7 college football bold predictions for the final month of the 2023 season
It's certainly hard to delight in the fact that the 2023 college football season is closer to being over than it is to the beginning. Only a little more than a month remains before we get into conference championship games and then, of course, bowl games.
But in this wild sport -- particularly in a season that has been largely colored through the lens of more parity than usual -- a lot can happen in that last month.
As things currently stand entering Week 9, the Georgia Bulldogs, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Florida State Seminoles would be the four teams in the College Football Playoff. That is obviously going to change with Ohio State at Michigan in the season finale, but could also change depending on how Georgia competes without Brock Bowers and if Florida State can stay perfect.
As we come into the final month of the season, though, let's try to predict some of the chaos. These are seven bold predictions for college football at large that will determine how the College Football Playoff and bowl season takes shape.
7. USC finishes the regular season at 7-5
With the USC Trojans losing to Utah for the third straight time and, after getting their doors blown off the week prior by Notre Dame, Lincoln Riley's team is now all but assuredly out of the Playoff race. They might also be fighting uphill in the Pac-12 race too.
This has led to plenty of discourse in the aftermath of the Utah loss, specifically regarding Caleb Williams and if he should forego the rest of his college career to prepare for the 2024 NFL Draft. Most people agree that he should finish his time with USC -- even me, who provided a hot take example of why Williams would be smart to leave... that doesn't mean I truly believe he should or will.
Regardless of what happens with Williams, though, it's going to get worse before it gets better for the Trojans this season. If you thought the losses to Notre Dame and Utah were tough, things are about to get even worse.
Yes, USC should bounce back in Week 9 against Cal, even on the road. Thereafter, though, the Trojans finish the season at home against No. 5 Washington, on the road at No. 8 Oregon, and then at home for the rivalry matchup with No. 23 UCLA.
USC is likely to be an underdog in every one of those games. And while some might be giving them a chance to cause some chaos in the Pac-12 by getting at least one win, I don't see it. The losses will keep piling up as the defense remains abysmal, the offensive line can't block, and Williams keeps showing regression.
The end result will be the Trojans sitting at the end of the season at 7-5, just barely bowl-eligible, and heading into a post-Caleb Williams world with a multitude of questions about what's next for Riley and Co.