College football predictions 2018: Conference champs, Playoff teams, Heisman picks

College Football Playoff

When the playoff committee meets to determine the four-team field to play for the national title, I think it’ll be the Big 12 champion that is left out. I have Clemson, Alabama, Michigan and Washington making the College Football Playoff. If both Georgia and Alabama are undefeated entering the SEC Championship Game and the game is decided by one possession, I wouldn’t be shocked to see two SEC teams back in the dance, but I doubt that happens two years in a row. I like Alabama to beat Washington and Clemson to beat Michigan.

National Champion: Clemson over Alabama

Heisman Winner

This feels like a wide-open field this year with no clear-cut answer or runaway favorite. The favorite is Stanford running back Bryce Love who returned for his senior season despite an injury-dampened end to his junior season.

Love will run wild over defenses this year but I worry about his health over the course of the year and Stanford being able to win enough games to keep him at the top of the conversation. Plus, the preseason favorite never wins this award. Surprisingly, Tua Tagovailoa is the second favorite to win. Granted he had a great second half and overtime, but he’s never started a game so I’m not willing to go that far just yet.

My pick to win the Heisman is Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor who will run for more than 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns.

The first coach fired will be…

If I wrote about this three weeks ago, I would have said Urban Meyer would be fired before the season started. Now that he’s being suspended for three games after the investigation into how he handles the domestic violence allegations involving former Ohio State coach Zach Smith, he definitely won’t be fired this year. Unless Ohio State loses a few years in a row to Michigan, Meyer won’t be fired, because it’s clear he’ll only lose his job if he can’t deliver championships.

I think the first coach to fall on his sword is Kansas coach David Beaty who is 3-33 overall and 1-26 in the Big 12 with three consecutive last-place finishes. If North Carolina starts off slow, don’t be surprised if Larry Fedora finds himself on the hottest seat, but no one is as perilously close to their seat bursting out in flames like Beaty.

The game of the year will be…

Ohio State at Penn State on Sept. 29 is going to be must-see TV. The game will most likely be the primetime game on ABC that weekend and marks the second game back from suspension for Urban Meyer. The Buckeyes are No. 5 in the preseason poll while the Nittany Lions rank No. 10. Both should still be in the top 10, provided Ohio State gets past TCU in Week 3 without Meyer on the sidelines. The two teams have played great games the last two years and this year looks no different. That game will tide fans over until Rivalry Week when Alabama and Auburn, Michigan and Ohio State will be playing for a playoff spot. Fans always have those dates circled, but it’s the Sept. 29 affair that will have eyes from across the country watching.

Best NFL Draft prospect

Houston won’t have a ton of games in primetime this year, but when the Cougars are on TV, don’t miss the opportunity to watch defensive lineman Ed Oliver wreak havoc. The true junior has already declared for the 2019 NFL Draft and could be the No. 1 pick. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound lineman who can line up inside or outside had 73 tackles, 16.5 for loss and 5.5 sacks last season. No one can block him in the AAC so it won’t take long for the casual viewer to spot No. 10 making life miserable for opposing linemen, running backs and quarterbacks this year.