The college football season kicks off today, and I'd venture to guess there are some folks out there who are pretty excited about that. The opening weekend – which has been dubbed as "Week Zero" – only features a handful of games, and while it may not be the most exciting lineup, it still serves as a reminder that the season is underway.
| SCHOOL | odds (Jan) | odds (Aug) |
|---|---|---|
| ALABAMA | 4/1 | 12/5 |
| USC | 9/1 | 6/1 |
| OHIO STATE | 15/2 | 13/2 |
| FLORIDA STATE | 7/1 | 15/2 |
| OKLAHOMA | 9/1 | 16/1 |
| MICHIGAN | 9/1 | 16/1 |
| PENN STATE | 33/1 | 16/1 |
| AUBURN | 33/1 | 20/1 |
The national championship odds have certainly moved a bit since January as a number of teams have experienced coaching and personnel changes. The Buckeyes check in with the third-best odds to take home the crown, behind only Alabama and the Trojans of Southern California.
Last week the staff members here at Eleven Warriors took their best shot pegging the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner. This weekend we are back at it again and predicting the season's power five conference champions as well the College Football Playoff.
May the odds be in our favor.
Ramzy Nasrallah
Power Five: ACC: Florida State • Big Ten: Ohio State • Big 12: Oklahoma State • PAC 12: USC • SEC: Alabama
College Football Playoff: Alabama, USC, Ohio State, Florida State
National Championship: Ohio State over Florida State
Johnny Ginter
Power Five: ACC: Florida State • Big Ten: Ohio State • Big 12: Oklahoma • PAC 12: Washington • SEC: Alabama
College Football Playoff: Florida State, Ohio State, Alabama, Washington
National Championship: Florida State over Alabama
Vico
Power Five: ACC: Florida State • Big Ten: Ohio State • Big 12: Oklahoma State • PAC 12: USC • SEC: Alabama
College Football Playoff: Alabama, Ohio State, USC, Florida State
National Championship: Alabama over Ohio State
Kyle Jones
Power Five: ACC: Louisville • Big Ten: Ohio State • Big 12: Oklahoma • PAC 12: Washington • SEC: Georgia
College Football Playoff: Ohio State, Washington, Georgia, Oklahoma
National Championship: Washington over Oklahoma
James Grega
Power Five: ACC: Florida State • Big Ten: Ohio State • Big 12: Oklahoma State • PAC 12: USC • SEC: Alabama
College Football Playoff: Alabama, Ohio State, USC, Florida State
National Championship: Alabama over Ohio State
Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide could be in a familiar place come January. Via Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Dan Hope
Power Five: ACC: Florida State • Big Ten: Ohio State • Big 12: Oklahoma State • PAC 12: USC • SEC: Alabama
College Football Playoff: Florida State, Ohio State, USC, Alabama
National Championship: Alabama over Ohio State
Andrew Lind
Power Five: ACC: Florida State • Big Ten: Ohio State • Big 12: Oklahoma • PAC 12: Washington • SEC: Alabama
College Football Playoff: Alabama, Ohio State, Florida State, Oklahoma
National Championship: Ohio State over Alabama
Jimmy Longo
Power Five: ACC: Florida State • Big Ten: Ohio State • Big 12: Oklahoma • PAC 12: USC • SEC: Alabama
College Football Playoff: Alabama, Ohio State, USC, Florida State
National Championship: Ohio State over Alabama
Andrew Ellis
Power Five: ACC: Florida State • Big Ten: Ohio State • Big 12: Oklahoma • PAC 12: USC • SEC: Alabama
College Football Playoff: Alabama, Ohio State, Florida State, Oklahoma
National Championship: Ohio State over Alabama
It's no surprise, but there's a whole lot of Ohio State, Alabama, Florida State, and Oklahoma in the 11W submissions. The more intriguing part is that the Sooners travel to Columbus and the Crimson Tide and Seminoles meet in Atlanta all within a seven-day period. Two of the country's top teams will have a loss within the first few weeks of the season, but it will hardly be a lethal blow to their title hopes.
"There are some interesting scenarios that are going to come up, but if you want these big opening games," Fisher said, "are you going to reward them if it doesn't turn out right and it's still a very competitive football game, making it worthwhile for you to do it?" Via
Elsewhere in Big Ten country, the Wolverines are replacing 17 starters and likely will lack the experience needed to compete for a title. Penn State has a lot of firepower, but the Nittany Lions have to host Michigan in October and then turn around and travel to Columbus on the following weekend.
Washington is an intriguing team, but Chris Petersen lost a lot of talent to the NFL Draft and has to go on the road to Stanford and likely take on USC for the Pac-12 title. SEC programs like Auburn, LSU, and Georgia all have some major question marks, but there's no doubt some surprise playoff contenders will emerge.
Welcome back, college football. Who are your picks for this season's playoff?
