School is starting back up around the nation and kids everywhere are dreading its arrival. But fear not youth of this country, for with the departure of summer comes the arrival of college football. Let’s take a look at the upcoming 2013-2014 collegiate football season and make some predictions.
The AP poll recently released its top 25 rankings for the much-anticipated season. Let’s take a look at the Top Ten:
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Oregon
4. Stanford
5. Georgia
6. South Carolina
7. Texas A&M
8. Clemson
9. Louisville
10. Florida
No real surprises here as the favorite to take the title is the two-time defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tide is expected to roll right into a three-peat as they have 13 total returning starters (not including potential Doak Walker candidate TJ Yeldon), a very favorable schedule, and their head coach Nick Saban, a four-time national championship winning coach (the most ever won by a single coach).
The experts are expecting Ohio State to emulate their undefeated campaign last season as they take the number two spot, this time hopefully followed by a BCS national championship appearance. Last year, the university was under a bowl ban due to NCAA sanctions. Those, however, are lifted and Heisman hopeful quarterback Braxton Miller is seeking some postseason success.
This year’s Top Ten features five teams from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) so expect to see one of them playing in Pasadena, the location of this years BCS National Championship come January. The SEC has been the conference to beat over the past decade, as eight of the past ten national championship winners have been from the conference.
Now let’s look at some questions we have for this year’s season:
Who’s going to win it all?
As stated above, expect Alabama to take the Crystal Ball yet again. A.J. McCaron is entering his third straight year as the starting quarterback and he doesn’t lose very much at all-he’s only lost twice in his career at ‘Bama. This combined with a stellar supporting cast at the receiver position, the nation’s top defense, and Heisman candidate in their explosive running back Yeldon makes it extremely tough to topple the Tide. However, don’t sleep on Johnny Football and the Texas A&M Aggies to be the heartbreakers, as they were the only team last year to defeat the national champs. Johnny Manziel has been Alabama’s kryptonite, and many predict him to lead his team to yet another upset over the Tide.
Other potential winners: Oregon and Georgia
Who will be the Notre Dame/Texas A&M of this year (go from unranked into the spotlight)?
Watch out for the Miami Hurricanes. Last year Al Golden had a very young team that lacked consistency and experience and a new year brings more of that. But expect some upsets on Florida, Florida State, or South Carolina as the Miami roster is covered with talent on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Stephen Morris has great decision-making skills and a great arm but the real firepower will come from running back Duke Johnson. He is a potential Heisman winner and will be the focal point of their offense. The only question mark is whether or not their defense can show up this year-and if they can, expect the Canes to be playing in the ACC championship game.
Other potential sleepers: Baylor and Michigan State
Who won’t live up to their expectations?
Clemson. Many are expecting Tajh Boyd to have a Heisman season, and he might, but the Tigers face a very tough schedule. They have to play top five ranked Georgia in the opener and they finish with number six South Carolina. Also, don’t forget Florida State who nearly missed the top ten in the AP poll, coming in at 11. As if those three matchups won’t be enough problems, the Tigers have to address the running back position and the defense. On top of that, star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins left the team for the NFL. Junior receiver Sammy Watkins, however, is sure to put up some big numbers this season. His combination of size and speed will give nightmares to ACC defensive coordinators. He’ll compete with Marquis Lee from USC for the Biletnikoff award. His performance might not be enough, however, and expect at least three or four losses for the eighth ranked Tigers.
Other overrated teams: LSU and Stanford
Heisman winner?
This is always a tough prediction. Look at past few years’ winners: Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, and Johnny Manziel. Cam had just spent some time in junior college and Johhny was in high school the year before. RGIII was also relatively unknown, just a good player on a very average team. Literally no one could have predicted their stellar seasons. So there is a strong chance we have no clue who the winner is. But let’s make some educated guesses.
It will almost certainly be a quarterback, and expect one of the following to finish in the top three: Johnny Manziel, Braxton Miller, Teddy Bridgewater (Louisville), and Marcus Mariota (Oregon). Miller does his damage running the ball, Johnny and Mariota are more duel threats (run and pass) and Teddy is a great pocket passer. If there are running backs invited this year (highly unlikely), expect one of them to be De’Anthony Thomas (Oregon), Todd Gurley (Georgia), TJ Yeldon, and Duke Johnson. And don’t sleep on the man-child defensive end Jadeveon Clowney from South Carolina to become the second defensive player ever to win the Heisman. He is a freak of nature, combining size, speed, and strength to dominate SEC offensive lines. My prediction for the top three is Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater, and Braxton Miller. Tough to say who will win, but I predict Miller will take the trophy home. He’s an unstoppable force as he will run you all over the field then proceed to beat you in the passing game. We’ll see if he can lead his team this season to another undefeated campaign.
Sleeper Heisman candidates: Jordan Lynch (NIU)
The 2014 season kicks off on Thursday, August 29th. Some notable match ups to tune in on week one are Georgia vs. Clemson and LSU vs. TCU, both on Saturday, August 31.
Thank God college football is back.
