The hosts of ESPN’s College GameDay made their prediction on who will be the top four teams and who wins when the dust is settled. There are some sharp differences between the three hosts and one that will anger some Alabama football fans.
Once more dose of preseason predictions before the start of the season shouldn’t kill anyone in the Crimson Nation. As Alabama football fans we are accustomed to being a top choice for CFB championships.
Desmond Howard, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit, the famed hosts of ESPN’s live on-campus Saturday show, all put in their predictions for whom they think will make the four-team playoff and who comes out on top. Warning: Some of these predictions may shock you.
Desmond Howard
Playoff Teams: No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 West Virginia
Championship: Michigan vs. Alabama, Michigan wins.
First off, we need to take a moment to laugh at the Michigan pick. Anyone who considers this a bold prediction is just being silly. Of course, the Michigan man would pick Michigan in the playoff despite there being no good reason.
West Virginia is far-fetched as well. It’s hard to see a Big 12 team making the playoff this year while the Pac-12 is shut out. If the Big 10 flops, maybe. But the Pac-12 is stacked from top to bottom and it’s going to be hard to leave them out.
Finally, another Alabama/Clemson matchup? The games between the two are great, don’t misunderstand that. But can the playoff committee be a little more creative?
Lee Corso
Playoff Teams: No. 1 Clemson, No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Washington
Championship: Clemson vs. Wisconsin, Wisconsin wins.
If your first reaction to these picks is that Alabama is left out over Georgia, then we’d advise to scale it back a bit. There are worse picks for an SEC team to make the playoff over Alabama. Georgia is basically it. While we wholeheartedly disagree with leaving the Tide out, we cannot fault Corso for Georgia. They are a legit contender this year and a threat to the throne.
However, I think the Gameday hosts are playing up Clemson quite a bit more than they should, especially Corso. Clemson will be good, but the ACC is just brimming with upset potential. Maybe they make it in, but to put them first is a stretch.
Wisconsin for the Championship…eh, maybe a sleeper. Wisconsin should win a ton of games, but they will be tested in the Big 10 this year.
Kirk Herbstreit
Playoff Teams: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Washington
Championship: Alabama vs. Clemson, Alabama wins.
Once again, there is a bit of a yawn factor when thinking about Alabama and Clemson meeting in the playoff for the fourth consecutive time. But Herbie’s picks in the playoff have us salivating.
A Penn State/Clemson matchup would be a fantastic demonstration of hard-nosed football. Meanwhile, Alabama would be set up against Washington. We all know how that went last time in the Chick-Fil-A bowl a couple of years ago.
We do agree with Herbie that, if Alabama were to matchup with Clemson in the CFP Championship, Alabama would win.
Other ESPN Picks
Some other ESPN talking heads made predictions as well. Rece Davis, Todd McShay, Mark Schlabach, Adnan Virk, Jake Trotter and Todd Blackledge all have Alabama winning the CFP championship. Brock Huard had both Alabama and Georgia in the playoff, but made the Bulldogs the national champions. Much of the rest of the ESPN put Clemson as their pick to win it all.
What do you think of these picks? Let us know in the comments.
Alabama football fans, along with the rest of college football, will be arguing such predictions throughout the season. The only ranking that will matter will be Dec. 2 when the Selection Committee releases its final work for 2018.