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SUPER Early playoff team predictions:

TheLonestarDUCK

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It could be wide open next year. Georgia should be the best in the East, but whether or not they win the SEC championship game is anybody's guess. They've only done it once in recent years (2017).

For only the second time since 2010 (the last time being 2019), Alabama is poised to take a step back, and could end up with another two-loss season. LSU & Texas A&M should provide some tough competition, and Ole Miss could play the part of spoiler. Florida should still be strong in the East, but still a step or two below the top teams in the league. Missouri could battle for 2nd place in the East.
Alabama taking a step back???? So Bama wins are now going to be 7-10 points?
 

BamaDude

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Not sure I see the step back other than Young needing to prove himself. The defense should be better, and the incoming class has several instant contributors.

Frankly, I see 12-0 as likelier than 10-2 sans major injuries.
Bryce Young really needs to prove himself. Paul Tyson looks more like a potential starter standing on the sidelines holding a clipboard than Young did with 9 or 10 games of mop-up experience. Almost every play will have to be an RPO for Young because he is too short to stand in the pocket and see over the linemen. He wasn't very impressive to me.

We are losing possibly our best quarterback - ever - and two remarkable receivers, along with the offensive minds on the coaching staff that made it all go. We still have good receivers - but none that have shown the consistent ability as the four big names we've lost over the past two seasons. John Metchie III has shown flashes of being that type of player, but that's about it, unless one or more of our heralded newcomers steps up. And we don't know if anybody can deliver the ball to them the way Mac Jones did last season.

On top of that, new offensive coordinator, Bill O'Brien, has yet to coach an offense with any punch to it. I still don't get why Saban hired him.
 

Diego Roll Tide

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Bryce Young really needs to prove himself. Paul Tyson looks more like a potential starter standing on the sidelines holding a clipboard than Young did with 9 or 10 games of mop-up experience. Almost every play will have to be an RPO for Young because he is too short to stand in the pocket and see over the linemen. He wasn't very impressive to me.

We are losing possibly our best quarterback - ever - and two remarkable receivers, along with the offensive minds on the coaching staff that made it all go. We still have good receivers - but none that have shown the consistent ability as the four big names we've lost over the past two seasons. John Metchie III has shown flashes of being that type of player, but that's about it, unless one or more of our heralded newcomers steps up. And we don't know if anybody can deliver the ball to them the way Mac Jones did last season.

On top of that, new offensive coordinator, Bill O'Brien, has yet to coach an offense with any punch to it. I still don't get why Saban hired him.
I agree with all of that, but I also know how awful the offense looked in spring going into 2014 and 2015. I also remember how Kiffin and Sark were considered “risky” and even “bad” hires. It also has always worked out that the heralded newcomers become stars in the receiving corps. Even Daboll (the most boring OC in our history) won a NC.

While there is no guarantee of a CFP slot, if I had to bet gor or against, I’d easily bet for. I suspect most CFB fans would bet the same way.
 

BamaDude

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I agree with all of that, but I also know how awful the offense looked in spring going into 2014 and 2015. I also remember how Kiffin and Sark were considered “risky” and even “bad” hires. It also has always worked out that the heralded newcomers become stars in the receiving corps. Even Daboll (the most boring OC in our history) won a NC.

While there is no guarantee of a CFP slot, if I had to bet gor or against, I’d easily bet for. I suspect most CFB fans would bet the same way.

Well, Saban is used to re-tooling, so I don't expect us to have a precarious drop the way LSU did last season. And, since changing our sports performance (weight training) coaches, I don't think we'll have the recurring injury issues we had in 2018 & 2019; but it's going to be hard to get through the season without a bump somewhere along the way.
 

Diego Roll Tide

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Well, Saban is used to re-tooling, so I don't expect us to have a precarious drop the way LSU did last season. And, since changing our sports performance (weight training) coaches, I don't think we'll have the recurring injury issues we had in 2018 & 2019; but it's going to be hard to get through the season without a bump somewhere along the way.
I’m not expecting 12-0. I think 11-1 is most likely.
 

belcherboy

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I had heard this suggestion for playoff expansion: 11 team playoff

Power 5 each get a team, and they all get a first round bye

The final six play each other with 3 winners.

The 3 winners are added to the 5 bye teams to get to 8 teams. It creates a play in game for borderline teams, and rewards the big conferences. I'm sure ND would argue about it though.

Thoughts?
 

trojanfan12

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Yes, a P5 BB team with a losing record knocks out a small school with a 23-6 record show just how BAD those smaller schools are.

And when a small school upsets a P5 school in the tournament? Or even makes a deep tournament run?

What happens when a 7-5 team upsets a12-0 team in the conference championship.

The 12-0 team should have played better.

That now 8-5 team has NO business being in a playoff.

I'd say that the team that belongs in the playoff is the team that won the games they had to win to get there. Also, why was that team 7-5? Was the conference down (or their division down) that year and they were the tallest midget? Or did they deal with a lot of injuries all season and are finally healthy?

Also, with autobids, there would be no reason to schedule any team OOC better than a high school team because it can only hurt a team. Without decent OOC games then why not start your own conference and fill it with the worst teams available.

Actually, the opposite is more likely. Autobids eliminate the committee vote for 5 of the playoff spots. So, the top teams don't have to worry that an OOC loss will keep them out of the playoff. They will also know that scheduling better OOC games can help them get an at-large bid if they play well and win those games.
 

Diego Roll Tide

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Actually, the opposite is more likely. Autobids eliminate the committee vote for 5 of the playoff spots. So, the top teams don't have to worry that an OOC loss will keep them out of the playoff. They will also know that scheduling better OOC games can help them get an at-large bid if they play well and win those games.

But they wouldn’t be “better OOC games” if their outcomes have no impact on getting in the playoff. A team might hold out certain players to avoid injury risk, and a team losing at HT might just go ahead and rest starters in the second half.

Some argue “it still could affect seeding”. But which is more important, maximizing your chance of getting in, or worrying over a seed that becomes obviated if you don’t win your conference?
 

trojanfan12

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But they wouldn’t be “better OOC games” if their outcomes have no impact on getting in the playoff.

I disagree. A game between 2 top teams is always better than a game between a top team and a directional school.
A team might hold out certain players to avoid injury risk, and a team losing at HT might just go ahead and rest starters in the second half.

I doubt it. First of all there's a lot of money at stake in these games and 2nd, it's an autobid only for conference champs. So, a team could end up needing that game for an at-large bid.

But which is more important, maximizing your chance of getting in, or worrying over a seed that becomes obviated if you don’t win your conference?

Seems to me, that getting to the playoff is most important. There would be 2 ways. Win your conference or get an at-large bid. Playing better OOC games doesn't help if you win your conference, but it can if you don't.
 

Duckboy33

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But they wouldn’t be “better OOC games” if their outcomes have no impact on getting in the playoff. A team might hold out certain players to avoid injury risk, and a team losing at HT might just go ahead and rest starters in the second half.

Some argue “it still could affect seeding”. But which is more important, maximizing your chance of getting in, or worrying over a seed that becomes obviated if you don’t win your conference?

They would if they impacted the 3 at large bids. Winning a big OOC game could be insurance if you lose one conference game and you don't get a chance to play in your conference title because of it.
 

WABLTY

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ASU. I can write a huge justification for it, but the long and short of it is we're fucking loaded. There are probably 7+ NFL players on the defense. The OL returns 4 of 5 and the missing guy seems to have opted out because he was done and knew he'd likely be beaten out by someone younger. The QB is a 1st round type. The RBs are dynamite and will be one of the most talented groups in CFB. The WRs are young, but there are more 4 star recruits there than there have been in program history and we'd expect one or two to step up. I think we're an 11 or 12 win team, and I'm normally more interested in sand bagging and downplaying.

This should be our best team since we were a minute and half short of winning the championship in '96.

We want Bama.
 
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TheLonestarDUCK

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ASU. I can write a huge justification for it, but the long and short of it is we're fucking loaded. There are probably 7+ NFL players on the defense. The OL returns 4 of 5 and the missing guy seems to have opted out because he was done and knew he'd likely be beaten out by someone younger. The QB is a 1st round type. The RBs are dynamite and will be one of the most talented groups in CFB. The WRs are young, but there are more 4 star recruits there than there have been in program history and we'd expect one or two to step up. I think we're an 11 or 12 win team, and I'm normally more interested in sand bagging and downplaying.

This should be our best team since we were a minute and half short of winning the championship in '96.

We want Bama.
You have BYU, Utah & UW on the road and USC at home. Good luck with that.
 

WABLTY

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You have BYU, Utah & UW on the road and USC at home. Good luck with that.
Not wild about the schedule, especially after seeing USC gets to skip Oregon and UW. We're going to destroy BYU. @Utah sucks, but most of the matchups suck because ASU only got 1 home game last year. I think we'll have a bigger, more physical team than the Utes, and presumably this one won't be played in a blizzard. And even if it is, should be fine.

USC at home after two lucky wins the last 2 seasons with basically the same team that was IMO clearly superior on the field last year. It's always close, but I think we get the W this year. Especially if USC can't deviate from that soft ass air raid.

@UW is rough in November, and the follow up Corvalis trip screams trap. But ASU has a ridiculous record against UW since 2000 and probably a more talented, experienced team. And we managed a win @OSU last year convincingly, and they lost a lot more than we did.

Rachaad White averaged 10 ypc and over 140 yards fro scrimmage per game last year, and does stuff like this-
That's him just outrunning USC at full strength after a cut. Ludicrous speed. White's production was disgusting. Also have other backs.

ASU is looooaded. The one area that needs dramatic improvement is arguably the most talented part (WR's). So the freshmen and sophomore WR's that were playing need to be better, and we'll get Elijhah Badger who coaches claimed might be the most talented player on the team as a scout guy last year. One of Utah's best WR's just transferred in too. The starting TE is an established 6'8", 260 pound dude who can really run, and top tier TE recruit from the 2020 class just transferred in from Oklahoma to back him up.

Only major concern is OL and DL depth, and show me teams that aren't concerned about what would happen if they lost 2-3 starters on the OL or DL. And the depth isn't really that bad. It's just that other areas are so deep that, beyond QB, if 2 starters got hurt in the same group, we'd probably still be fine.
 
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WABLTY

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tldr We're going to fuck them up.
 

BamaDude

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Not wild about the schedule, especially after seeing USC gets to skip Oregon and UW. We're going to destroy BYU. @Utah sucks, but most of the matchups suck because ASU only got 1 home game last year. I think we'll have a bigger, more physical team than the Utes, and presumably this one won't be played in a blizzard. And even if it is, should be fine.

USC at home after two lucky wins the last 2 seasons with basically the same team that was IMO clearly superior on the field last year. It's always close, but I think we get the W this year. Especially if USC can't deviate from that soft ass air raid.

@UW is rough in November, and the follow up Corvalis trip screams trap. But ASU has a ridiculous record against UW since 2000 and probably a more talented, experienced team. And we managed a win @OSU last year convincingly, and they lost a lot more than we did.

Rachaad White averaged 10 ypc and over 140 yards fro scrimmage per game last year, and does stuff like this-
That's him just outrunning USC at full strength after a cut. Ludicrous speed. White's production was disgusting. Also have other backs.

ASU is looooaded. The one area that needs dramatic improvement is arguably the most talented part (WR's). So the freshmen and sophomore WR's that were playing need to be better, and we'll get Elijhah Badger who coaches claimed might be the most talented player on the team as a scout guy last year. One of Utah's best WR's just transferred in too. The starting TE is an established 6'8", 260 pound dude who can really run, and top tier TE recruit from the 2020 class just transferred in from Oklahoma to back him up.

Only major concern is OL and DL depth, and show me teams that aren't concerned about what would happen if they lost 2-3 starters on the OL or DL. And the depth isn't really that bad. It's just that other areas are so deep that, beyond QB, if 2 starters got hurt in the same group, we'd probably still be fine.
Rashaad is impressive. He has the kind of speed you see in the SEC. But he can't be in on every offensive play. What else ya got?
 

WABLTY

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Rashaad is impressive. He has the kind of speed you see in the SEC. But he can't be in on every offensive play. What else ya got?
I'm talking shit because I only got 4 games this year and don't have anything better to do CFB talkwise for a while.

But because whatever, Daniels is obviously extremely talented. Chip Trayanum looked outstanding. Freshman big back with some juice that would have gone to tOSU 9 times out of 10 if they hadn't messed around and tried to make him an LB. Johnny Wilson was a true freshman, but is a good athlete for a 6'6", 220 lbs. receiver and started coming along. Badger is an absurd athlete and isn't small. The younger Ngata played banged up but has a ton of speed. They've got the requisite pretty "quicker than fast" white guy WR with good hands. Hard to say. There are 5 4-star WR's on the team (we don't get your fancy 5 stars) with freshmen eligibility, plus a few other guys who made a few plays in limited time. Like we said, we only got 4 games.
 
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