My Way-To-Early College Football Playoff and Champion Predictions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Aug. 1, 2015 - PRLog -- The most wonderful time of the year for many of us is almost here.

If you aren’t that much of a football fan, then you are probably looking forward to just the leaves changing, the cooler air, and just being able to go outside and wear your favorite hoodie. I do like all that stuff for sure. Fall is my favorite time of the year for many reasons. But my number one reason for loving the fall season is simply because that also means that college football will be starting.

We have just five weeks remaining until the first kickoff to the 2015-2016 season starts on Thursday, September 3 at 6:00pm ET between the UNC Tar Heels and the South Carolina Gamecocks amongst many other games to be played throughout the day. We will see four Top 25 teams in action on that Thursday night including the #3 TCU Horned Frogs, the #8 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the #19 Arizona Wildcats, and the #21 Utah Utes.

Like many other “experts”, I’d like to take my own little stab at predicting the four  college football teams that will make the journey to the 2nd College Football Playoff this coming January. Here is what my crystal ball is telling me.

#4 TCU

Now, this one was a tad bit hard for me to predict simply because Baylor is getting in the way of my thinking here. TCU is without a doubt the top team in the Big12 this year. But Baylor is right up there with them that could cause a bit of a disturbance to TCU’s playoff hopes and a Big12 title. Returning quarterback Trevone Boykin is definitely the quarterback to watch out for in all of college football this year. He is going to be a major award finalist for sure. A Heisman just might be a bit of a stretch for him if he doesn’t improve his numbers from the previous year, but he certainly is eyed to win the Maxwell , O’Brien and many other awards. I can see TCU putting up 42 or more points every game. They are going to be one of the top offenses in the country all year long. Their conference pits them having five conference games on the road. With trips to Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Iowa State, those can seem to be  three easy W’s for the Frogs. A trip to Norman maybe a bit tough for them, but I see them leaving Norman with a W in a close game. When they go up to Kansas State, that could cause them a headache to deal with. To me, Baylor is really going to either make or break their playoff hopes. I see both teams having the same record going into their game, but I see TCU coming out on top, thus giving TCU their second Big12 title and the #4 spot in the playoffs.

#3 Clemson.

With a healthy quarterback in DeShaun Watson, Clemson has all the makings in the world to make a run to take the #3 seed in the playoffs. With Clemson playing their two toughest conference foes in Florida State and Georgia Tech in Death Valley this year, look for Clemson to take the ACC title this year. Watson had an incredible quarterback rating of 188.7 on just 137 passing attempts his freshmen year. With his top receivers in Artavis Scott and Mike Williams, expect him to put up somewhere around that number. Although their defense is a little iffy at the moment considering parts of their defense has to be filled, they probably aren’t going to have that much of a problem filling in those gaps.

#2 Auburn.

Don’t expect an SEC-less playoff. I’m going out on a limb here and say that Auburn will emerge as the team to represent the conference in the playoffs this year. I could see them losing on the road to LSU, but I can see them finishing up strong with huge home wins against Georgia and Alabama. Look for All-SEC quarterback Jeremy Johnson to take the Tigers all the way to the SEC Championship game, come out on top and into the playoffs at the #2 seed.

#1. Ohio State.

With their cupcake schedule and possible undefeated season. Look for Ohio State to get into the playoffs yet again to defend their crown. Quarterback Cardale Jones will pick up where he left off from the championship game, and have a breakout year. The Big 10 East is going to be very down this year, which should see Ohio State cruise all the way to another Big 10 title game in another rematch from last year’s title game against the Wisconsin Badgers. There definitely is a chance to repeat as champions, but that’s easier said than done. Look for Ohio State to make it into the playoffs at the #1 seed.

My playoff match-ups and scores:

#4 TCU vs. #1 Ohio State: 45-35 #4 TCU

#2 Auburn vs #3 Clemson: 48-21 #2 Auburn

Championship Game prediction:

#4 TCU vs. #2 Auburn: 45-42

NCAA College Football Champions; TCU Horned Frogs.