We are only weeks away from seeing this football-thirsty land gets its dose of gridiron action again with the NCAA football season just around the corner. With that said, it’s high time to see which teams the new college football season are expecting to dominate from the regular season all the way into the playoffs. Here are five of them.
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NCAAF Preseason Predictions for Which 5 Teams Have the Best Shot at Winning the 2019 College Football Playoff
Alabama Crimson Tide (+250 NCAAF Futures)
The official preseason AP Top 25 rankings list has yet to be released, but it’s not that much of a reach to assume the Nick Saban and his boys will be on top of it. Why? Because they’re ‘Bama. Although they saw 12 of their players get drafted in the NFL this year and lost 11 starters overall, Alabama is easily replacing its offseason losses with a rich haul of incoming talents. And at least, they will be coming into the new season with an experienced quarterback, though. Who will start under center for Alabama is yet to be determined, but it’s definitely going to be either Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, both of whom have big time experiences playing on big time college football games. Alabama’s daunting defense was also hit by departures of key players, but the stop unit still have Raekwon Davis and Isaiah Buggs to man the defensive line. Alabama topped the nation last year with only 260.4 total yards allowed per game. The defending national champions are priced at +250 to win it all with props set at -200 to make it back to the College Football Playoff this coming season.
Clemson Tigers (+450 NCAAF Futures)
It’s easy to fall head over heels on Alabama, but it would be criminal to forget about the boys from the ACC in the form of Dabo Swinney and his Tigers. Sure, the Tigers were massacred in the Sugar Bowl by Alabama last season, but they arguably have the best defense in the nation this time around. Clemson will even return the monster trio of Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant, all would have gotten drafted had they decided to leave Clemson for the NFL. Clemson finished last season tied for No. 1 in the nation in sacks with 46.0 and No. 2 in scoring defense with just 13.6 points allowed per contest. On offense, the Tigers also have a quarterback battle currently going on between true freshman Trevor Lawrence and Kelly Bryant. Whoever wins the starting job under center for Clemson will surely have a cast of talented receivers to throw passes at downfield with Diondre Overton and Tee Higgins expected to put up fantastic campaigns in 2018. Clemson is +450 to win the national title and -130 to book a return trip to the CFP.
Georgia Bulldogs (+700 NCAAF Futures)
The Bulldogs were a win away from reigning supreme last season in the college football world, losing only by a hairline to fellow SEC rival Alabama in the national finals. Georgia fans, however, should be emboldened that the Bulldogs have plenty of things going for them to make another run all the way into the national title game. Like most other teams, Georgia lost some key pieces from last season, but the Bulldogs can take heart from the fact that the team’s schedule is widely regarded as easy enough for Kirby Smart’s boys to go 12-0 in the regular season. In addition to that, the Bulldogs reloaded their roster with a solid group of recruits, including freshman quarterback Justin Fields, considered as the second overall best recruit of his class. That said, the Bulldogs still have Jake Fromm, who led the team all the way into the national championship game last season, so Fields may have to wait for his time. In any case, the quarterback position is the last of worries of the team, which almost feels like an unfair luxury for a team priced +700 to win it all.
Ohio State Buckeyes (+750 NCAAF Futures)
The Buckeyes will have a new face under center next season. Gone is J.T. Barrett, whose excellent ability to pass and run the ball himself could be missed, depending on how well his replacement will fare. That would be Dwayne Haskins, who had flashes of brilliance in the limited time he saw action on the field last season. In 2017, Haskins completed 40 of his 57 passes for 565 yards to go with four touchdowns and only one interception. Haskins will be surrounded by plenty of help to ease him of having to carry too much load on offense. The Buckeyes are parading what could be the best running back tandem in the nation this year. J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber, who had 1,403 and 626 rushing yards, respectively, and combined for 17 rushing touchdowns last season will be back to punch opposing defense in the mouth. Plus, Ohio State also got all but one of its players that finished with no fewer than 10 receptions last year back for 2018. Ohio State missed the CFP last season, but labelled with -115 odds to be a top-four team this coming season.
Michigan Wolverines (+1400 NCAAF Futures)
Jim Harbaugh should feel more pressure to deliver this season than in any of his past years as head coach of the Wolverines. He could be a little forgiven for not even delivering a Bowl title for Michigan last season because they simply did not have that much of a talent to compete with the big boys. This time, though, the Wolverines may finally have the offense to complement their always solid stop unit. Shea Patterson comes over from Ole Miss expected to be the starting quarterback. Patterson is regarded as the best Michigan signal-caller in years, which means some significant improvement is expected to happen on the team’s offense that finished last season just 105th in the nation in total offense and only 91st in points per game. The hiring of Jim McElwain and Ed Warriner to guide the offense should also usher in a scarier Michigan offense. Michigan is +1,400 to win the national championship.
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