With the college football season set to begin Saturday, it’s time for our CFB Playoff picks and New Years Six bowl projections. Who will win every Power Five conference, which team will represent the Group of Five, and who walks away with the national championship? Caleb Calhoun and Dave Hooker give their picks here.
Caleb Calhoun
Conference Championship picks
ACC – Clemson
SEC – LSU
Big Ten – Ohio State
Pac – 12 – USC
Big 12 – Kansas State
The only two repeat Power Five conference champions on this list are the Clemson Tigers and Kansas State Wildcats, and both are by default. Brian Kelly could easily have the LSU Tigers back, the Ohio State Buckeyes should get the Big Ten title back this year, and the USC Trojans should have won it last year.
New Years Six bowl projections
Cotton Bowl – UTSA vs. Penn State
Fiesta Bowl – Kansas State vs. Oregon
Orange Bowl – Tennessee vs. Clemson
Peach Bowl – Georgia vs. Michigan
Winning their leagues by default would naturally keep Kansas State and Clemson out of the CFP. Clemson would then have the Orange Bowl tie-in. The highest ranked non-CFP SEC or Big Ten team also goes to the Orange Bowl. That shakes out the rest of these bowl projections.
College Football Playoff
Rose Bowl – LSU over USC
Sugar Bowl – Ohio State over Alabama
National championship
Ohio State over LSU
It would be shameful if the Ohio State Buckeyes don’t win the national championship this year. Ryan Day is loaded with first-round talent, and he’s got to beat the Michigan Wolverines this year. OSU almost beat the Georgia Bulldogs last year, so this is highly possible.
Dave Hooker
Conference Championship picks
ACC – Clemson
SEC – Georgia
Big Ten – Ohio State
Pac – 12 – USC
Big 12 – Oklahoma
Both Georgia and Clemson would be repeat champions. Ohio State is a clear favorite to get back on top of the Big Ten, but they were favored last year. That favoritism also hods true for USC. Could the Oklahoma Sooners return to prominence under Brent Venables? If they do, winning the Big 12 sould still be by default.
New Years Six bowl projections
Cotton Bowl – Oklahoma vs. Tulane
Fiesta Bowl – Michigan vs. LSU
Orange Bowl – Florida State vs. Alabama
Peach Bowl – Penn State vs. Washington
Remember when the Vols played for the national title in 1998? The Tulane Green Wave went undefeated that year. Them playing OU is the most intriguing of these bowl projections. Will the Florida State Seminoles, Penn State Nittany Lions and Washington Huskies get to New Years Six bowls? We’ll see.
College Football Playoff picks
Rose Bowl – Clemson over Tennessee
Sugar Bowl – Georgia over Ohio State
National championship
Georgia over Clemson
A three-peat hasn’t been done since the mid-1930s with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, but UGA certainly seems like the favorite by most people to win it all this year. If they do, Kirby Smart will be nearly halfway toward Nick Saban’s totals despite being three years younger than Saban was when he won his first national championship.
