College Football 2016: 25 bold predictions

A look at what to watch for in what’s sure to be another wild college football season.

With one game in the books and many more to come starting on Thursday, it’s time for fans around the nation to get excited for another thrilling college football season.

California took down Hawaii in a special opening game from Sydney, Australia. The best opening weekend slate we’ve seen in a long time will continue from Thursday to Monday with a number of marquee matchups, including USC–Alabama, LSU–Wisconsin and Florida State–Ole Miss.

Such a loaded schedule will cause some early shakeups in the rankings and impact the national title picture. Top playoff contenders like the Crimson Tide, Clemson, Oklahoma and Florida State will all be favored in there respective games, but face difficult opening tests.

Many expect the College Football Playoff to look roughly the same as last year, with the possible exception of the Michigan State Spartans. However, college football rarely goes according to plan, and the 2016 season is sure to be full of surprises once again.

One look at the 2015 preseason AP Poll will show just how much preseason predictions can be off in the world of college football. The Ohio State Buckeyes were supposed to be unbeatable after becoming the first unanimous preseason No. 1 in AP Poll history, Auburn checked in at No. 6 and semifinalists Clemson and Oklahoma were ranked 12th and 19th, respectively.

From upsets to coaching changes to darkhorse Heisman contenders, here are 25 bold predictions for the 2016 college football season.

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