyed the Gamecocks. And then there is Georgia. The Bulldogs
are currently ranked 6th in the nation and have arguably the best RB,
if not player, in the nation, Todd Gurley. It remains the most competitive
conference and I haven’t even mentioned the likes of Florida, LSU, and
Missouri, but by the end of the year
Georgia will walk away with the SEC crown.
Big Ten
Champion- Penn State
After the debacle the Big Ten had this past weekend (Michigan State, Ohio
State, and Michigan all losing) the conference is about as wide open as it can
get. So will we see a Big Ten team in the College Football Playoff? No. So why
not make a bold prediction? With the Braxton Miller injury basically
eliminating the favorite Ohio State, the bowl ban being lifted, and a brand new
motivated coach in James Franklin, this is the perfect time for Penn State to
make a run this year. They get both Ohio State and Michigan State at home.
Michigan just has not impressed after getting blanked by Notre Dame 31-0 and
Wisconsin blew a 4th quarter lead against LSU. With a year under his
belt, Penn State QB Christian Hackenberg looks even better than he did a year
ago. Nittany Lion fans will finally have something to rejoice about at the end
of this year: Penn State’s first Big Ten title in 20 years.
Big 12
Champion- Oklahoma
Since Texas and Oklahoma State have already lost this season, this has
really become a two team race between Oklahoma and Baylor. Oklahoma is coming
off a stunning victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last season and they have
QB Trevor Knight returning for his sophomore season. Of the top tier of teams
in the Big 12 this year (#8 Baylor, #19 Kansas State, and Oklahoma State) the
Sooners play all of those teams at home. They play Texas at a neutral site
which is where they could slip up simply because it is a rivalry game. You
can’t sleep on Baylor either. Bryce Petty is coming off a stellar statistical
season but health could become a problem for him and the Bears this year. He
has already missed one game this year due to a back injury and if he can’t stay
healthy, the Bears have no shot at taking down Oklahoma.
Pac 12
Champion- UCLA
Aside from the SEC, this is the toughest
conference to pick a champion. By the end of the year we will probably have
a circle of defeat (For example, UCLA beats Oregon who beat Stanford who beat
UCLA). Stanford has already lost to USC which makes it a little bit easier, but
UCLA and Oregon both have their QB’s returning (Nick Hundley- UCLA and Marcus
Mariota- Oregon) and both are Heisman candidates. October 11 will be where this
championship is won as UCLA plays Oregon at home. Expect UCLA to use the home
crowd to their advantage, win at home, and eventually win the Pac 12.
College Football Playoff
#1 Florida State vs. #4 Oklahoma
#2 Georgia vs. #3 UCLA
NATIONAL CHAMPION- UCLA
