National Championship favorites are Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and Michigan
As we near the end of July, football season is right around the corner. College football teams will open their fall camps in August, and once again there will be only four teams that have a chance to win the National Championship. For the 2019-20 season, the four teams that are favorites to reach the National Championship Playoffs are Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and Michigan. The next four teams that have a decent chance at getting into the playoffs are Oklahoma, Ohio State, Washington, and Notre Dame.
The five power conferences consisting of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the Big 12 Conference, the Pac 12 Conference, the Big 10 Conference and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) have some interesting battles this fall. They will most likely represent the four teams in the National Playoffs. Here is a synopsis of each of the conferences and their favorites.
ACC
The only conference with a completely dominant and clear-cut favorite is Clemson from the ACC. Sophomore QB Trevor Lawrence leads defending National Champion Clemson again this season. The one ACC game to watch will be Clemson at Syracuse’s Carrier Dome in early September. Will the Orangemen upset the heavily favored Tigers in the Carrier Dome like they did in 2017 or lose a heartbreaker like they did last season at Clemson’s Death Valley Stadium.If Clemson keeps their focus and survives the Syracuse game, they will have no trouble with Virginia in the ACC Championship game. That will put Clemson back into the College footballplayoff.
Big 12
The Big Twelve has two teams to watch this season, Oklahoma and Texas. Texas is for real this year and loaded with talent. The Longhorns will knock off the Sooners in the annual Red River Shootout at the Texas State Fair in the Cotton Bowl on October 12. Oklahoma’s Sooners will start Alabama QB grad transfer Jalen Hurts, and this should give the Sooners the edge in the conference. Oklahoma will come back and beat Texas in the Big 12 championship game. With their one loss avenged, the Sooner’s final ranking may be high enough to get them into the playoffs.
Pac 12
Both UCLA and Southern Cal are in the process of rebuilding. Improvement may not be coming as quickly as initially expected, but UCLA should show steady improvement. Southern Cal has a tough schedule including Oregon and Washington. Road trips to BYU and Notre Dame will cause the Trojans trouble, but do not count them out. If they can regroup by fixing the offense that has been the least productive since 2001, they may contend for the PAC 12 title. In a key conference matchup, Oregon travels to Washington on October 19•The Ducks will be in the conference race but must win at Washington’s Huskie Stadium. An Oregon loss puts Washington in the PAC 12 Championship game against The Utah Utes.
The five power conferences consisting of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the Big 12 Conference, the Pac 12 Conference, the Big 10 Conference and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) have some interesting battles this fall.
Big 10
The Big 10 Conference’s two top teams are Michigan and Ohio State. Their matchup on November 30 will determine the team who represents the Big 10 East in the Conference Championship game on December 7. Other possible contenders are the Penn State Nittany Lions, Iowa Hawkeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Huskers are going to make a run to the top of the Big 10 West led by head coach Scott Frost. Quarterback Adrian Martinez will be getting needed help on offense, and the Nebraska defense will be much improved. The winner of the Nebraska/Iowagame in Lincoln on November 29 could decide who plays Michigan in the Big 10 championshipgame.
SEC
The SEC will be very competitive this year with four teams that could win the Conference Championship. Georgia will take the East Division and Alabama the West. Both Florida and LSU could take these top teams out. Georgia’s game against Florida on November 2 will setthe tone in the month of November. Auburn holds the key to the teams who will be playing in the SEC title game, as a loss to Auburn by either Georgia or Alabama would knock them out of this season’s Playoff. Alabama has the easiest road to the SEC title with the schedule they play, and they will beat Georgia in the SEC title game. Even if Georgia loses in a thriller to Alabama with no other losses for the season, they have a good chance of making the National Championship Playoff.
College football’s Playoffs need to expand to eight teams. This idea has been gaining traction for several years, but the Playoff Committee is still going with the four-team format. When the 2019-2020 football season officially starts in late August, college football fans will be ready to fill stadiums all around the country to cheer on their favorite teams. Go team!