The fast-paced, ever-enticing nature of college football is a bittersweet enigma.
We wait months on end for September to arrive, then, when it finally does, the season concludes much faster than it began. For example: The regular season slate is now one-third finished in the blink of an eye.
And although it’s early, the college football landscape seems to have settled on its Playoff contenders.
A common projection for this year’s College Football Playoff is the, “Only five teams can win it, and they just have to decide which four get in” argument. The five referenced are Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma, which combine to account for 10 of the 16 playoff appearances through four years of the system.
Alabama looks to be a mainstay with a rising defense and a Heisman frontrunner-led offense. Georgia looks like Alabama from a few years back when the Tide scored in bunches on defense and special teams. Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma all deploy first-year phenoms at quarterback, backed up by championship coaching and consistency across the roster.
Who can challenge the perennial leaders? If unbeaten again, could UCF make the Final Four, or would a one-loss Georgia or Alabama take the No. 4 spot again? Our staff made some predictions.
Using a point system (four points to a 1 seed, three points to a 2 seed, etc.), here is the Plainsman sports staff’s top 10 Playoff teams, followed by everyone’s picks for the Final Four.
1. Alabama (53 points)
2. Clemson (32)
3. Ohio State (29)
4. Oklahoma (10)
5. Georgia (9)
6. LSU (8)
7. UCF (3) / Stanford (3)
8. Penn State (1)
9. West Virginia (1)
10. Notre Dame (1)
Nathan King, sports editor:
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Ohio State
4. Georgia
Tyler Roush, assistant sports editor:
1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma
3. Clemson
4. Penn State
Zach Tantillo, sports reporter:
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Clemson
4. West Virginia
Sumner Martin, sports writer:
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Clemson
4. Oklahoma
Bryce Johnson, sports writer:
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Stanford
4. UCF
Patrick Dunning, sports writer:
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Georgia
4. Ohio State
Jake Wright, sports writer:
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Clemson
William Finney, sports writer:
1. LSU
2. Clemson
3. Oklahoma
4. Stanford
Max Gault, sports writer:
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Oklahoma
4. Ohio State
Olivia Huskey, sports writer:
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Oklahoma
Ian Bivona, sports writer:
1. LSU
2. Ohio State
3. Clemson
4. Alabama
Henry Zimmer, sports writer:
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Ohio State
4. Notre Dame
Annagail Holton, sports writer:
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Ohio State
4. Oklahoma
Jake Weese, sports writer:
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Clemson
4. UCF
Cole McCauley, sports writer:
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Georgia
4. UCF
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