The new 12-team college football playoff is here. The previous 10 years it was only a 4-team playoff. The only teams that made it were either 11-1 or 12-0. So if you had 2 or more losses then it was pretty much impossible to make it. Now the setup for this format goes as follows. The four highest-ranked conference champions will get a first-round bye and home-field advantage. The best group of five teams in the final rankings will get an automatic bid into the playoffs. These predictions that will be made are all after what has happened throughout week one.
The conference champion for the Big 12 for me is Utah. With Cam Rising returning to the Utes for his 7th and final year I don’t see this team failing when he is healthy. There is also an argument for Kansas State to win the Big 12, but I see Utah winning it.
The conference champion for the ACC will be, Miami. With the recruiting classes the past years now becoming the upperclassmen at Miami this year, I think it will finally make a mark for Miami. Not also that but the transfer portal helped out a whole lot too. With Tyler Van Dyke leaving for Wisconsin, the Hurricanes needed a big hole to fill. And they found the perfect guy. Cam Ward. The way he played against Florida on Saturday in Miami’s huge 41-17 victory over Florida was just phenomenal. Miami’s strength of schedule the rest of the way is very simple. The only ranked team that they play is Florida State, which is a team that lost to Georgia Tech in the first game of the season.
From the Big Ten, USC. Some people might say Oregon or Ohio State, but I say USC only because of their schedule. They play Michigan at the big house and Penn State at home. They will win one of those games. Another reason I picked USC is because of their weapons. Miller Moss who went 27/36 378 yards and one touchdown is incredible. Especially against a decent LSU defense. The wide receivers to go along with the offense are great as well. USC had 6 wideouts with 45 or more yards. I think Oregon might also be able to, but after what I saw vs Idaho and only winning by 10, I don’t think so.
From the SEC, Georgia. I don’t see anyone beating them at all this year. Maybe one surprise but, they beat a pretty decent Clemson team by 31. That’s about it Georgia is just a huge powerhouse of a team.
The one group of 5 teams that I think will make the playoffs is Boise State. They are a powerhouse of a team and people just don’t realize it because they don’t play in a power conference. They have a freshman running back who ran for 6 touchdowns in Saturday’s win vs Georgia Southern.
My 4 first-round byes and seedings go as follows, 1. Georgia, 2. Miami, 3. USC,4. Utah. And Boise State will be at the 12 seed as the worst conference champions.
Now the 7 best teams after those 5 are the other teams that will make the playoffs. My 5th seed is Texas. This team has two main weapons on their team. Quinn Ewers at QB and Isiah Bond out wide. Those two are a special duo that will be good all season. The reason that I don’t see them winning the SEC is because of their running back position, they had 2 running backs over the summer who got season-ending injuries. My 6-12 seeds go in order as follows. 6. Oregon, 7. Ole Miss, 8. Missouri, 9. Kansas State, 10. Ohio State, 11. Michigan, 12. Boise State. My prediction for the National Championship is Miami vs Georgia. Miami wins 44-38.
