BoiseStateFan's 2017 College Football Predictions/Preview Thread

[BoiseStateFan27]

I apparently can't delete my own posts, I just posted mid-preview by accident and I don't know how I did it

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Pittsburgh Panthers

Preview: Pittsburgh has been mostly struggling lately, they still manage to be solid most years and haven't missed out on a bowl since 2007, but for a while Pitt was capable of randomly having a year where they win their conference and go to a big bowl, that hasn't happened in a while. Pat Narduzzi has at least done the job of stabilizing this program after it went through a lot of coaching changes, and so far the Narduzzi era has been good, can he take another step?

Pittsburgh really wasn't far from a very good year last year, they opened the year 2-0 with one of those wins turning out to be a very good one as they beat Penn State, they even had a 28-7 lead at one point before nearly letting Penn State take the game away in the 4th quarter. Pittsburgh lost their next two games, a wild back and forth battle with Oklahoma State where they lost by 7 and then they lost by 1 point to North Carolina when they gave up a touchdown with 2 seconds remaining. Pitt won their next 3 games. Pitt then lost their next two games, a game filled with mistakes against Virginia Tech and a collapse against Miami. Pitt recovered in a big way though as they kicked a field goal right at the end to become the only team in the nation to beat the national champion Clemson Tigers. Pitt ended the year destroying Duke and beating Syracuse in the most ridiculous shootout (76-61.) Pitt lost in their bowl game to Northwestern.

Pittsburgh had a very good offense last year, it was one of the best in the country and could score on anyone. Bad news is offensive coordinator Matt Canada is now at LSU, his replacement Shawn Watson has big shoes to fill. Pittsburgh also loses a good QB in Nate Peterman as well as a great running back who also beat cancer in James Conner. Good news is Pitts brings back two great receivers in Quadree Henderson and Jester Weah, Henderson is especially fun as he is a smaller receiver but is a threat to score any time he touches the ball. Pitt brings back 3 starting offensive linemen, and overall this line is big which should combine well with the big former backup RBs that return. Pitt brought in USC transfer Max Browne, who struggled as a starter last year but there might be some talent here, he had to have beaten out Sam Darnold for the starting job somehow.

Pittsburgh struggled defensively last year which was surprising for a Narduzzi team but their aggressive style may have backfired to cause that, 61 points given up to Syracuse is crazy. Good news is they have some solid players back in the secondary in corner Avonte Maddox and star safety Jordan Whitehead. Pitt also returns linebacker Oluwaseun Idowu and Tennessee transfer defensive end DeWayne Hendrix looks ready to immediately make an impact. Bad news is just about everything else, 4 of Pitt's top 5 defensive linemen all graduated, and the only one that was slated to return in Rori Blair got kicked off the team. There's not much experience other than Idhowu back at linebacker, and the secondary got picked on by just about every team that faced Pitt, they badly need another corner to emerge opposite from Maddox, and they might want to find solutions at safety because Jordan Whitehead is suspended for the first 3 games.

Pitt has quite the rough schedule, they have non-conference games against both Penn State and Oklahoma State once again, but at least they draw NC State and Syracuse from the Atlantic division. There's a lot of question marks for this team, I think they will return to a bowl but that's likely about it.

Predictions:


Sep. 2 Youngstown State: This game actually isn't a gimmie by any means, Youngstown State is one of the better FCS teams and Pitt will have a lot of trouble in the secondary. W
Sep. 9 @ Penn State: L
Sep. 16 Oklahoma State: L
Sep. 23 @ Georgia Tech: L
Sep. 30 Rice: W
Oct. 7 @ Syracuse: W
Oct. 14 NC State: L
Oct. 21 @ Duke: L
Oct. 28 Virginia: W
Nov. 9 North Carolina: W
Nov. 18 @ Virginia Tech: L
Nov. 25 Miami: Upset! W

Predicted Record: 6-6(4-4)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Syracuse Orange

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Preview: Syracuse football has struggled to go much of anywhere for many years now, they have only made 4 bowls since 2002. It's become easy to forgot that this once was a very proud program that was very good back in the late 1980s, through the 1990s and even had one last burst with a 10-3 season in 2001...since 2001 Syracuse has struggled to even come close to that. They hired Dino Babers to inject some life into the program and well very quickly he has given it an identity and made them more fun to watch. Dino Babers has proven to show big improvement from year 1 to year 2, can that trend continue?

Last year Syracuse started 1-2 and their losses were in blowouts to Louisville and South Florida, they did at least beat UConn before losing their next 2 games. Syracuse once again rebounded though, pulling a very surprising upset over Virginia Tech and then upsetting Boston College on the road. They collapsed from there as they lost their last 4 games, most of them in blowouts and last of the losses was the bonkers 76-61 loss to Pitt.

Syracuse found themselves adjusting the new offense and it resulted in them being very inconsistent, they were capable of putting up a lot of points but struggled at times. Good news is QB Eric Dungey is back, he got hurt against Clemson and missed the remaining 3 games to end the year last year, Dungey had just hit his stride in games against Virginia Tech and Boston College the weeks before so he can run this offense, if he gets hurt again true freshman Tommy Devito may come in. Syracuse has solid receivers back in Steve Ishmael and Ervin Phillips, former running back Mike Neal will now be a slot receiver but might take carries also. Bad news is Syracuse needs a taller big play threat for this offense now that Amba Etta-Tawo is gone, does Syracuse have one that will emerge? RB Dontae Strickland is back but he needs to improve because he struggled last year, of course if the offensive line was better maybe he would do better himself, Syracuse did a lot of shuffling and now almost all their experience is back at least.

Syracuse plummeted defensively last year, the combination of the faster offense and injuries hurt. Good news is Syracuse was young last year which means more experience this year. They return a trio of linebackers in Zaire Franklin, Parris Bennett and Jonathan Thomas who look to be fairly solid, they also return some decent defensive linemen in defensive tackle Chris Slayton and defensive end Josh Black. Syracuse's secondary had major injury issues with basically the entire lineup dealing with injury issues, now Syracuse brings back a lot of experience. Their best safety in Antwan Cordy is one of the players back, he missed the entire year last year. Bad news is experience is nice but with a fast offense on the other side can this defense actually improve?

Syracuse goes up against one of the toughest schedules in the nation, they have a non-conference game on the road against LSU, as well as a tricky game against a solid Mid Tenn State. Playing in the Atlantic division makes life rough, and it really doesn't help that Syracuse draws Miami in addition to their usual game against Pitt from the Coastal division. This might be the end of the year 2 leap for Babers, this schedule is rough but at least a lot of this team will be back for another go-around in 2018.

Predictions:

Sep. 1 Central Connecticut State: W
Sep. 9 Middle Tennessee State: W
Sep. 16 Central Central: Ok seriously, the first 3 games, all against directional teams that reference the center of their state. W
Sep. 23 @ LSU: L
Sep. 30 @ NC State: L
Oct. 7 Pittsburgh: L
Oct. 13 Clemson: L
Oct. 21 @ Miami: L
Nov. 4 @ Florida State: L
Nov. 11 Wake Forest: W
Nov. 18 @ Louisville: L
Nov. 25 Boston College: W

Predicted Record: 5-7(2-6)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Virginia Cavaliers

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Preview: Virginia has been perhaps the worst program in the ACC in the past decade. Virginia has only made it to a bowl twice in the past 10 years and found themselves looking for some way to be relevant again. Somehow they managed to pull in a major coaching coup in convincing Bronco Mendenhall to leave the comforts of BYU to take on this challenge. It might take Mendenhall some time to get the pieces together though.

Last year Virginia opened with a pretty easy stretch, they did not take advantage of it. Virginia started 0-3 with a 17 point loss to Richmond, 18 point loss to Oregon and missed a chip shot field goal to lose by 3 to UConn. Virginia did improve beating Central Michigan and Duke in back to back games and then mostly hanging with Pitt in a shootout. Virginia lost to North Carolina but then seemed prime to pull off a major upset leading Louisville 25-24 late in the game, unfortunately for Virginia they gave up a late touchdown and lost, they lost yet another close game to Wake Forest the following week. Virginia then fell apart late, losing badly in their last 3 games.

Virginia's offense took a while to get it together but once it did they played better and were decent at least. Good news is QB Kurt Benkert returns, he is a big QB and has shown potential. Benkert had a very strong spring so it could be a sign that he will be more consistent this year. The offensive line struggled last year but at least adds some help with some grad transfers. Bad news is RB Taquan Mizzell was a big part of this offense and now he and his backup at RB are gone. A lot of last year's receivers are back but none of them were consistent, a top threat needs to emerge.

Virginia's defense was the worst a Virginia defense had been in a long time, Bronco Mendenhall isn't used to fielding bad defenses either. Good news is Virginia returns a star player at each level of the defense in defensive end Andrew Brown, linebacker Micah Kiser and safety Quin Blanding. Defensive end Eli Hanback and linebacker Jordan. Safety Juan Thornhill and corner Bryce Hall are back as well. Bad news is while there's some good players back, talent was inconsistent on this team as there are holes just about everywhere else.

Virginia's schedule is tough, they have non-conference games against Boise State and Indiana, as well as William & Mary and UConn. Virginia does draw Boston College in addition to their usual game against Louisville from the Atlantic. If some good players emerge in some needed spots this could become a bowl team, but at the same time this looks like it could be a struggle.

Predictions:

Sep. 2 William & Mary: W
Sep. 9 Indiana: L
Sep. 16 UConn: W
Sep. 22 @ Boise State: L
Oct. 7 Duke: W
Oct. 14 @ North Carolina: L
Oct. 21 Boston College: W
Oct. 28 @ Pittsburgh: L
Nov. 4 Georgia Tech: L
Nov. 11 @ Louisville: L
Nov. 18 @ Miami (Fl): L
Nov. 24 Virginia Tech: L

Predicted Record: 4-8(2-6)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Virginia Tech Hokies

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Preview: Last year was the first time since 1986 that someone other than Frank Beamer was coaching Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech had seemingly lost it's way in the later portion of the Beamer years and with Beamer retiring Justin Fuente was hired to bring this program back to the top of the ACC. So far the results have been good, what will year 2 have in store?

Virginia Tech opened the year very turnover prone, allowing Liberty to stay in the game for a bit before pulling away and then making numerous turnovers to lose to Tennessee. From there Virginia Tech absolutely dominated to win their next 3 games, but suffered a random upset loss to Syracuse. Virginia Tech then crushed Miami and won by 3 over Pitt and Duke. Virginia Tech took yet another random loss as they lost by 10 at home to Georgia Tech. Virginia Tech ended the regular season making a comeback to beat Notre Dame and destroying Virginia. In the ACC championship Virginia Tech nearly made the comeback magic work again as they nearly came back from a 35-14 deficit but lost 42-35 to Clemson. Virginia Tech kept that form in their bowl game trailing Arkansas 24-7 before winning 35-24.

Virginia Tech's offense was immediately better last year, they weren't the most consistent but they were good. Now they get to start over in a lot of places. QB Jerod Evans was a solid player last year but he took off early for the draft. Replacing him is redshirt freshman QB Josh Jackson, the good news with Jackson is that last year he was impressive enough that he almost did not get redshirted but still he has yet to play in a game. RB Travon McMillan returns, he split with other backs last year but now he's pretty much the only experienced back so he will take on a bigger load. Virginia Tech loses a good receiver in Isaiah Ford and a very athletic tight end in Bucky Hodges. They do bring back a good receiver in Cam Phillips who struggled early in the year but was impressive in the 2nd half of the season, C.J Carroll may have some promise after a breakout game against Notre Dame last year. Notre Dame's new starting tight end will likely be sophomore Chris Cunningham who impressively had 4 touchdowns on only 6 catches last year. The offensive line has 3 starters back and a few others with experience but if any injuries happen depth is a big concern.

Virginia Tech's defense was up to the usual Bud Foster standard last year as it was very good. Virginia Tech loses about half the players that played on the defensive line last year. Defensive ends Vinny Mihota, Trevon Hill and defensive tackles Ricky Walker and Tim Settle are about all the experience remaining, these 4 are pretty good but it's all unproven players beyond them. Virginia Tech had a great duo of linebackers in Tremaine Edmunds who had 18.5 TFL last year and Andrew Motuapuaka, as well as solid backups in Anthony Shegog and Sean Huelskamp, some promising freshman may play from time to time also. This secondary is one of the better ones in the nation, safety Chuck Clark is gone but everyone else is back. There's a fantastic trio of corners in Adonis Alexander, Brandon Facyson and Greg Stroman as well as a pair of great safeties in Terrell Edmunds and Mook Reynolds.

Virginia Tech's non-conference schedule is highlighted by a big opener against West Virginia, they also play Old Dominion, East Carolina and Delaware in non-conference play. Virginia Tech as usual faces Boston College from the Atlantic division but also has the misfortune of facing Clemson. Virginia Tech looks like they will be good once again as they will be aiming to repeat as division champs.

Predictions:

Sep. 3 West Virginia (Landover, MD): I think Virginia Tech's defense proves to be key as they control this game with the defense throughout to win the game. W
Sep. 9 Delaware: W
Sep. 16 @ East Carolina: W
Sep. 23 Old Dominion: W
Sep. 30 Clemson: Virginia Tech's defense will test Clemson but in the end Virginia Tech struggles too much offensively to pull off the upset. L
Oct. 7 @ Boston College: W
Oct. 21 North Carolina: W
Oct. 28 Duke: W
Nov. 4 @ Miami (FL): Virginia Tech falls just short of beating Miami in a huge division battle. L
Nov. 11 @ Georgia Tech: Virginia Tech then suffers a random upset loss. L
Nov. 18 Pittsburgh: Virginia Tech rebounds in a win. W
Nov. 24 @ Virginia: Virginia hasn't beaten Virginia Tech since 2003, I don't see that changing here. W

Predicted Record: 9-3(5-3)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

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Preview: It's been over a decade now since the amazing ACC Championship and Orange bowl season of 2006 for Wake Forest. They were solid for a while until everything collapsed. Dave Clawson has been on his usual slow and methodical rebuild and it finally starter to bare fruit last year. Wake Forest was better and that was despite an odd controversy where a former member of Wake Forest's staff and color commentator leaked Wake Forest's gameplans to teans throughout the year. Now controversy free Clawson looks to take another step.

Last year started off very strong for Wake Forest as they started out the year 4-0. They took a loss but then won a game to be at 5-1, Wake Forest had a good effort in a loss to Florida State but then lost at home to Army. Wake Forest finally reached bowl eligibility beating Virginia, but then losing their last 3 regular season games. Wake Forest did recover with an impressive display against Temple in their bowl game.

Wake Forest was still quite bad offensively and it limited their progress. Sophomore QB Kendall Hinton looked promising for all 3 games he actually played in last year, he got hurt against Delaware in the 3rd game and missed the rest of the year. Hinton was a good runner and was a much better passer than the alternative in senior John Wolford who is mobile but hasn't been a good passer. Hinton has the starting job and needs to stay healthy this year. Good news for the rest of the offense is that the offensive line was solid last year and 3 long time starters return. There's some experienced receivers in Cortez Lewis and Tabari Hines as well as TE Cam Serigne. Bad news is there's no returning receiver who provides much of a threat to spread out the defense. While junior RB Isaiah Robinson is back from injury, he struggled in 2015, and the primary backs last year in Matt Colburn and Cade Carney both struggled as well.

Wake Forest had a very good defense last year, but now defensive coordinator Mike Elko is at Notre Dame, Clawson brought in a good replacement in Jay Sawvel who was the defensive coordinator for a very good defense at Minnesota last year. Good news definitely starts with the star of the defense in defensive end Duke Ejiofor a potential first round pick in the NFL returning, he will be joined by fellow defensive end Wendell Dunn to be a dynamic duo. There's three veteran linebackers back in Jaboree Williams, Grant Dawson and Demetrius Kemp. Wake Forest also gets back a great freshman safety in Jessie Bates III , and a solid transfer in Cedric Jiles joins the mix. Bad news is there's not much experience back at defensive tackle, and Wake Forest does have one big loss at linebacker with Marquel Lee gone.

Wake Forest has a challenging schedule, they have non-conference road games against Notre Dame and Appalachian State as well as a home game against Utah State. Wake Forest has the struggles of playing in the tough Atlantic division and they draw Georgia Tech instead of Virginia in addition to Duke from the Coastal this year. I'm not sure if Clawson can do much better than last year's record this year, but I think he can get Wake Forest back to a bowl.

Predictions:

Aug. 31 Presbyterian: W
Sep. 9 @ Boston College: L
Sep. 16 Utah State: W
Sep. 23 @ Appalachian State: Wake Forest plays dominant defense to win. W
Sep. 30 Florida State: L
Oct. 7 @ Clemson: L
Oct. 21 @ Georgia Tech: L
Oct. 28 Louisville: Going with Wake Forest to have a great defensive effort against Lamar Jackson for a huge upset. W
Nov. 4 @ Notre Dame: L
Nov. 11 @ Syracuse: L
Nov. 18 NC State: W
Nov. 25 Duke: W

Predicted Record: 6-6(3-5)

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

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Atlantic:

1. Florida State Seminoles 11-1(8-0)
2. Clemson Tigers 10-2 (6-2)
3. Louisville Cardinals 9-3(5-3)
4. North Carolina State Wolfpack 6-6(4-4)
5. Wake Forest Demon Deacons 6-6(3-5)
6. Syracuse Orange 5-7(2-6)
7. Boston College Eagles 5-7(1-7)

Coastal:

1. Miami (FL) Hurricanes 8-4(5-3) - 2-0 against teams for tiebreaker
2. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 6-6(5-3) - beat Virginia Tech lost to Miami
3. Virginia Tech Hokies 9-3(5-3)
4. Pittsburgh Panthers 6-6(4-4) - beat North Carolina
5. North Carolina Tar Heels 6-6(4-4)
6. Virginia Cavaliers 4-8(2-6) - beat Duke
7. Duke Blue Devils 5-7(2-6)

ACC Championship: Florida State Seminoles vs Miami Hurricanes- Finally Miami has done it, in all these years of trying they finally won the ACC Coastal division, now of course they focus their attention on ending their long losing streak to rival Florida State. Florida State is in the playoff at the moment and an upset loss to Miami would through a huge wrench in the playoff picture.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Tomorrow will be the Conference Championship predictions

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Conference Championship Week
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American Championship: Memphis Tigers 11-1(7-1) over South Florida Bulls 10-2(6-2): This game proves to be a back and forth shootout as both teams manage to light up the scoreboard with quick scores. South Florida's offense goes out of sync for 3 drives and they fall too far behind to come back.

ACC Championship: Florida State Seminoles 11-1(8-0) over Miami Hurricanes 8-4(5-3): No upset here, Miami puts in a determined effort against Florida State and actually threatens to take the lead late but in continuing a complete reverse in karma that started last year Miami's field goal to win goes wide left once again.

Big 10 Championship: Ohio State Buckeyes 11-1(8-1) over Wisconsin Badgers 11-1(8-1): This game features a lot of defense between these two, it's a close game for a while but in the end it's hard to go against Urban Meyer in a game like this unless the opponent is Mark Dantonio.

Big 12 Championship: Kansas State Wildcats 10-2(7-2) over Oklahoma Sooners 10-2(8-1): UPSET!! I can't just go around picking all the favorites now. Oklahoma had beaten Kansas State earlier in the year which means the rematch favors Kansas State (rematches usually favor the loser unless the talent is extremely uneven, or someone like Saban or Meyer is on the other side.) Snyder is also more experienced in Big 12 championship games, winning his last 2 appearances.

Conference USA Championship: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 9-3(7-1) over Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 8-4(7-1): Yes despite all the changes both these programs have gone through this offseason with Western Kentucky having a new coach and Louisiana Tech losing a lot of players these two still find their way to the same position, Western Kentucky winning the conference and Louisiana Tech playing bridesmaid once again.

Mac Championship: Miami Redhawks 9-3(7-1) over Toledo Rockets 10-2(7-1): Toledo had been waiting a long time just to make it to this game. Miami though ends up having the better performance as their defense puts up a solid performance to pull off a minor upset.

MWC Championship: San Diego State Aztecs 10-2(7-1) over Wyoming Cowboys 9-3(6-2): This is one of the easier picks, San Diego State has been the kings of the conference for the past several years and I don't see a reason for that to not continue.

Pac-12 Championship: Washington Huskies 11-1(8-1) over USC Trojans 11-1(9-0): Minor upset here, Washington is going into this year determined to improve upon last year which means going further in the playoff and beating USC if they get another shot at them. Here Washington did get another shot and they take full advantage Jake Browning and the offense have a great game and they manage to pressure Darnold into one too many picks.

SEC Championship: Alabama Crimson Tide 12-0(8-0) over Florida Gators 8-4(6-2): One of the biggest snoozefests of conference championship week lately. The SEC championship is once again the higher seed dominating the game and winning easily.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

Cotton Bowl: USC Trojans vs LSU Tigers: USC is likely the highest ranked team left outside the playoffs due to their loss to Washington, the Committee wouldn't want to send USC too far away but at the same time they have the benefit of knowing USC fans will travel regardless. They also select the highest ranked remaining SEC team in LSU as these two had a lot of controversy about the national championship in 2003 and finally get to face off head to head. Plus there's Ed Orgeron getting an opportunity to show USC what they missed out on.

Orange Bowl: Clemson Tigers vs Penn State Nittany Lions: Orange bowl gets the highest rated remaining ACC team and in this scenario they will obviously select Clemson, the Orange bowl can then select the highest remaining Big 10 or SEC team, if they select a Big 10 team they will be boxed into having to choose a SEC team next time, but matching Penn State against Clemson just proves to be too tempting.

Fiesta Bowl: Stanford Cardinal vs Michigan Wolverines: Stanford ended the year on fire with a long winning streak and a win over Washington so the committee knows they can't leave them out, so instead they keep Stanford close to home. Meanwhile on the other side Michigan was a playoff contender until their loss to Ohio State late in the year so they're definitely in. An intriguing matchup as Harbaugh goes up against his former assistant and the program the Harbaugh helped create.

Peach Bowl: Memphis Tigers vs Kansas State Wildcats: Memphis was easily the highest rated group of 5 champion so the committee keeps them from taking too long of a road trip, the committee wanted to make those 3 interesting matchups happen which means Kansas State is the odd man out and has to face Memphis.

Playoff
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Sugar Bowl: #1 Alabama Crimson Tide vs #4 Ohio State Buckeyes: Alabama finished the year 13-0 and were SEC champs, it's obviously they will have the top seed. Ohio State meanwhile has some great wins but also the most recent and worst loss of the 4 playoff teams. The committee also wants to avoid Alabama and Washington playing each other again in the first semi finals like last year.

Rose Bowl: #2 Florida State Seminoles vs #3 Washington Huskies: Florida State becomes a shoo-in for the 2nd seed as their only loss all year was a season opening loss to Alabama. Washington meanwhile doesn't have a bad loss in losing to Stanford and beating USC holds a lot of weight.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

New Years 6 Results
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Cotton Bowl: USC Trojans over LSU Tigers: LSU puts up a determined effort but in the end USC has Sam Darnold and a lot of options on offense that can put up a lot of points on anyone, as soon as the 4th quarter comes around Etling's limitations at QB become too much for LSU to keep up.

Orange Bowl: Clemson Tigers over Penn State Nittany Lions: This game turns out to be an intriguing back and forth game. Penn State's receivers find a lot of ways to make plays on Clemson's defense but Clemson's offense also moves the ball very well. Clemson's defensive line makes the difference though as McSorley is forced to throw on the run for much of the game.

Fiesta Bowl: Michigan Wolverines over Stanford Cardinal: This game becomes a gritty and tough defensive battle as both offenses struggle to move the ball. Still the game is tied late in the 4th quarter and with a few minutes left in the game Stanford kicks a field goal to take the lead, but Michigan's special teams comes up big as they return the ensuing kickoff for what turns out to be the winning touchdown.

Peach Bowl: Kansas State Wildcats over Memphis Tigers: Bill Snyder once again proves his genius with a big bowl win. Kansas State struggles to stop Memphis' offense for a lot of the game but Kansas State moves the ball well on offense themselves and for much of the game Kansas State controls the clock. This frustrates Memphis' offense and Ferguson ends up throwing a late pick that seals a Kansas State victory.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

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Sugar Bowl: #1 Alabama Crimson Tide over #4 Ohio State Buckeyes: These two meet up and once again it becomes a classic between Alabama and Ohio State. Ohio State's defense is one of the few that is capable of stopping the Alabama offense, but without a good vertical passing game to spread Alabama out, Ohio State struggles to score themselves. Alabama holds a 7 point lead through most of the game but Ohio State doesn't get much closer than that.

Fiesta Bowl: #3 Washington Huskies over #2 Florida State Seminoles: Washington manages to move the ball very well against Florida State and Jake Browning makes a lot of great plays to help Washington move the ball, while on the other side of the ball Washington's fantastic defensive line harasses Francois and forces Francois into some mistakes late in the game.

 

[BoiseStateFan27]

National Championship

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Washington Huskies over Alabama Crimson Tide: That's right!! We're adding another coach to the list of active national champion winning coaches!! Pete wins his first title!! Washington surprises everyone with their run to the championship, their offense plays the game of their lives against Alabama and the defense puts just enough pressure to force Alabama into mistakes unlike last year. Washington continues the trend of national champions, every national champion in the playoff made the playoff the year before and lost (except Ohio State but that's because no one had been to the playoff yet). Preseason #1s are a curse so that's why I'm not going with Alabama. That left Washington and Ohio State as my possibilities, I have faith in Washington to give me two correct championship picks in a row.



Happy football season everyone!!